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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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KH_Nasrallah Funeral
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Hassan Nasrallah's Funeral: Iraqi Militia Response and Attendance
Most of the top militia leaders appeared too cowed to show up, but a wide assortment of senior Iraqi "resistance" and political figures did attend, including potential future candidates for prime minister.
Feb 27, 2025
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Houthis show support for Qassem Soleimani and Abu Mahdi al-Muhandis, Yemen, 2020
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Update on Houthi Involvement in Iraq
The cessation of Houthi-Iraqi joint strikes on Israel does not mean that Houthi money-movers and trainers have gone home; more likely, they are now a permanent feature of Iraq and merit close scrutiny from counterterrorism analysts.
Feb 26, 2025
◆
  • Sary Mumayiz
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
A Ukrainian flag flies at a naval base in Crimea in 2014 - source: Reuters
Video
Brief Analysis
Year Four in Ukraine: NATO Views and Middle East Impact
A senior NATO official joins U.S. and regional experts to discuss how the Trump administration’s initial peacemaking forays might affect the war’s broader geopolitical stakes, from great power competition in the Middle East to rare-earth minerals and Western counter-messaging.
Feb 19, 2025
◆
  • Dana Stroul
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Javier Colomina
  • Riad Kahwaji
Mohammed Reza Nouri unsealed deposition
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Direct-Operated IRGC-QF Attack Cells in Iraq: Data Related to the Troell Case
The FBI deposition on Steven Troell’s killers and other evidence provides a closer look inside cross-militia Iraq terrorist cells operated by Iran's Qods Force and potentially linked to the facade brand Ashab al-Kahf.
Feb 19, 2025
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
Russian President Vladimir Putin meets with Abu Dhabi Crown Prince Sheikh Mohamed bin Zayed in 2018 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
A Russian Win in Ukraine Would Be a U.S. Loss in the Middle East
With preparatory peace talks in full swing and the war set to enter its fourth year, Washington must take a pragmatic approach to enlisting Arab help and ensuring that the outcome does not empower Moscow and Iran.
Feb 18, 2025
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Photo of Shia women returning to their war-damaged village in south Lebanon.
Video
Brief Analysis
Next Steps in Lebanon: From Ceasefire Extensions to Government Formation
Former military officials and experts from Lebanon and Israel discuss how Beirut’s unsettled political dynamics might affect ongoing implementation of the ceasefire and future peacebuilding efforts.
Feb 14, 2025
◆
  • Fadi Daoud
  • Makram Rabah
  • Efraim Defrin
  • Assaf Orion
Articles & Testimony
After Assad: Navigating Syria Policy (Part 2)
The Institute’s director of research testified before a Senate panel on U.S. policy post-Assad, explaining how Washington has another chance for impactful bipartisan action five years after the Syria Study Group.
Feb 13, 2025
◆
  • Dana Stroul
Fatimyoun
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
The Fatemiyoun/Zainabiyoun Influx: Iraq’s Intensified Hosting of Two U.S.-Designated Terrorist Groups
New data shows that Iran-backed Afghan and Pakistani terrorists are arriving at a broadening range of Iraqi military bases.
Feb 11, 2025
◆
  • Hassan al-Araji
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Sary Mumayiz
◆ Militia Spotlight
Sudani London
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Sudani Brings Advisors to London Who Support Terrorism and Call for Attacks on U.S.-Led Coalition Forces
Figures linked to Asaib Ahl al-Haq and Kataib Hezbollah were among the Iraqi prime minister's recent UK delegation.
Feb 6, 2025
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
◆ Militia Spotlight
Trump and Erdogan images with U.S. and Turkish flag
In-Depth Reports
Building on Momentum in U.S.-Turkey Relations
The two leaders can use their personal rapport to solve bilateral and regional problems, but they will also face tough challenges in matters such as the Israeli-Palestinian conflict and dealings with China.
Feb 5, 2025
◆
  • Soner Cagaptay
◆ Transition Notes 2025
Liwa Fatimiyoun flag
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Hundreds of Iran-Backed Fatemiyoun and Zainabiyoun Terrorists Warehoused at Iraqi Government Bases
Since the fall of the Assad regime, Baghdad has provided shelter and material support to members of two U.S.-designated Afghan and Pakistani groups run by the Iranian military.
Jan 29, 2025
◆
  • Sary Mumayiz
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Cover for Iran Transition Note, with images of a pen with U.S. flag, a B-52 bomber, nuclear symbols, and Iranian flag + map.
Maps & Graphics
In-Depth Reports
Policy Steps to Prevent a Nuclear Iran
Rather than choosing between diplomacy and military action, the Trump administration should think of these options as mutually supportive, sequencing its actions in hopes of achieving the best and least costly outcome.
Jan 28, 2025
◆
  • Michael Singh
◆ Transition Notes 2025
Map released as part of the November 2024 Israel-Lebanon ceasefire.
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
So Far So Good? The Israel-Lebanon Ceasefire Is Largely Holding
The agreement’s implementation phase is going surprisingly well and has been extended, but maintaining the ceasefire will require officials to resolve the issues in dispute and address Hezbollah’s threats.
Jan 28, 2025
◆
  • Assaf Orion
A Houthi helicopter approaches a civilian cargo ship in the Red Sea in 2023 - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Despite the Houthi Pledge to Limit Attacks, the Red Sea Remains Highly Volatile
The Houthis have shown little willingness or ability to accurately distinguish between the ships they target, leaving Washington and its partners with no choice but to doubt the group’s supposed “ceasefire” and keep up the pressure.
Jan 27, 2025
◆
  • Noam Raydan
  • Farzin Nadimi
A Kaabi
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iraqi Militia Leader Labels President Trump an "Idiot," Threatens U.S. Forces
U.S.-designated terrorist Akram Kaabi is projecting a sense of impunity and demonstrating little fear of the United States or its leader.
Jan 26, 2025
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Mohammad Reza Nouri and Qassem Soleimani 2
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iran Makes Second Effort to Recover IRGC Officer from Iraqi Custody
The regime wants Baghdad to hand over the officer who orchestrated the 2022 murder of U.S. citizen Stephen Troell—not the first time it has leveraged Iraqi militia factions to seek his release.
Jan 23, 2025
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
A view of the Palace of Westminister from across the River Thames, with the Victoria Tower and the House of Lords in the foreground - source: Wikimedia Commons
Video
Articles & Testimony
Institute Senior Fellow Elizabeth Dent Addresses U.K. House of Lords Committee
Watch testimony by Institute scholar Elizabeth Dent to the British House of Lords.
Jan 22, 2025
◆
  • Elizabeth Dent
Sudani Iran 2
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
PMF Non-Deployment to Save Assad: Sudani’s View Contradicted by Iran
The Iraqi prime minister portrayed Baghdad's non-intervention in Syria as a sovereign decision, but Iranian leaders gave a different explanation.
Jan 21, 2025
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Articles & Testimony
In Syria, America Should Be Ruthlessly Focused on the Islamic State
With the U.S. military presence on a potentially short timetable, officials should prioritize policies that ensure the continued security of Islamic State detention facilities, such as brokering local ceasefire agreements and alleviating Turkish concerns.
Jan 17, 2025
◆
  • Joseph Votel
  • Elizabeth Dent
Djibouti-flagged Lahar oil tanker
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
What Does the Red Sea Crisis Reveal About Sanctioned Ships?
Two sanctioned Russia-linked oil tankers, which were attacked by the Houthis in 2023 and 2024, recently changed their names and are flying the Djiboutian flag amid stricter Western sanctions.
Jan 17, 2025
◆
  • Noam Raydan
◆ Maritime Spotlight

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Supported by the

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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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.
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley
Grant Rumley is the Meisel-Goldberger Senior Fellow and Director of the Diane and Guilford Glazer Foundation Program on Great Power Competition and the Middle East at the Washington Institute for Near East Policy.
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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