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Arab & Islamic Politics

Policy Analysis on Arab & Islamic Politics

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Rehabilitating Assad: The Arab League Embraces a Pariah

Parochial interests and war fatigue are driving many member states to support premature elections and normalization with Damascus, but this approach will only consolidate Assad’s control and help him evade accountability for war crimes.

David Schenker

KSS flag

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada

Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada is a splinter of Kataib Hezbollah that works directly with the Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps and has a transnational focus on the shared regional agenda of the Iran-backed axis of resistance.

Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Articles & Testimony

Is Stalemate the Least Bad Option in Syria?

If only to avoid far worse outcomes, Washington should reject Assad’s bogus “reelection” and keep supporting Israeli strikes, the SDF’s viability, and refugee aid.

David Pollock

Natanz

Maps & Graphics

How Iran Employed Iraq's Muqawama in Its Post-Natanz Response

Militias falsely claimed attacks against Israeli and U.S. targets in retaliation for the nuclear incident, underlining how Tehran directs and coordinates each proxy's kinetic and information operations in a centralized manner.

Hamdi Malik
Crispin Smith

◆ Militia Spotlight

The artist Jacques-Louis David's painting "Napoleon Crossing the Alps"

The Rise of “Bonapartism” in Iran

Interest in a strong military president is growing in unexpected sectors, but such an outcome is more likely to strengthen Khamenei’s power than drastically reform the system.

Mehdi Khalaji

TSS

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Sharia Youth Gathering

The Sharia Youth Gathering is an umbrella movement of social service, cultural, sports, and scouting organizations that is effectively controlled by Kataib Hezbollah through a cadre of linked commanders.

Hamdi Malik
Crispin Smith
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Scout

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Imam Hussein Scout Association

The Imam Hussein Scout Association is Kataib Hezbollah’s youth organization and an affiliate of Lebanese Hezbollah's Kishaf al-Imam al-Mahdi youth movement.

Hamdi Malik
Crispin Smith
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Iranian Foreign Minister Mohammad Javad Zarif

The Zarif Tape: Revelations on Russia, the Qods Force, and Iran’s Election

The foreign minister had much to say about the IRGC branch’s political interference at home and close relations with Moscow, and the regime has done nothing to dispute his account so far.

Mehdi Khalaji

Kaabi speech

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba

Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba proved its axis of resistance credentials in Syria, but its role in terrorism and repression within Iraq is more enigmatic.

Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Fatemyoun squad

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Fatemiyoun Electronic Squad

Fatemiyoun Electronic Squad is a facade group that undertakes cyberattacks on behalf of Kataib Hezbollah, in close collaboration with other affiliates.

Hamdi Malik

◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Hamas Fields a Militant Electoral List: Implications for U.S.-Palestinian Ties

The group plans to put numerous convicted terrorists on the ballot, and neither the PA nor the international community seems willing to talk about the potential legal, diplomatic, and budgetary consequences.

Katherine Bauer
Matthew Levitt

Can Erdogan Charm Biden?

An expert conversation on the pitfalls and potential areas of cooperation between Washington and Ankara in the coming years.

Soner Cagaptay
Asli Aydintasbas
Max Hoffman
Jenny White

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Usbat al-Thaireen

Usbat al-Thaireen is the earliest known facade group employed to veil Kataib Hezbollah's culpability in anti-coalition operations, and its eventual shutdown may provide an important case study of such a group's complete life cycle.

Crispin Smith
Michael Knights
Hamdi Malik

◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Photo of Muslim World League secretary-general Mohammad Al-Issa visiting Auschwitz

Teaching the Holocaust in the Arab World

A remarkable panel of Arab educators, activists, and civic leaders share their experiences with breaking regional taboos and formulating effective ways to teach youths about genocide.

Ali al-Nuaimi
Zeina Barakat
El Mehdi Boudra

An Iraqi member of a Shia PMF militia

Articles & Testimony

Team of Legal Gladiators? Iraqi Militias’ Tortured Relationship with Law

Iran-backed armed groups hate being exposed as criminals in the eyes of a populace that cares deeply about rule of law, so they have turned Iraq’s legal sector into a battlespace.

Crispin Smith
Hamdi Malik
Michael Knights

Sabereen cartoon

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Sabereen News

Sabereen News is the main media conglomerate supporting all "resistance" actions and factions in Iraq, but it quietly keeps a unique connection to Asaib Ahl al-Haq.

Hamdi Malik
Crispin Smith
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles

Chinese foreign minister Wang Yi meets Saudi Crown Prince Mohammed Bin Salman in Riyadh

China’s Foreign Minister Tours the Middle East: Outcomes and Implications

The trip echoed Beijing’s strategy of stringing together initiatives that seem insubstantial on their own but cumulatively threaten to undermine U.S. and regional interests.

Ilari Papa

Frech president Emmanuel Macron inspects the site of the Beirut port explosion

French-German Proposals to Rebuild Beirut Port: Policy Implications

Whoever winds up spearheading the reconstruction effort, Washington should stay on top of them to ensure that international prerequisites for reform and monitoring are enforced—and to keep China from exploiting Lebanon’s struggles.

David Schenker

RA img

Maps & Graphics

Profile: Raba Allah

Raba Allah is the "mothership" for vigilante and counter-protestor groups developed by the Kataib Hezbollah network.

Hamdi Malik
Crispin Smith
Michael Knights

◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles

A delegation of Gulf Arab men and women visit Yad Vashem in Jerusalem.

Articles & Testimony

The Crumbling Walls of Arab Holocaust Denial

Four factors have gradually legitimized honest regional discussion of the Holocaust and made traditional statements of denial and distortion less acceptable.

Robert Satloff

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