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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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Ships of the US Navy's Fifth Fleet on exercise in the Persian Gulf
Articles & Testimony
Will the U.S.-British Strikes Stop the Houthi Attacks on Red Sea Shipping?
The effectiveness of the joint operation is not year clear, but either way it almost certainly wasn’t the concluding episode in Iran’s long-running game of Gulf proxy warfare.
Jan 12, 2024
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  • Simon Henderson
A Muhandis and Soleimani site in Baghdad
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Badr and Asaib Crack the Whip on Kataib al-Imam Ali in Basra
The group stepped on Badr's toes during a recent commemoration ceremony, giving a window into the local balance of power between Iran-backed militias.
Jan 11, 2024
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Photo of a blast wall with a drone mural at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq.
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Kataib Hezbollah Reveals Plans for Expanded Regional Attacks
The militia's Abu Hussein wing continues to throw shade at other "resistance" groups and is now threatening U.S. bases in the United Arab Emirates, Bahrain, and even Saudi Arabia.
Jan 11, 2024
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Unarmed UN staff from the United Nations Truce Supervision Organization stand near a Blue Line marker on the Israel-Lebanon borner - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
The Red-Hot Blue Line
As the Israel-Lebanon frontier teeters on the brink, Washington and its partners need to urgently exhaust all diplomatic options to prevent war—but without resorting to false remedies or giving Beirut and the LAF a pass for their worsening collusion.
Jan 11, 2024
◆
  • Assaf Orion
A man carries Iranian and Palestinian flags at a pro-Hamas rally in Tehran in October 2023 - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
The “Axis of Resistance” Strategy in the Israel-Hamas War
Tehran has faced few consequences for the wartime actions of its proxies, so the United States and its allies should step up their sanctions and gray-zone operations against the regime.
Jan 9, 2024
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  • Ido Levy
Brief Analysis
Jordan’s Escalating Border Threats Amid Regional Upheaval
The kingdom is taking a firm hand against drug trafficking, weapons smuggling, drone infiltrations, and other threats, but it still needs enhanced defense capabilities and other crucial assistance from Washington.
Jan 9, 2024
◆
  • Abdullah Hayek
  • Ahmad Sharawi
Photo showing flame and smoke rising over Lebanon's border with Israel.
Articles & Testimony
The World Prepares for Gaza War Escalation
The players have climbed another rung on the escalatory ladder in Iraq, Lebanon, and the Red Sea, exacerbating worries about a wider regional conflict and more serious economic effects.
Jan 7, 2024
◆
  • David Schenker
Iranian military leaders inspect drones.
Brief Analysis
Terrorist Bombings in Iran: Implications and Potential Responses
Although an Islamic State branch claimed the deadly blasts near a restive border zone, Tehran was quick to blame Israel and the United States, promising “severe retaliation” akin to what followed Qasem Soleimani’s death in 2020.
Jan 5, 2024
◆
  • Farzin Nadimi
Quds-2 cruise missile in Babil, Jan 3. 2024
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iranian-Made Quds-2 Cruise Missile Photographed in Iraq
Recently used in Houthi attacks from Yemen, this missile family could give Iraqi militias the capacity to target sites in Israel if they choose to escalate their campaign of solidarity with Hamas.
Jan 5, 2024
◆
  • Alex Almeida
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
AGM-179 Baghdad Jan 4, 2024 final2
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Who Are Nujaba and Why Did the U.S. Just Strike Them?
The group's cadres are the most reckless of Iran's terrorist proxies in Iraq and have been the proximate cause of almost all recent U.S. strikes.
Jan 4, 2024
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  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Articles & Testimony
The End of the Hamas Military-Industrial Complex
Three months into the war, even the group’s own propaganda points to lackluster weapons production.
Jan 2, 2024
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
Brief Analysis
A Hamas Leader Dies in Beirut
Saleh al-Arouri served as a major operative for the group over decades, and his loss will pose challenges for Hamas and Hezbollah alike.
Jan 2, 2024
◆
  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • Matthew Levitt
A masked Hamas fighter brandishes a rifle in Gaza - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
How Hamas Built an Army
Although the group’s conventional military capabilities seemingly peaked on October 7, an underperforming army is still an army, so the IDF has little choice but to continue ground operations until it can shift to a counterterrorism-centered strategy.
Jan 2, 2024
◆
  • Ido Levy
March 14, 2023 protest by Christian locals over the Babiliyoun militia seizure of seven NPU soldiers
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Babiliyoun Movement Hijacks All Four Christian Minority Seats
A group led by U.S.-sanctioned figure Rayan al-Kildani escaped accountability from Iraqi Christian communities by abusing the courts and buying non-Christian votes.
Jan 2, 2024
◆
  • Yaqoub Beth-Addai
◆ Militia Spotlight
The bow of a Maersk container cargo ship at sea - source: Maersk
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Better Late than Never: Bahrain’s Attitude Towards the Red Sea Defense Coalition
The multinational security operation Prosperity Guardian—of which Bahrain is a member—has the potential to protect trade in the Red Sea and the Gulf of Aden, curb piracy and armed robbery on commercial ships, preserve supply and energy chains, and enhance regional security and prosperity.
Dec 29, 2023
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  • Ahdeya Ahmed Al-Sayed
Nuclear centrifuges in Iran
Brief Analysis
Iran Increases Output of Near Bomb-Grade Nuclear Material
The IAEA’s new uranium revelations are amplifying concerns about a potential multifront war between Israel and Iran.
Dec 27, 2023
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  • Simon Henderson
An Iraqi member of a Shia PMF militia
Articles & Testimony
Iraq’s New Regime Change: How Tehran-Backed Terrorist Organizations and Militias Captured the Iraqi State
A comprehensive study of the various institutional, financial, and military levers that have enabled Iran’s “resistance” camp to take over another country even under the international community’s watchful eye.
Dec 2023
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  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
ADL and Iran flags
Maps & Graphics
Articles & Testimony
Profile: Aleppo Defenders Legion
An Aleppo-based militia umbrella group that serves as an auxiliary unit of Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps in north Syria.
Dec 21, 2023
◆
  • Ahmad Sharawi
  • Abdullah Hayek
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Policy Forum cover image for December 14, 2023
Video
Brief Analysis
The Hamas-Israel War: End of the Beginning or Beginning of the End?
Experts discuss the military and political situation at what appears to be a decisive moment in the war, offering insights on Israel’s calculations, the effects of growing foreign pressure, and the need for further international action to address attacks by Iran’s other regional partners.
Dec 15, 2023
◆
  • Assaf Orion
  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • Matthew Levitt
  • Robert Satloff
Police walk past the Palestinian Legislative Council in Ramallah
Brief Analysis
Why a West Bank Front Has Not Opened So Far
The older generation remains skeptical of what an intifada might achieve, but Israeli crackdowns and worsening economic conditions could still ignite younger Palestinians and undermine PA security cooperation.
Dec 13, 2023
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  • Neomi Neumann

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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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