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Military & Security

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Hisham al-Hashemi poster held up by protestors
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Hisham al-Hashimi’s Killer Escapes Justice
A Kataib Hezbollah hit man was acquitted of all charges despite convincing evidence that he murdered the famous Iraqi commentator and civil society activist.
Mar 22, 2024
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
◆ Militia Spotlight
Brief Analysis
Washington and Europe Need to Get on the Same Page Regarding Iran’s Nuclear Progress
The latest IAEA report shows why the West must refocus on Tehran’s nuclear program, which continues to expand even as international will to address it seemingly declines.
Mar 21, 2024
◆
  • Michael Singh
Video
Brief Analysis
The Islamic State Five Years Later: Persistent Threats, U.S. Options
A U.S. counterterrorism envoy reviews the progress made after five years of fighting the group and explains Washington’s thinking on where the global coalition goes from here.
Mar 21, 2024
◆
  • Ian McCary
◆ Counterterrorism Lecture Series
A woman at the Al-Hawl (or Al-Hol) detention camp in Syria - source: Reuters
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Five Years After the Caliphate, Too Much Remains the Same in Northeast Syria
Islamic State fighters and affiliates detained there remain a regional threat that the international community must resolve in order to prevent a future resurgence.
Mar 19, 2024
◆
  • Devorah Margolin
  • Camille Jablonski
Photo showing fighters from the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab.
Brief Analysis
Emirati Military Support Is Making a Difference in Somalia
Preserving the UAE's role and synchronizing it with Turkey and Qatar's efforts could be a force multiplier for the Somali government’s offensive against al-Shabab.
Mar 18, 2024
◆
  • Ido Levy
Fayyadh
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Qais al-Khazali Calls for Faleh al-Fayyad's Removal as PMF Chairman
Asaib Ahl al-Haq is moving to get what it has long sought: a senior leadership role within the Popular Mobilization Forces, a glaring gap in its portfolio of power positions.
Mar 16, 2024
◆
  • Amir al-Kaabi
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Huquq
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: The Hoquq Movement
A parliamentary bloc controlled by the U.S.-designated terrorist organization Kataib Hezbollah, with a track record of agitating for violence against American interests and Iraqi moderates.
Mar 15, 2024
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Russian president Vladimir Putin
Articles & Testimony
How the Middle East Became an Arena for Putin’s Power Struggle with the US
Russia’s arms sales, military relationships, and paramilitary activity across the region remain central to expanding its local influence and boosting its anti-Western strategic interests.
Mar 9, 2024
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
A Palestinian woman walks by a mural in Bethlehem
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Avoiding a West Bank Explosion During Ramadan
From al-Aqsa Mosque to the heart of the refugee camps and the barracks of frustrated Palestinian security personnel, the situation remains tense and could worsen dramatically this month if authorities do not tread carefully.
Mar 4, 2024
◆
  • Neomi Neumann
Brief Analysis
The Islamic State on the March in Africa
Local branches now control territory in Mali, Somalia, and Mozambique, setting the stage for new foreign fighter mobilizations, resource extraction opportunities, and perhaps even external operations against the West.
Mar 1, 2024
◆
  • Aaron Y. Zelin
The new IMN Board of Trustees in February 2024
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Iraqi Media Network
The Iraqi Media Network is the latest so-called independent agency to fall under the control of U.S.-designated terrorist groups and human rights abusers, adding a new line of effort to "resistance" attacks on freedom of expression.
Feb 29, 2024
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Jordanian and U.S. forces
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Iran-Aligned Armed Groups Are Endangering Jordan’s National Security
Today, there is a fear of the resurgence of threats to Jordan from its eastern borders, which are de-facto controlled by armed groups loyal to Iran.
Feb 28, 2024
◆
  • Saud Al-Sharafat
Rabee Nadir
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iraq's "Resistance" Factions Shift to Major Crackdown on Media Spaces
Having stopped “resisting” U.S. forces (who shoot back), militias are focusing on unarmed activists in what appears to be a coordinated crackdown on freedom of expression.
Feb 28, 2024
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Kataib Al-Imam Ali fighters and an artillery rocket
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Kataib al-Imam Ali
A unique militia that is closer to Lebanese Hezbollah than other Iran-backed Iraqi groups, yet widely resented for prioritizing commercial success over kinetic operations.
Feb 27, 2024
◆
  • Abdullah Hayek
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Articles & Testimony
Leaving Iraq May Be Washington’s Wisest Choice
Most forces could likely be withdrawn or moved to the Kurdistan Region without harming U.S. interests—in fact, Washington might have more leverage in Baghdad without a troop presence.
Feb 26, 2024
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  • David Schenker
Ameri
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Hadi al-Ameri’s Bad(r) Month
The Badr Organization leader has suffered bruising blows from other Iran-backed militias seeking to exploit the group's internal dysfunction and divisions.
Feb 21, 2024
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Excerpt from a map of EU maritime missions in the Middle East.
Brief Analysis
The EU’s New Red Sea Naval Mission: Implications and Challenges
The operation is a sign of Europe’s willingness to take action against the current instability, though significant work is needed to coordinate with existing initiatives and convince regional officials of the mission’s usefulness.
Feb 16, 2024
◆
  • Selin Uysal
Articles & Testimony
Libya’s Armed Group Catch-22
Because the government ceded too much authority to local militias and tribal intermediaries, no one can dismantle them without risking their lives.
Feb 15, 2024
◆
  • Ben Fishman
Fayhan and Qassim Solemani in Jurf as-Sakr in 2014.
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
AAH Terrorist Planner Adnan Fayhan Takes Over as Babil Governor
A militia figure implicated in the 2007 murder-kidnapping of five Americans in Karbala is now the governor of an Iraqi province.
Feb 12, 2024
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Israeli flag, Hezbollah flag, implied Lebanon border
Maps & Graphics
In-Depth Reports
Reinforcing U.S. Diplomacy to Stop a Hezbollah-Israel War
Only a comprehensive initiative aimed at curbing Hezbollah’s influence both within Lebanon and in the region stands a chance of delivering peace for the long term.
Feb 8, 2024
◆
  • Hanin Ghaddar

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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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