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Iraq

Policy Analysis on Iraq

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Iraqi forces marching
In-Depth Reports
Back to Basics
U.S.-Iraq Security Cooperation in the Post-Combat Era
Questions about the viability of the Iraqi security forces—brought into sharp focus by the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan—require a data-led analysis of where the forces are today and what mix of U.S., NATO, and European efforts can help them thrive in the future.
Oct 26, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Alex Almeida
Tanf
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Militia Propaganda Around the Attack on al-Tanf
Iraqi militia actors appear to have had forewarning of the attack, reflecting an increasing focus on anti-coalition operations in Syria.
Oct 22, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
Articles & Testimony
Discordance in the Iran Threat Network in Iraq: Militia Competition and Rivalry
Hardline groups are struggling to satisfy demands for action against American forces while simultaneously de-escalating U.S.-Iran tensions and evolving their non-kinetic wings.
Oct 21, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
Anti air
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iraqi Militias Show Off Iranian Anti-Air Missile
Iran-backed resistance groups are seemingly staging missile "discoveries" as a way of warning off coalition air forces.
Oct 21, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Figure 2: Ahmad Abdal-Sadah, muqawama-affiliated commentator on al-Etejah TV, May 27, 2021.
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Militias Issue Post-Election Threats Against UNAMI and the UAE
After their humiliating defeat in the parliamentary election, Iran-backed groups launched a bizarre campaign against UN and Emirati officials.
Oct 19, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Brief Analysis
Elections Without Democracy in Iraq?
The often-hazardous two-year struggle that led to this vote has left many of the youth movement’s most ardent supporters disillusioned with the electoral process entirely, so Washington will have to narrow its focus.
Oct 6, 2021
◆
  • Bilal Wahab
  • Calvin Wilder
Erbil con
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Sabereen News Calls for Beheading of Iraqi Citizens
After the Erbil conference, which called for normalizing ties between Iraq and Israel, the largest resistance social media organ called for beheadings and then tried to cover its tracks.
Oct 3, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Hoquq candidates
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
The Hoquq Candidates: Kataib Hezbollah’s Aspiring Parliamentarians
Hoquq is competing head-to-head with other "resistance" factions in key Shia constituencies, especially Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
Sep 30, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Iraqi Kurds display Kurdish and Israeli flags
Articles & Testimony
A Pro-Israel Summit in Erbil Breaks New Ground
At great personal risk, Iraqi civil society leaders gathered to demand entry into the Abraham Accords, and their efforts need more American support.
Sep 30, 2021
◆
  • Dennis Ross
President Biden addresses the UN General Assembly
Articles & Testimony
Biden UN Speech Misunderstands the Point of ‘Forever Wars’—in the Mideast and Elsewhere
U.S. military deployments create the strong alliances and local partnerships that the president said he wants.
Sep 20, 2021
◆
  • Ido Levy
Hossein Moanes
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Hossein Moanes Sparks Angry Words Between Kataib Hezbollah and Asaib Ahl al-Haq
The senior KH member now leads a new political movement that is competing with other Iran-backed militia factions for votes in the coming election.
Sep 14, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Brief Analysis
Sistani vs. the Militias: The Future of Iraqi Sovereignty
The international community needs to pay more attention to developments in Najaf, where Sistani-backed groups are forcefully pushing back against Iran but still face the longer-term question of who will continue his message.
Sep 14, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
Drone wreckage, Erbil, April 14, 2021
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iran’s Proxies in Iraq Undertake the World's Only Terrorist Attack Commemorating 9/11
Two drones were intercepted in a mission that Sabereen News dedicated to “reminding the Americans of the September 11 attacks."
Sep 14, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
A Taliban fighter at a police station in Kabul
Articles & Testimony
How Not to Repeat My History with the Taliban
To avoid the worst outcomes, Washington needs to assiduously enforce any deals with the new Afghan leadership, cooperate effectively with other world powers, and explain to a domestic audience how the withdrawal will facilitate a focus on different priorities.
Sep 2, 2021
◆
  • David Pollock
Badr Troops
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Badr Organization
Badr is the wellspring of many of today's armed resistance groups and still operates under the indirect and sometimes direct control of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps.
Sep 2, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Iraqi Radio and Television Union
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: The Iraqi Radio and Television Union
An overview of Iraq's offshoot of the Islamic Radio and Television Union, an Iranian umbrella group that provides support to "resistance" media outlets.
Sep 2, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Photo showing 1983 terrorist attack at U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.
Articles & Testimony
Stop the Doomsaying, U.S. Credibility Will Weather Afghanistan
Regional mistakes and setbacks stretching back to the Carter administration did not stop countries from relying on Washington, and the Kabul crisis will be no different in the end.
Aug 29, 2021
◆
  • Dennis Ross
Photo showing Taliban fighters outside Kabul Airport, August 2021.
Video
Brief Analysis
From Afghanistan to the Middle East:
Implications of the U.S. Withdrawal and Taliban Victory
Three Institute scholars discuss the fallout from Kabul, with special focus on the consequences for global jihadism, Iranian policy, and regional responses.
Aug 26, 2021
◆
  • Kathryn Wheelbarger
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
  • Patrick Clawson
Militia with 23mm driving west outside IZ, May 26, 2021
Articles & Testimony
After Afghanistan, Iraqis Fear They Could Be Next
Similarities between the two cases include heavy patronage politics and militia intimidation, but Baghdad has advantages that could help it avoid Kabul’s fate.
Aug 19, 2021
◆
  • Bilal Wahab
Vice President Joe Biden arrives in Saudi Arabia
Articles & Testimony
Biden Needs a Middle East Strategy to Avoid New Crises
To dispel confusion among America’s partners and better counter its adversaries, the administration will have to do a better job of integrating its country-specific strategies into an overarching approach for accomplishing larger goals.
Aug 10, 2021
◆
  • Kenneth Pollack
  • Dennis Ross

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Featured experts

Michael Eisenstadt
Michael Eisenstadt
Michael Eisenstadt is the Kahn Senior Fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program.
Michael Knights
Michael Knights
Michael Knights is the Jill and Jay Bernstein Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute and cofounder of the Militia Spotlight platform, which offers in-depth analysis of developments related to Iran-backed militias.
Bilal Wahab
Bilal Wahab
Bilal Wahab was the Nathan and Esther K. Wagner Senior Fellow at The Washington Institute.
Elizabeth Dent - source: The Washington Institute
Elizabeth Dent
Elizabeth Dent is a Senior Fellow at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy, where she focuses on U.S. foreign and defense policy toward the Gulf states, Iraq, and Syria.
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