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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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Houthi drone aircraft on display in Yemen - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
Iran-Backed Attacks on Ships in the Red Sea Underscore a U.S. Dilemma
Given the lack of a decisive U.S. response, further clashes will likely arise in strategically crucial waterways whenever Tehran sees fit to nudge the Houthis.
Dec 4, 2023
◆
  • Simon Henderson
Funeral for KH operator, November 23, 2023
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Kataib Hezbollah Publicly Mocks Asaib Ahl al-Haq for Cowardice
After AAH officials sought a halt to the verbal attacks, KH doubled down with a cutting public insult.
Nov 30, 2023
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Haider al-Gharrawi
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Ansar Allah al-Awfiya (19th PMF Brigade)
One of the top Iraqi proxies for Iran's IRGC-Qods Force, this Sadrist breakaway faction has long garrisoned the Syrian border and killed Iraqi protesters to demonstrate its loyalty.
Nov 27, 2023
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Qais al-Khazali
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Militia Hair-Pulling Over Who Are "The Truest Muqawama"
Amid their ceasefire in solidarity with events in Gaza, Iraqi "resistance" leaders went back to their old habits of diminishing each other and spilling their secrets, with interesting results.
Nov 26, 2023
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
U.S. soldiers at an Iraqi base after a rocket attack by Iran-backed militias
Brief Analysis
Will an Iraqi Front Open in the Hamas-Israel War?
The risky tit-for-tat strikes between U.S. and militia forces are one symptom of a wider competition between rival actors in Iraq—one that American and European officials should work together on containing.
Nov 21, 2023
◆
  • Bilal Wahab
  • Selin Uysal
Photo of a blast wall with a drone mural at al-Asad Air Base in Iraq.
Video
Brief Analysis
Iranian Escalation in Iraq and Syria: Implications and U.S. Options
Four experts discuss what Washington can do about the latest spike in militia attacks against U.S. bases and local partners—even as they try to sustain the counterterrorism mission against the Islamic State.
Nov 17, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Wladimir van Wilgenburg
  • Devorah Margolin
  • Andrew J. Tabler
Photo showing flame and smoke rising over Lebanon's border with Israel.
Articles & Testimony
Gaza War Shows Heightened Risk of Escalation in the Region
Although Washington and its partners have kept the war from spreading so far, the lack of clear rules on some fronts—particularly Syria—has created a dangerous environment in which any actor might inadvertently cross someone’s red lines.
Nov 17, 2023
◆
  • Andrew J. Tabler
Abu Alaa al-Walai and Esmail Qaani
Maps & Graphics
Articles & Testimony
OFAC Designates Iraqi Militiamen (Part 2): KSS and Abu Ala al-Walai
Kataib Sayyid al-Shuhada's designation for terrorist activities is long overdue, reflecting its important ongoing role in attacks on U.S. forces in northern Iraq and eastern Syria.
Nov 17, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
KH facilities in Syria under attack December 2019
Maps & Graphics
Articles & Testimony
OFAC Designates Iraqi Militiamen (Part 1): Kataib Hezbollah Commanders
Washington has signaled that its patience is wearing thin with the group's pivotal role in two dozen attacks on U.S. forces in Iraq and Syria in a month.
Nov 17, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Liwa Abu Fadhal al-Abbas social media flag
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Liwa Abu Fadl al-Abbas
One of the most well-established Iraqi volunteer militias to fight for Iran and the Assad regime, both in the Syrian civil war and during various anti-U.S. actions.
Nov 16, 2023
◆
  • Abdullah Hayek
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
In Iranian Khordad-15 air-defense missile launcher - source: Wikimedia Commons
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iran Potentially Expanding Its Air Defense Axis in Lebanon and Syria
Tehran is seemingly redoubling its efforts to equip Hezbollah and other regional allies with advanced air defense systems, which could affect Israeli and U.S. calculations in the Gaza war and beyond.
Nov 15, 2023
◆
  • Farzin Nadimi
Photo of an Israeli soldier in the ruins of a kibbutz following the October 2023 Hamas attack.
Video
Brief Analysis
The Hamas-Israel War: One Month On
Four experts and former officials discuss the evolving military operation against Hamas, the status of the Lebanon front, the political plight of Arab governments, and the steps Israel must consider to balance its goals with growing international pressure.
Nov 9, 2023
◆
  • Zohar Palti
  • Hanin Ghaddar
  • Ghaith al-Omari
  • Dennis Ross
Liwa al-Imam al-Hussein base in Syria
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Liwa al-Imam al-Hussein
One of the largest Iraqi-Syrian militias, developed by Iran's IRGC-QF to support regime and proxy objectives in and around Syria.
Nov 7, 2023
◆
  • Abdullah Hayek
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Hussein Moanes
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Kataib Hezbollah and the Gaza Crisis (Part 2): Israel's Incursion, Khamenei-Nasrallah Speeches, and Blinken's Visit
Hossein Moanes and Abu Fadak have carefully calibrated their threats, showing a multifaceted yet tightly controlled Kataib Hezbollah response.
Nov 7, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Amir al-Kaabi
◆ Militia Spotlight
Abu Hussein, head of KH Special Operations
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Kataib Hezbollah and the Gaza Crisis (Part 1): Special Ops in the Lead
The group's earliest reactions to the war were led by its Special Operations wing under Abu Hussein and two spokesmen from his camp.
Nov 7, 2023
◆
  • Amir al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Protesters hold Syrian and Hezbollah flags
Brief Analysis
Assessing the Reported Pantsir Delivery to Hezbollah
The antiaircraft system poses a manageable risk to Israeli operations along its northern border, but Washington must show Moscow and its associates that any benefits to such escalation are not worth the costs.
Nov 3, 2023
◆
  • Andrew J. Tabler
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
IDF solders operating inside Gaza in October 2023 - source: Government of Israel
Articles & Testimony
The End of Israel’s Gaza Illusions
The country must come to terms with the fact that this war is deeply different from those it has fought in recent decades, and commit unwaveringly to transforming its security approach.
Nov 3, 2023
◆
  • Assaf Orion
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Hezbollah’s Escalation Ladder
In his highly anticipated first speech since the Hamas massacre, Secretary-General Nasrallah can be expected to offer plenty of bluster and a possible step up the escalation ladder, but his group has an interest in avoiding all-out war.
Nov 2, 2023
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
Akram
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Potential Escalation in Iraq (Part 2): Asaib and Nujaba
Asaib Ahl al-Haq, Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, and their facade group partners may soon step up their attacks amid the Hamas-Israel war, albeit within limits set by Iran.
Nov 1, 2023
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Chinese and U.S. flags flutter at a trade meeting in Shanghai
Articles & Testimony
The United States’ Indo-Pacific Strategy
While Washington can do more diplomatically, the most glaring gap in U.S. regional engagement is economic, leaving Beijing unchallenged and American allies unsupported.
Nov 1, 2023
◆
  • Michael Singh

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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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