All Policy Analysis by Michael Knights

A pipeline arbitration ruling has imperiled a recent Baghdad-Kurdistan breakthrough, but this roadblock can be removed if the United States acts urgently to disrupt spoilers and help constructive players.

Join us for a webcast featuring expert conversation with retired General David Petraeus, former commander of CENTCOM and U.S. troops in Iraq and director of the CIA. Watch live starting at 1:15 p.m. EDT (1715 GMT) on Thursday, April 6, 2023.

Iraq’s bloated 2023 budget has created space for the Kurds to get a share of the wealth this year, but preparing for the next leap to permanent solutions is more important.

The profiles are a repository of institutional memory on the various armed groups, facade groups, and social organizations associated with Iraqi militias, to be used as concise reminders of how these entities are connected.

Astronomical models provide a surprisingly helpful illustration of how Iran-backed armed groups wield power in the MENA region.

Similar to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Iraqi "resistance" groups have long sought a company with preferential access to lucrative state contracts, and the Sudani government is finally providing them after years of opposition—on the Saudi border no less.

The slow-rolling regime change focused on capturing U.S.-supported institutions and turning them against U.S. interests, highlighting the threat that motivated, well-funded groups pose to developing democracies.

After falling under the control of "resistance"-linked board members, this key Iraqi media institution began a widespread crackdown on freedom of expression.

Kataib Babiliyoun pretends to be a local Christian unit, but its members have been recruited from Shia Muslim communities in southern Iraq with the goal of dominating Iraq's strategic Nineveh Plains region.

U.S.-designated terrorists and human rights abusers are beginning to receive senior ranks, staff college certification, and national security degrees at Iraqi and Arab military schools.

This year has seen a massive increase in the training of Iraqi militia officers at Defense Ministry academies, and a dedicated PMF training college might be developed under expanded legislation.

Tactical disagreements among "resistance" leaders underline their competition for prime real estate and local partners near the capital.

Officials appear to be cracking down on freedom of speech and alternative lifestyles opposed by the self-styled militia "resistance."

With probable IRGC-QF acquiescence, a militia facade group struck U.S. targets in Syria to register its defiance against a possible extension of the U.S. presence in Iraq.

Asaib Ahl al-Haq is signaling pragmatism, while Kataib Hezbollah is contorting its arguments to allow it to play along, albeit without explicitly accepting a U.S. military presence.

By conversing and embedding with Emirati soldiers over the course of several years, a Washington Institute military expert was able to capture the history and stakes of an unsung operation to save Yemen’s strategically crucial port city.

An in-depth look at the dramatic campaign by Arab special forces and Yemeni tribesmen to liberate a crucial port city.

The militia's media channel has been praising past Iranian-aided terrorist acts that killed and wounded U.S. military personnel in Iraq—and linking them to current activities.

Russia’s effective use of inexpensive Iranian aircraft points to challenges that other states may soon face elsewhere.

Media outlets run by Iran-backed groups have justified the killing by claiming that the targeted civilian was a spy.