Skip to main content

The Washington Institute for Near East Policy

Main navigation

Analysis
Experts
About
Support
Maps & Multimedia

Trending:

Democracy & Reform
Terrorism

Lebanon
Iran
Israel
Syria

Regions & Countries

Egypt
Gulf States
Iran
Iraq
Israel
Jordan
Lebanon
Middle East
North Africa
Palestinians
Syria
Turkey

Issues

Arab & Islamic Politics
Arab-Israeli Relations
Democracy & Reform
Energy & Economics
Great Power Competition
Gulf & Energy Policy
Military & Security
Peace Process
Proliferation
Terrorism
U.S. Policy

TWI Arabic: اللغة العربية Fikra Forum

Search Policy Analysis

Breadcrumb

Policy Analysis

Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

Filter by:

Keyword

Region

Type

Air Power and U.S. Policy toward Iraq

Reliance on air power has become the defining characteristic of the "American Way of War" in the post-Cold War world of the 1990s. Prior to the August 1990 invasion of Kuwait by Iraq, U.S. Air Force weapons and tactics were optimized for an air war in Central Europe, taking into

Reflections on Turkish-Israeli Relations and Turkish Security

Turkey and Israel inhabit a region troubled by security concerns that include religious fundamentalism, terrorism, illicit trafficking of arms and drugs, transfer of weapons of mass destruction, proliferation of nuclear weapons, and mass movements of refugees. These two states thus have overlapping security interests as well as political and economic

Articles & Testimony

Stealth Bombing:

Our Silent War in Iraq

What if they waged a war and no one noticed? In 1999, American and British pilots have bombed Iraq three times a week, hitting 360 targets with 1,100 bombs during more than 10,000 sorties. Yet the Anglo-American war over Iraq does not often make the front pages of even the

Patrick Clawson

Articles & Testimony

Living with a Nuclear Iran?

The nuclear status quo that has prevailed in the Middle East since the 1960s is eroding. Israel remains the sole (undeclared) nuclear-weapons state. But Iraq, having defied the United Nations for nearly a decade, retains its nuclear know-how, and has broken out of its IAEA and UNSCOM cage. And there

Michael Eisenstadt

Russian Arms Sales to the Middle East

During the Cold War, the Soviet Union was the number one arms supplier to the Middle East. Moscow's arms transfers during this period were motivated primarily by geostrategic and ideological considerationsin particular its competition with the United Statesand arms were often sold at bargain-basement prices. Yet, with the end of

Air Strikes and American Strategy toward Iraq

Iraqi president Saddam Husayn is undoubtedly watching events in the Balkans quite closely. Yugoslav president Slobodan Milosevic's continued defiance of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) proves that the Western alliance continues to misunderstand dictators. Milosevic, like Saddam, does not care about his people but only about his own power

Michael Eisenstadt

Israel's Security and U.S.-Israeli Defense Cooperation

Lebanon: The problem of greatest concern for an Israeli defense minister is southern Lebanon. Dealing with the problem effectively requires correctly identifying it: Syria is waging a proxy war against Israel through Hizballah. It is inappropriate to regard Lebanon as a sovereign state independent of Syrian control or to view

In-Depth Reports

Israeli Preconditions for Palestinian Statehood

Israel and the Palestinians will soon begin fateful negotiations for a "final status" agreement to resolve the core issues at the heart of the Israeli-Palestinian conflict. for Israel, these negotiations will determine the size and character of the state (whether it remains a Jewish state or becomes a binational state)

Zeev Schiff

Disarming Iraq:

Lessons from the UNSCOM Experience

Last December's Operation Desert Fox resulted in the death of the UN Special Commission on Iraq (UNSCOM). This leads to the question of how to deal with the issue of Iraq's weapons of mass destruction (WMD) capabilities. Status of Iraqi WMD Between 1991 and 1998, UNSCOM achieved considerable results in

Turkish Defense Policy

On March 3, 1999, Hikmet Sami Turk, Turkish minister of defense, addressed The Washington Institute's Special Policy Forum. The following is a rapporteur's summary of the forum's question-and-answer session. Read his opening remarks. Relations with Iraq The Iraqi question can only be resolved peacefully, but Iraq must comply with all

Defending against the Middle Eastern Ballistic Missile Threat

The Ballistic Missile Defense Organization (BMDO) has its roots in the Strategic Defense Initiative (SDI) program introduced in 1983 by then-President Ronald Reagan. Ever since, the proliferation of missiles and their use during conflicts (such as the Gulf War) or for political purposes (as in China and Taiwan) have created

Israel's Impending 'Revolution in Security Affairs'?

The Israel Defense Forces (IDF) is considering a number of organizational changes that together could constitute the most far-reaching restructuring of the IDF since the establishment of the state. Although some of the proposed changes -- such as the creation of a strategic forces command -- are likely to enhance

Army and Society in Israel:

An Evolving Relationship

Traditionally, civil-military relations in Israel have been characterized by a very high degree of synchronization, manifesting itself at the elite level in a civil-military partnership and at the popular level in a designation of Israel as a "nation in arms" and of the Israel Defense Forces (IDF) as a "people's

Inching toward Peace, Inching toward War

Saddam Husayn's Rage of Fury:

Impact of the Bombing Campaign

This weekend's threatened resolution by the Iraqi parliament to rescind its recognition of the border with Kuwait -- a key element of the original Gulf War cease-fire resolution -- is the latest in a series of rash actions suggesting that last month's three-day bombing campaign succeeded in unnerving Iraqi president

In-Depth Reports

Crises After the Storm:

An Appraisal of U.S. Airpower in Iraq since 1991

Subsequent to the U.S.-led coalition's victory in Operation Desert Storm and Iraq's expulsion from Kuwait, the United States and the UN instituted a policy of "broad containment." The objectives of this policy were to keep Saddam weak politically and limit his military freedom of action in the region by supporting

Paul K. White

In-Depth Reports

Strategic and Tactical Aerial Reconnaissance in the Near East

During the Cold War, the United States used several intelligence platforms to help secure its interest in the Middle East. Reconnaissance aircraft and satellites played a crucial role in various Arab-Israeli wars, the Iran-Iraq War, and Operation Desert Storm. In fact, UAVs were first used by the United States on

Charles P. Wilson

Air Power against Iraq:

Last week's Operation Desert Fox by British and American air forces against Iraq was more or less comparable in size to Operation Deliberate Force against Serbian forces in 1995. The 1991 Operation Desert Storm was much larger, but it included a tremendous effort against Iraqi ground forces that was not

Eliot Cohen

How to Use the Bombing to Advance Long-Term U.S. Goals for Iraq

The current bombing campaign against Iraq is clearly not going to solve all U.S. problems with Iraq. The issue of the day is then: how can the bombing be used to advance long-term U.S. goals? Ratchet up the Pressure. The United States seems intent on convincing Saddam Husayn that the

Patrick Clawson
Michael Eisenstadt

Articles & Testimony

U.S. Military Capabilities in the Post-Cold War Era:

Implications for Middle East Allies

The relationships between the United States and its allies in the Middle East are, for the most part, founded on national security considerations. As a result, trends that might affect the readiness and capabilities of the U.S. armed forces or Washington's ability to use force effectively have potentially far-reaching implications

Michael Eisenstadt

Pagination

Previous page
First page
…
Page 144
Page 145
Page 146
Page 147
Current page 148
Page 149
Page 150
Page 151
Page 152
…
Last page
Next page

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.

Sign Up for Email Updates from The Washington Institute

Never miss a breaking event on U.S. policy interests in the Middle East. Customize your subscription to our expert analysis, op-eds, live events, and special reports.

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 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 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.

1111 19th Street NW - Suite 500
Washington D.C. 20036
Tel: 202-452-0650
Fax: 202-223-5364

Footer contact links

Contact
Press Room
Subscribe

The Washington Institute seeks to advance a balanced and realistic understanding of American interests in the Middle East and to promote the policies that secure them.

The Institute is a 501(c)3 organization; all donations are tax-deductible.

Footer quick links

About TWI
Support the Institute
Alumni

Social media

The Washington Institute on Facebook
The Washington Institute on X
The Washington Institute on YouTube
The Washington Institute on LinkedIn

© 2025 All rights reserved.

Footer

Employment
Privacy Policy
Rights & Permissions