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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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Iranian presidential candidate Ebrahim Raisi speaking in 2021
Brief Analysis
Iran Garnering Internal Support for a Potential Nuclear Deal
Although it is still unclear if the Supreme Leader will approve the necessary compromises, regime officials are maximizing their room for maneuver by preparing the country either way—assuming the economy doesn’t force their hand.
Aug 22, 2022
◆
  • Omer Carmi
bin Laden and al Zawahiri
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
The Killing of al-Zawahiri: Repercussions for the Taliban
Following the drone strike against al-Qaeda leader Ayman al-Zawahiri, many variables are up in the air that could significantly alter the stability of a Taliban-controlled Afghanistan as well as the future of the al-Qaeda framework.
Aug 16, 2022
◆
  • Mohamed Mokhtar Qandil
Articles & Testimony
Contending with IRGC Plots
Why do Iranian officials keep ordering hits on U.S. soil in the middle of sensitive negotiations? Because they know they can get away with it.
Aug 16, 2022
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
Taees
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Kataib Aimmat al-Baqi
A Diyala-based militia that offered its services to Nouri al-Maliki on a leaked audiotape from July 2022.
Aug 15, 2022
◆
  • May Riad
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Iron Dome rockets intercepting Hamas missiles over Tel Aviv
Articles & Testimony
Israel and Gaza Keep Up Their Precarious Dance
What the latest round of fighting against PIJ—and not, conspicuously, Hamas—means, and why it will probably happen again.
Aug 9, 2022
◆
  • Neri Zilber
Brief Analysis
UN Forces in Lebanon Losing Ground in a Fast-Deteriorating Security Situation
Despite the troubling trends and escalatory incidents described in the latest UN report, the Security Council seems intent on maintaining a failed policy instead of taking urgent action to curb the growing threat of war.
Aug 5, 2022
◆
  • Assaf Orion
SCF protests
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Khazali Isolated Over International Zone Protests
The militia leader is being constrained by other members of the Iran-dominated Shia Coordination Framework regarding how to respond to Sadrist protests.
Aug 3, 2022
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Screen capture of the FBI Most Wanted Terrorist poster for Ayman al-Zawahiri, updated following Zawahiri's killing in Afghanistan by American forces. Source: FBI
Brief Analysis
What Zawahiri’s Death Means for al-Qaeda and Its Branches
Despite the potent symbolic benefits of taking out the infamous terrorist ideologue, his death is unlikely to affect the organization’s daily operations, which are increasingly being driven by dangerous affiliates in Africa.
Aug 2, 2022
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
Photo of a Shahed drone in an Iranian military parade near imagery of Supreme Leader Khamenei..
Brief Analysis
Iranian Drones to Russia: Capabilities and Limitations
Besides signaling that Iran has shifted to active military support for Russia’s war in Ukraine, the prospective transfer gives Moscow a stopgap option until its own advanced drones are ready for service.
Aug 1, 2022
◆
  • Farzin Nadimi
Ahrar al-Iraq 2
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Liwa Ahrar al-Iraq
This facade group is used to brand militia rocket and drone attacks on Turkish targets in Iraq.
Jul 29, 2022
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
  • Eric Feely
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Turkey’s War in Northern Iraq: By the Numbers
Ankara is fighting a lethal and largely hidden counterinsurgency against PKK elements across the border, but the conflict’s rising profile may carry high costs for both U.S. interests and Iraqi sovereignty.
Jul 28, 2022
◆
  • Michael Knights
President Joe Biden greets Saudi King Salman in Jeddah in July 2022 - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
The True Promise of Joe Biden’s Middle East Trip
It is no exaggeration to say that the visit represents a transformation of Washington’s regional approach—including a rethink of the “pivot.”
Jul 27, 2022
◆
  • Dennis Ross
  • James Jeffrey
A Turkish Baraktar TB2 drone - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Drones and Resets: The New Era of Turkish Foreign Policy
The Ukraine war has not only reaffirmed Erdogan’s remarkable political survival skills, but also highlighted the degree to which Ankara’s improved diplomatic standing is traceable to its success in exporting an innovative drone-centered military operational approach.
Summer 2022
◆
  • Soner Cagaptay
  • Rich Outzen
U.S._and_Turkish_military_forces_conduct_second_joint_ground_patrol_inside_of_the_secur
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
The Impending Turkish Invasion: Repercussions for the SDF-Washington Relationship
A Turkish attack on northern Syria would bring new waves of internal displacement and increased humanitarian suffering, weaken the SDF and the Autonomous Administration, and erode these institutions’ the trust of the United States.
Jul 25, 2022
◆
  • Baraa Sabri
Sabereen News threat to Istanbul - cropped
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Claiming Without Claiming: Iraqi Militia Responses to Turkish Attacks
Sabereen News has been operating as the clearinghouse for coverage of "resistance" strikes on Turkish targets, nodding to specific facade groups and hinting at future attacks inside Turkey.
Jul 22, 2022
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Photo of Chinese and Emirati leaders walking.
Brief Analysis
How to Respond to China’s Growing Influence in the Gulf
Beijing’s use of intertwined civil and military tools in the Gulf mirrors its activity closer to home, but the West can readily counter this influence by capitalizing on the region’s desire for diversified partnerships.
Jul 21, 2022
◆
  • Louis Dugit-Gros
Turkish President Erdogan at a summit with Russian President Putin in Sochi in 2021 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Will the Putin-Erdogan-Raisi Summit Spark a Turkish Incursion into Syria?
Moscow and Tehran may well assent to another cross-border operation, but Turkey’s choice of targets will depend on multiple U.S., Russian, and Iranian interests.
Jul 18, 2022
◆
  • Soner Cagaptay
  • Andrew J. Tabler
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
How the Autonomous Administration Leadership and Civilians Will View a Turkish Incursion into Northeast Syria
With the threat of a Turkish incursion into Northeast Syria, the SDF weighs their options while the area’s civilians express their frustrations and concerns about all parties involved.
Jul 18, 2022
◆
  • Ishtar Al Shami
Brief Analysis
Prospects for an Iranian “July Surprise” During Biden’s Gulf Trip
Tehran may see the president’s attendance at the GCC+3 summit as a tempting opportunity to scuttle a U.S.-Gulf reset, perhaps by using a cyber or military provocation to humiliate the hosts and demonstrate America’s inability to protect them.
Jul 11, 2022
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
Satellite map of wider Rea Sea with country names
Brief Analysis
Getting to an Israeli-Saudi Deal on Tiran and Sanafir
Efforts to reach an agreement during President Biden’s visit are laudable, but the administration must take care to ensure that any deal with Riyadh preserves the crucial regional security arrangements enshrined in the Egypt-Israel peace treaty.
Jul 7, 2022
◆
  • David Schenker

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Military and Security Studies Program

The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program has established itself as an unrivaled source of reliable, incisive, and forward-looking analysis concerning several of the most critical national-security challenges facing the United States today: The U.S. military role in the Middle East, Iran's nuclear program and its proxy armies, the ongoing conflict is in Iraq, Lebanon, Syria, and Yemen, the regional proliferation of missiles and weapons of mass destruction, the security dimensions of the Arab-Israeli conflict, and many other security issues on the frontline of the U.S. policymaking agenda.

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