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TWI Arabic: اللغة العربية Fikra Forum

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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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Gulf of Aden Migrants
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Migration from the Horn of Africa to Yemen: Not Just a Passing Phenomenon
Though Yemen struggles with economic, political, and environmental issues of its own, more and more migrants are crossing the country's borders in hopes of a better life.
May 25, 2023
◆
  • Muneer Bin Wabar
Iranian military leaders Ali Akbar Ahmadian and Qasem Suleimani - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Iran’s National Security Council Shuffle Signals Business as Usual
The latest change followed the normal timeline for such appointments, and the new council secretary is a demonstrated loyalist who will presumably toe the Supreme Leader’s uncompromising line.
May 24, 2023
◆
  • Farzin Nadimi
Federal Police wounded at Speicher
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Kataib Hezbollah’s Escalating Feud with the Iraqi Security Forces
The leading Iran-backed militia is increasingly picking territorial fights with military forces controlled by Baghdad.
May 19, 2023
◆
  • Amir al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Alex
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Ashab al-Kahf Claims Six-Year-Old Unsolved Murder of U.S. Soldier
The group stopped hinting and actually took credit for the 2017 murder of U.S. soldier Alexander Missildine, who was then supporting Iraqi combat operations to liberate territory from the Islamic State.
May 18, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
PMF logo on a Muhandis General Company combine harvester
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: The Muhandis General Company
By establishing this Iraqi version of an Iranian IRGC conglomerate, militias aim to quickly dominate the country's growing economy.
May 17, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Photo of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu standing alone in parliament.
Brief Analysis
After Gaza Operation, Netanyahu Seeks to Recover Ground
The Israeli prime minister appears to have avoided a wider military conflict and received a boost in opinion polls, but minefields await.
May 16, 2023
◆
  • David Makovsky
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Another Round of Negotiations with the Houthis: AQAP as Potential Spoiler in Yemen
If talks with the Houthis continue to ignore key Yemeni stakeholders, al-Qaeda is poised to absorb disillusioned tribal groups into its ranks.
May 16, 2023
◆
  • Mohamed Mokhtar Qandil
CMC van
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Communications and Media Commission
After falling under the control of “resistance”-linked board members, this key Iraqi media institution began a widespread crackdown on freedom of expression. Its head commissioner is a member of U.S.-designated terrorist group Asaib Ahl al-Haq.
May 15, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
CMC March 16, 2023 draft regulation of digits; media content in Iraq
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iraqi CMC Draft Regulation on Digital Content in Iraq
English translation of the March 16, 2023, draft regulation on digital content by the Iraqi Communications and Media Commission.
May 15, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Brief Analysis
Preserving U.S. Military Advantages in the Middle East
In areas such as basing, air superiority, high-tech weapons, and intelligence, America must act assertively to maintain its edge against competitors like Russia and China.
May 14, 2023
◆
  • Nathan P. Olsen
GCC
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Syria’s Normalization and the GCC: Adjusting to A New Modus Vivendi
Though GCC member states may disagree on Syria's normalization, the collective memory of past conflicts and the desire for regional stability will likely override internal divisions.
May 10, 2023
◆
  • Leonardo Jacopo Maria Mazzucco
Bafel Talabani
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Roots of the Rift between Turkey and Iraqi Kurdistan's PUK
The tensions between Turkey and the PUK are not new, though recent actions by both sides have exacerbated the situation despite shared economic interests.
Apr 28, 2023
◆
  • Mehmet Alaca
Brief Analysis
Countering “ISIS at Large” in Syria
Examining CENTCOM’s mix of unilateral and partnered operations against senior ISIS officials in Syria provides useful insights into the group’s current capabilities and the focus of U.S. attention in the region.
Apr 27, 2023
◆
  • Devorah Margolin
Sabereen Wagner
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
The Militia-Russia Love Affair: April 2023 Update
Iraqi militia officials are still regularly praising Putin's invasion of Ukraine and even conferring honorary Shia Muslim status on Russian officials.
Apr 26, 2023
◆
  • Amir al-Kaabi
◆ Militia Spotlight
Quds Day speech
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Akram Kaabi Feted in Quds Day Communiques
In an ungrudging division of labor, senior militia figure Akram Kaabi is being built up by other factions as the main anti-U.S. "resistance" leader in Iraq.
Apr 26, 2023
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Basra Lynx crash May 6, 2006
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Ashab al-Kahf Threatens U.S. Helicopters
In its latest threats to U.S. aviation, the oldest militia facade group in Iraq made an interesting callback to a deadly 2006 shootdown of a British helicopter.
Apr 25, 2023
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight
Photo of a Shahed drone in an Iranian military parade near imagery of Supreme Leader Khamenei..
Video
Brief Analysis
Iran's Military Drone Program: Security Implications and Policy Responses
A former CENTCOM chief joins two arms experts to discuss the capabilities of Iran’s drones, the gaps in current efforts to curb their proliferation, and the pressing need for a regional air defense architecture that can counter them.
Apr 24, 2023
◆
  • Kenneth McKenzie Jr.
  • Damien Spleeters
  • Valerie Lincy
Iranian and Russian flags on a table
Articles & Testimony
What the Russia-Iran Arms Deals Mean for the Middle East
In the longer term, the increased flow of weapons will likely exacerbate tensions in the region, spur Arab states to enhance their own arsenals, and endanger any U.S. and partner forces that confront Tehran’s proxies.
Apr 19, 2023
◆
  • Grant Rumley
The guided missile submarine USS Florida - source: Department of Defense
Brief Analysis
U.S. Deploys Cruise Missile Submarine to Strengthen Deterrence Against Iran
Amid rising tensions with Tehran and its proxies, the United States is sending a message by openly deploying one of its few guided missile submarines to the region.
Apr 14, 2023
◆
  • Farzin Nadimi
Iranian military officers, including Major General Bagheri, tour an underground air base - source: Iranian government
Articles & Testimony
Iranian Military Developments and Trends
Iran’s future military activities will likely be marked by greater continuity than change, but Supreme Leader Khamenei’s succession could presage more risk-acceptant behavior and a reconsideration of its nuclear hedging strategy.
Apr 13, 2023
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt

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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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