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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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LGBT
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Coordination Framework Militias Pass New Anti-LGBTQ Legislation
Although they avoided embarrassing Prime Minister Sudani during his recent Washington visit, they passed abhorrent new legislation as soon as he was back home.
Apr 29, 2024
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Amir al-Kaabi
◆ Militia Spotlight
The car carrier Hyperion Ray (IMO 9690559) was struck near Fujairah, UAE, in April 2021. The ship was owned by Israel-based Ray Shipping Ltd when it was attacked. Photo credit: Rick Voice via MarineTraffic.com.
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Pay Attention to Ship Seizures, Not Threats to Close Strait of Hormuz
Low-key actions like seizures can increase regional and global concerns and increase Iran's leverage.
Apr 29, 2024
◆
  • Noam Raydan
  • Farzin Nadimi
◆ Maritime Spotlight
Brief Analysis
Denial or Punishment? The U.S.-Israel Debate About How Best to Deter Iran
Experience shows that a balanced strategy blending deterrence by denial and deterrence by punishment can more effectively contain Iran.
Apr 26, 2024
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
◆ Risks and Opportunities in the Post-April 13 Middle East
Articles & Testimony
Will Israel Temper Its War on Iran’s Regional Proxies?
Israeli strikes on Hezbollah and other militias in Lebanon, Syria, and Iraq have yielded visible benefits at times, but future operations may elicit a direct Iranian response.
Apr 24, 2024
◆
  • David Schenker
Iran Air passenger plane undergoing maintenance
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
A Better Plan for Sanctioning Iranian Airlines
Targeting Iran Air’s flights to Europe would help, but the regime’s illicit activities on the continent may simply be taken over by the IRGC-linked carrier Mahan Air unless further designations are issued.
Apr 23, 2024
◆
  • Babak Taghvaee
Kharab al-Jir
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iraqi Militias Hit Two U.S. Sites in Iraq and Syria
Iran-backed groups have adopted tight message discipline so far, not claiming either of the attacks in order to avoid U.S. retaliation while simultaneously warning Prime Minister Sudani to keep pushing for U.S. withdrawal.
Apr 22, 2024
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
  • Alex Almeida
◆ Militia Spotlight
The container ship Jin Shun He (IMO 9144316) docked at the port of NEOM in Oxagon. Photo credit: Photo credit: @NEOMOxagon, posted on X (formerly Twitter), April 15, 2024, https://x.com/NEOMOxagon/status/1779799779230302424. .
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Amid Red Sea Crisis, Saudi Company Launches North Shipping Service
Riyadh’s aim to become a global logistics hub connecting three continents will face challenges if risks to southern Red Sea shipping persist at their current levels.
Apr 20, 2024
◆
  • Noam Raydan
  • Farzin Nadimi
◆ Maritime Spotlight
Articles & Testimony
China’s Military Objectives and Operational Experience in the Middle East
A security expert provides an in-depth assessment of Beijing’s military activities, funding, and strategic intentions in the region, including recommendations to prevent these efforts from harming U.S. alliances and interests.
Apr 19, 2024
◆
  • Grant Rumley
An Iranian man holds a newspaper depicting the April 14 attack on Israel.
Video
Brief Analysis
The Middle East's Perilous Moment: Policy Implications and Escalation Risks
Two former U.S. and Israeli officials join a security expert to examine Iran’s unprecedented attack, Israel’s potential response, and U.S. options to prevent the outbreak of full-scale regional war.
Apr 18, 2024
◆
  • Dana Stroul
  • Zohar Palti
  • Farzin Nadimi
Articles & Testimony
Russian-Iranian Cooperation and Threats to U.S. Interests
A former senior Pentagon official assesses how the growing alliance between the two regimes could create problems on multiple fronts, from exchanging know-how on U.S. defense technology to facilitating nuclear proliferation, sanctions evasion, and domestic oppression.
Apr 17, 2024
◆
  • Dana Stroul
Lions of the Ougaidat Brigade leaders, Syria, 2023 cropped
Maps & Graphics
Articles & Testimony
Profile: Lions of the Ougaidat Brigade
A Syrian Arab tribal militia directly operated by Iran's IRGC and tasked with fighting the Kurdish-led SDF east of the Euphrates.
Apr 15, 2024
◆
  • Abdullah Hayek
  • Kyle Robertson
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Arab Tribal and Clan Forces, Syria 2023
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Arab Tribal and Clan Forces
A newer unit of Arab militiamen in Syria, raised by pro-Assad figure Ibrahim al-Hifl to form an unbroken corridor of Iran-backed tribal fighters between Deir al-Zour and Aleppo.
Apr 15, 2024
◆
  • Abdullah Hayek
  • Kyle Robertson
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Abu Baqr's PMF ID card, February 7, 2024
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Kataib Hezbollah Is Part of Iraq’s PMF
The U.S.-designated terrorist group is the most significant player in the Popular Mobilization Forces, which is supposed to be under the command of Prime Minister Sudani—a fact that U.S. officials sometimes forget.
Apr 15, 2024
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani in 2022 - source: Wikimedia Commons
Brief Analysis
What Biden and Sudani Need to Start the Next Chapter of U.S.-Iraq Relations
To move beyond the years-long focus on Iran and the Islamic State, both leaders must commit to actions that set the table for a mutually beneficial relationship and convince skeptical domestic constituencies.
Apr 11, 2024
◆
  • Dana Stroul
  • Bilal Wahab
Arqab
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Islamic Resistance in Iraq and Sabereen Highlight Anti-Israel Cruise Missile Strikes
IRI is making up for its inability to strike U.S. sites by making louder claims of more sophisticated attacks on Israel, and Sabereen News seems freer to amplify these claims.
Apr 11, 2024
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Abu Fadak
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iraqi PMF Chief of Staff Commits to Fulfill Iranian Supreme Leader's Plans
Abu Fadak laid bare the limited extent to which his organization is under Prime Minister Sudani's sovereign control, instead identifying Iran's Ayatollah Khamenei as his commander-in-chief.
Apr 8, 2024
◆
  • Amir al-Kaabi
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Assad and Khamenei
Articles & Testimony
Two Israeli Air Strikes, and Two Syrian Mothers and Sons
The remarkable precision of Israeli attacks on Iranian and Hezbollah operatives in Syria has raised anxiety in Damascus and abroad.
Apr 8, 2024
◆
  • Andrew J. Tabler
Brief Analysis
Will Israel Find the Right Type of “Victory” in Gaza?
Officials are having to balance military realities, allied concerns, domestic public sentiment, and the calculations of Hamas, whose own leaders are fine with certain kinds of “defeat” so long as they can still influence Gaza.
Apr 5, 2024
◆
  • Neomi Neumann
Graffiti on a villa that was used as IS base, Sinjar old city
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
The Continuing Threat of ISIS in Iraq after the Withdrawal of the International Coalition
Without active and continuous deterrence, ISIS forces may look to take advantage of the deteriorating security and governance situation in areas formerly under their control.
Apr 4, 2024
◆
  • Omar Dhabian
A Sudanese protester against military rule
Brief Analysis
Curbing Outside Intervention in the Sudan War
Diplomatic efforts to resolve the conflict are being challenged by U.S. partners and adversaries alike, including key Middle East players.
Apr 4, 2024
◆
  • Jonathan Campbell-James

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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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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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