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Iraq

Policy Analysis on Iraq

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Pope Francis departs an airplane
Brief Analysis
The Pope Meets the Ayatollah
The Vatican’s outreach to Iraq is laudable in its goal of decreasing religious violence, but Western officials should be realistic about what engagement with Shia religious leaders can accomplish in the near term.
Mar 3, 2021
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Brief Analysis
Understanding Iran’s Vast Media Network in Arab Countries
Designating Iranian-linked media outlets can limit their activities, but a more holistic strategy is needed if Washington hopes to effectively counter the regime’s regional propaganda machine.
Mar 2, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
Russian president Vladimir Putin
Articles & Testimony
How Russia Is Responding to Joe Biden’s Syria Airstrike
The omissions in Moscow’s statements on the U.S. operation are as revealing as the predictable hyperbole and hypocrisy.
Mar 1, 2021
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Nujaba flags
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Harakat al-Nujaba Identifies with the Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee
What to make of HaN spokesperson Nasr al-Shammari's admission that his group is a member of the top militia committee?
Feb 28, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Figure 1: Qais al-Khazali’s interview with iNEWS TV, June 1, 2021.
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
In Their Own Words: Senior Leaders Admit to Membership in the Tansiqiya
Qais al-Khazali, Muhammad Mohi, and Nasr al-Shammari have all provided televised prima facie evidence of their groups' involvement in acts of anti-coalition terrorism.
Feb 28, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
U.S. soldiers at an Iraqi base after a rocket attack by Iran-backed militias
Articles & Testimony
Why Biden’s Airstrikes on Iran Militias Matter
The operation on the Iraq-Syria border could prove more significant than critics allow, but only if the administration keeps showing that there are limits to what it will tolerate in pursuing a new nuclear deal.
Feb 26, 2021
◆
  • Phillip Smyth
Brief Analysis
Biden’s Warning to Iran and Its Proxies: Implications of the Syria Strike
The administration’s early recourse to armed force may have surprised Tehran, but the proxy tests will continue, suggesting the need for sustained U.S. intelligence support and multilateral engagement with partners.
Feb 26, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
Articles & Testimony
The Other Khashoggis: Dissidents in Danger Across the Middle East
With militia targeting of activists on the rise, Western officials need to name the perpetrators, hold them accountable, and support homegrown democratic movements before they are snuffed out for good.
Feb 25, 2021
◆
  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • Michael Knights
Brief Analysis
Attributing the Erbil Attack: The Role of Open-Source Monitoring
Even Iran’s proxies now have proxies, but authorities can still untangle and attribute their illegal acts through expanded use of rich open-source evidence.
Feb 24, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
Articles & Testimony
Rocket Attacks on Erbil: Part 2
The U.S. response needs to get more specific, while the KRG and Baghdad need to patch up their urgent security differences and stop entangling them with broader territorial, constitutional, or budgetary issues.
Feb 18, 2021
◆
  • David Pollock
President Joe Biden speaks on the phone in the Oval Office of the White House
Articles & Testimony
Iran Just Handed Biden His First Credibility Test
Proxy rocket attacks in Iraq require a clear response, otherwise the safety of U.S. troops and the prospect of nuclear negotiations will both be in doubt.
Feb 17, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
Brief Analysis
Rockets over Erbil: How to Respond to an Iraqi Militia Outrage
Iran-backed militias took the unprecedented step of rocketing a major city and U.S. base in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the Biden administration must quickly find its own formula for restoring deterrence.
Feb 16, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
Pylon
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
“Pylon-Gate”: Reconstruction of a Muqawama Disinformation Operation
The KH-affiliated media group Unit 10,000 planted disinformation about a nonexistent U.S. airstrike, stoked the story, and then tried to remove its fingerprints from the original "fake news."
Feb 12, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
Map "Syria's Borders Are Under External Control"
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
The Assad Regime Has Failed to Restore Full Sovereignty Over Syria
By ceding control of its borders and airspace to various foreign actors, the regime has essentially resigned itself to a limited but potentially durable existence for the long term.
Feb 10, 2021
◆
  • Fabrice Balanche
Brief Analysis
How to Use Militia Spotlight
Militia Spotlight provides timely, high-quality evidence, analysis and contextualization of militia activities in Iraq and Syria, both within government agencies and outside them.
Feb 10, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Brief Analysis
How the United States Should View Iraq’s Shrine Militias
Despite welcoming the idea of separating the nationalist “shrine units” from the Iran-leaning Popular Mobilization Forces, Washington should lighten its touch on the issue.
Feb 5, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
Articles & Testimony
Tunisians of the Iraq Jihad and How That Set the Stage for the Syrian Jihad
The disproportionate role of Tunisians in both campaigns can be traced to a wide array of factors, including travel routes, prison experiences, battlefield leadership, and propaganda patterns back home.
Jan 29, 2021
◆
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Iranian military leaders inspect drones.
Brief Analysis
Drones Over Riyadh: Unpacking the Iran Threat Network’s Tactics
Two enigmatic drone incidents in Saudi Arabia point to gaps in U.S. intelligence coverage and increasingly sophisticated deception tactics by Iran’s integrated militia networks in Iraq and Yemen.
Jan 29, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
Brief Analysis
Baghdad Bombing Spurs Major Intelligence and Military Reshuffle
The Iraqi government continues to sharpen the leadership of various commands and bolster civilian control, giving the U.S.-led coalition more leverage to fight the Islamic State with a light footprint.
Jan 26, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
Video
Brief Analysis
Gas in Iraqi Kurdistan: Market Realities, Geopolitical Opportunities
U.S. and Iraqi Kurdish officials discuss the future of the region's natural gas sector, including proposals for surmounting various political and commercial hurdles.
Jan 21, 2021
◆
  • Matthew Zais
  • Barozh Aziz
  • Rob Waller

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Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics

The Washington Institute's Linda and Tony Rubin Program on Arab Politics focuses on social, political, and economic developments in the Arab world, with an emphasis on the Arab countries of the Levant.

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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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