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Iraq

Policy Analysis on Iraq

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Tunisian citizens who fled the Russian invasion of Ukraine arrive in Tunis - Source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Middle East Students Stranded in Ukraine
Regional governments are scrambling to repatriate thousands of their trapped citizens, and the United States could play a key role in facilitating their safe return.
Mar 9, 2022
◆
  • Carol Silber
  • Calvin Wilder
Abu Hussein in public
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Exposing Kataib Hezbollah's Royal Family? Insights from Recent Leaks
The unmasking of Abu Hussein and his brothers puts the deposed Kataib Hezbollah official on the receiving end of his favorite tactic: leaking the faces and names of rivals.
Mar 9, 2022
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
A Ukrainian flag flies at a naval base in Crimea in 2014 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Middle East Responses to the Ukraine Crisis
So far, official statements from the region have ranged from rejecting Russia’s moves to treating them as a natural extension of existing policy.
Updated Mar 4, 2022
◆
  • Margaret Dene
  • Hannah Labow
  • Carol Silber
United Nations headquarters building in New York - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
The UN Resolution on Ukraine: How Did the Middle East Vote?
A comprehensive record of what regional officials said—or didn’t say—about the emergency wartime vote in the General Assembly.
Mar 2, 2022
Video
Brief Analysis
Targeting the Islamic State: Jihadist Military Threats and the U.S. Response
Two scholars of jihadism assess the group's evolving approaches to conventional and insurgent warfare, and U.S. options for combating them.
Feb 22, 2022
◆
  • Ido Levy
  • Craig Whiteside
Flames emerge from flare stacks at Nahr Bin Umar oil field, north of Basra, Iraq - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
The Death of Oil Federalism? Implications of a New Iraqi Court Ruling
The legal decision and its political fallout are threatening some of the country’s key interests, including its aspirations toward federalism, its relations with Turkey, and its ability to attract sorely needed international investment.
Feb 18, 2022
◆
  • Bilal Wahab
LK profile
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Liwa Khaibar
With probable links to Kataib Hezbollah, this minor facade group claimed a major rocket attack on al-Asad Air Base, but mainly limits itself to claimed bombings against U.S. supply convoys.
Feb 15, 2022
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Ahd TV content
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Al-Ahd Satellite Television
A closer look at the "resistance" television channel owned and operated by U.S.-designated terrorist movement Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
Feb 9, 2022
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
KH fundraising
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Kataib Hezbollah Behind "Grassroots" Iraqi Fundraising for Yemen
The Iran-backed militia tried to make its solo effort to boost the Houthi drone arsenal look like a widely coordinated and highly popular campaign, whereas it was anything but.
Feb 1, 2022
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Brief Analysis
Battle for al-Sinaa Prison: The Enduring Islamic State Threat in Syria
The military response to a major prison attack exhibited the strength of the U.S.-SDF partnership, but it also highlighted ongoing counterterrorism shortcomings.
Jan 31, 2022
◆
  • Ido Levy
Turkish President Erdogan meets Ukrainian President Zelenskiy in Kyiv - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
The Ukraine Crisis: East Meets Mideast?
In theory, Iran, Turkey, the Gulf, and other regional players offer potential leverage of various kinds over Moscow, but closer examination suggests that most of these links are of limited utility at best.
Jan 28, 2022
◆
  • David Pollock
Articles & Testimony
Is It Time to Get Tough With Russia?
If Washington wants Putin to act differently, it must demonstrate less risk aversion, whether in Ukraine or in Middle East conflict zones like Syria and Iraq.
Jan 27, 2022
◆
  • Dennis Ross
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Qaani in Najaf
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Militia Lionization of Esmail Qaani: Consolidation or Covering Embarrassment?
The Iranian general has never received such intense praise from the Iraqi "resistance," but it may just be his attempt to spin his recent disappointing visit.
Jan 24, 2022
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Illustration of chess pieces and the Russian and Ukrainian flags - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Russia’s Desert Storm: Putin’s Plan to Use America’s Military Playbook Against Ukraine?
The lessons Moscow learned from the 1991 Gulf War and the 2015 Syria intervention reveal much about the strategy, tactics, and weapons systems it might use (or already be using) in Ukraine.
Jan 23, 2022
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Brief Analysis
How to Keep the Islamic State Down in 2022 and Beyond
The group and its offshoots pursue conventional warfare campaigns as a rule, not an exception, so the United States needs to enhance its regional military partnerships accordingly.
Jan 13, 2022
◆
  • Ido Levy
Akram and Abu Fadak, Basra, Jan 1, 2022
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Muhandis Replaced by Not One Man, But Two?
Abu Fadak and Akram Kaabi seem to have inherited the PMF and "resistance" parts of the late militia leader's portfolio.
Jan 12, 2022
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Abu Fadak
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Abu Fadak Tries to Split the Shrine Units
Recent moves by the senior PMF commander are seemingly aimed at sowing divisions among four key militias that do not answer to the so-called "resistance."
Jan 11, 2022
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
A U.S. military helicopter evacuates personnel from the American embassy in Kabul, Afghanistan
Articles & Testimony
Trading Places
After two decades of direct U.S. involvement, what went so wrong in Afghanistan compared to the relative successes seen in Iraq?
Jan 7, 2022
◆
  • David Pollock
Ababil
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Saraya Ababeel Claims Baghdad Drone and Rocket Attacks
A minor sub-group took credit for recent airport strikes, indicating a return to the "facade" strategy and a role for AAH in the latest escalation.
Jan 7, 2022
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Militia with 23mm driving west outside IZ, May 26, 2021
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Making Sense of Militia Attacks in Iraq and Syria in Early 2022
The process of assuaging the militia support base was carefully stage-managed in the first week of the new year, with Iran and Nujaba setting the ground rules.
Jan 6, 2022
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight

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The Washington Institute's 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 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 Fellow of The Washington Institute, specializing in the military and security affairs of Iraq, Iran, and the Persian Gulf states. He is a co-founder of the Militia Spotlight platform, which offers in-depth analysis of developments related to the Iranian-backed militias in Iraq and Syria.
Bilal Wahab
Bilal Wahab
Bilal Wahab is the Nathan and Esther K. Wagner fellow at The Washington Institute.
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