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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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Iraqi Basij logo
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Iraqi Basij
Formed by Ashab al-Kahf and Harakat Hezbollah al-Nujaba, this Persian-named violent protest movement has been used to carry out threats against the U.S. embassy in Baghdad.
Jul 20, 2023
◆
  • Amir al-Kaabi
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Autonomous_Administration_of_North_and_East_Syria
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
The SDF’s Approach to Erdoğan’s Victory
Worried by the implications of Erdoğan's reelection, the Kurds in northeastern Syria need active support from the United States now more than ever.
Jul 19, 2023
◆
  • Baraa Sabri
AK protests cover
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Ashab al-Kahf's "Iraqi Basij" and the Threat Against the U.S. Embassy in Baghdad
The militia entity has created a new Persian-named protest group and called on mobs to storm the embassy compound.
Jul 17, 2023
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Ukrainian soldier beside destroyed Russian tank in Novodarivka, Ukraine
Maps & Graphics
In-Depth Reports
How Russia's Invasion of Ukraine Is Reshaping the Global Arms Market:
Implications for the Middle East and Beyond
As Moscow grapples with battlefield losses and other challenges, traditional Russian clients are considering alternative sources, emerging exporters are amplifying their sales pitches, and governments are building up their domestic defense industrial bases.
Jul 17, 2023
◆
  • Grant Rumley
  • Louis Dugit-Gros
Brief Analysis
Yellow Tents Across the Blue Line: Hezbollah’s New Brinkmanship
The group has been erecting structures and sending armed personnel into Israeli territory, decreasing the margin of error for diplomatic solutions and further eroding the credibility of the post-2006 border security regime.
Jul 14, 2023
◆
  • Assaf Orion
Khamenei present day, underneath: as a youth, with clerics, with military
Maps & Graphics
In-Depth Reports
The Regent of Allah:
Ali Khamenei's Political Evolution in Iran
The authoritarian infrastructure honed over decades by the Supreme Leader is designed to outlast his time in office.
Jul 14, 2023
◆
  • Mehdi Khalaji
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Has the Pursuit of Democracy Failed in Sudan?
The current conflict in Sudan has been exacerbated by a limited democratic process after the fall of Omar al-Bashir that failed to incorporate a diversity of Sudanese civilian voices.
Jul 13, 2023
◆
  • Dr. Khidir Haroun Ahmed
Hakan Fidan
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Hakan Fidan and the New Turkish Diplomacy in Iraq
As Minister of Foreign Affairs, Hakan Fidan will have to navigate urgent changes and new challenges in crafting Turkish policy towards Iraq.
Jul 13, 2023
◆
  • Firas Elias
Tsurkov
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Militia Propagandists Comment on Tsurkov Kidnapping
The March kidnapping has been widely attributed to Kataib Hezbollah, while most militia commentators link the incident to supposed Israeli spying.
Jul 7, 2023
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Brg 16
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Infighting Between Northern Hashd Units Requires IRGC-QF Mediation
Iran's senior Revolutionary Guard operator in Kirkuk and religious-political leader Ammar al-Hakim were recently brought in to mediate between feuding state-paid militias.
Jul 6, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Amir al-Kaabi
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
The logo of the Russian mercinary force The Wagner Group on an office door in Moscow - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Wagner vs. Russia’s Defense Ministry in the Middle East
Russia’s domestic military crisis could hold significant consequences for its regional operations, from heightening the risk of clashes with U.S. forces in Syria to putting a public face on its destabilizing activities in Libya.
Jun 29, 2023
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Ben Fishman
  • Andrew J. Tabler
The logo of the Russian mercinary force The Wagner Group on an office door in Moscow - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Iranian Reactions to the Wagner Standoff in Russia
Iranian officials are keenly aware that Putin’s crisis parallels their own vulnerabilities, so they will likely step up their efforts to cement the bilateral security relationship and obtain Russian weapons and technology.
Jun 28, 2023
◆
  • Farzin Nadimi
Photo showing fighters from the Somali terrorist group al-Shabab.
Brief Analysis
More Emirati Military Involvement in Somalia Could Help Curb al-Shabab
The United Arab Emirates has much to offer if it chooses deeper military involvement in the fight against al-Shabab, but it would need to coordinate closely with other actors, especially the United States, to optimize its contribution.
Jun 27, 2023
◆
  • Ido Levy
Families of Islamic State fighters in Syria - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
The Future of Repatriation from Northeast Syria
From potential SDF trials to Assad’s steady normalization, the widening number of “known unknowns” has increased the urgency of taking action on Islamic State detainees.
Jun 26, 2023
◆
  • Devorah Margolin
Egypt Sudan Border
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Egypt’s Approach to Conflict in Sudan: A Simmering Crisis
With no end in sight, the Sudan conflict will put significant pressure on Egypt's economic, political, and security infrastructure.
Jun 23, 2023
◆
  • Anthony Skinner
A photo illustration shows US and Iranian flags and an atomic symbol - source: Reuters
Articles & Testimony
A New Iran Nuclear Deal Might Be on the Horizon
Washington can still avoid war, but not unless it balances blandishments and rewards with credible threats.
Jun 23, 2023
◆
  • Dennis Ross
A view of the beleaguered FSO Safer oil tanker in the Red Sea, off the coast of Yemen's rebel-held Rass Issa port in the western Hodeidah province, during operations to remove more than a million barrels of oil from the tanker vessel - source: Reuters
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Salvaging the Safer: The UN’s Plan to Avert Environmental Disaster in Yemen
Washington has done much to advocate and fund the crucial salvage operation, but now it needs to make sure the combatants do not turn the replacement vessel into another political tool.
Jun 22, 2023
◆
  • Noam Raydan
Federal Commisison of Integrity
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Federal Commission of Integrity
Iraq's Federal Commission on Integrity, taken over during a critical period by a Sudani-appointed Badr judge, has been used to block investigations of corruption undertaken by Coordination Framework factions.
Jun 19, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Articles & Testimony
How Israel Lost the Syrian Civil War
As part of its strategic blueprint against Israel, Tehran is prepared to pay a steep price to continue consolidating its military presence in Syria, and Arab normalization with Assad will not change that trend in the least.
Jun 2023
◆
  • Ehud Yaari
Army Day military parade, Tehran 2023
Maps & Graphics
In-Depth Reports
Arming the Revolution:
Trends in Iranian Defense Spending, 2013–23
A close analysis suggests the United States must adopt a broader strategy to counter Iran’s military ambitions alongside its nuclear ones.
Jun 14, 2023
◆
  • Henry Rome

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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.

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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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