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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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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
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  • Michael Eisenstadt
Turkey CHP
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Can the Turkish Opposition’s Refugee Policies Actually Improve Syrians’ Situations?
With elections approaching, the Turkish opposition may have an opportunity to rethink Syrian refugee policies.
Apr 10, 2023
◆
  • Joshua Levkowitz
Video
Brief Analysis
Twenty Years After Saddam: The Future of the U.S.-Iraq Relationship
A Conversation with David Petraeus
A former coalition commander joins Washington Institute experts to discuss the war’s legacy, the country’s current challenges, and how U.S. policy should evolve in response.
Apr 10, 2023
◆
  • David Petraeus
  • Bilal Wahab
  • Michael Knights
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Surging Violence: Hamas Attempts to Reshape the West Bank’s Political Landscape
With an opportunity to subtly expand its influence in the West Bank, Hamas is less likely to risk an all-out war with Israel from Gaza as they did in 2021.
Apr 5, 2023
◆
  • Nasser Khdour
Brief Analysis
Iran-Israel Clashes in Syria Could Spill Into the Gulf
As in past incidents where IRGC officers were killed, U.S. naval forces should watch closely for any Iranian attempt to retaliate against Israel by attacking one of its commercial vessels in nearby waters.
Apr 4, 2023
◆
  • Farzin Nadimi
Qahaliboun drone
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Militias Try to Conceal Iraqi Role in Lethal Strike on American Base
Top "resistance" groups sought to avoid embarrassing the Sudani government, but at least one propaganda channel gave away Iraqi involvement.
Apr 3, 2023
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
LG
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Liwa al-Ghaliboun (Brigade of the Victors)
Liwa al-Ghaliboun is an Iraqi cell that is directed by Iran's Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps-Qods Force and has undertaken proxy attacks on U.S. personnel in Syria.
Apr 3, 2023
◆
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Photo of Israeli prime minister Binyamin Netanyahu standing alone in parliament.
Video
Brief Analysis
Pausing Israel's Judicial Overhaul: Toward Compromise or Deepening Crisis?
A former Israeli intelligence official joins two other experts to discuss how the situation might affect the government’s domestic political prospects, relations with Washington, and ability to counter external security threats.
Mar 31, 2023
◆
  • David Makovsky
  • Tamar Hermann
  • Zohar Palti
Brief Analysis
Inside Iran’s Regime (Part 3): IRGC Economic Frustrations
Top commanders have purportedly raised a slew of concerns with the Supreme Leader, from funding shortfalls to corruption among regime elites.
Mar 30, 2023
◆
  • Henry Rome
Iranian and international negotiators participate in nuclear talks in Vienna, 2021.
Articles & Testimony
‘No Deal, No Crisis’ Is No Plan for Iran
The West is in the middle of a steadily escalating nuclear crisis, even if policymakers are reluctant to admit it.
Mar 29, 2023
◆
  • Henry Rome
  • Louis Dugit-Gros
A page from a supposedly leaked Iranian document
Brief Analysis
Inside Iran’s Regime (Part 1): Growing Fissures and Poor Morale in the IRGC?
A recently leaked document—if genuine—may indicate substantial internal skepticism toward the regime’s handling of the current domestic crisis, and perhaps even pressure for limited reforms.
Mar 28, 2023
◆
  • Patrick Clawson
Muhandis company launch event leadership attendeees
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
How to Use Militia Spotlight: Profiles
The profiles are a repository of institutional memory on the various armed groups, facade groups, and social organizations associated with Iraqi militias, to be used as concise reminders of how these entities are connected.
Mar 24, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
Articles & Testimony
Orbital Fluctuations Among the Iran-Supported Militias in Iraq
Astronomical models provide a surprisingly helpful illustration of how Iran-backed armed groups wield power in the MENA region.
Mar 22, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
Brief Analysis
Hezbollah Infiltrates Israel (Part 2): Potential Responses
Israel should act quickly on multiple fronts to show Hezbollah that it will not shy away from escalation, especially if the organization continues to test it.
Mar 22, 2023
◆
  • Nadav Pollak
Muhandis company launch event leadership attendeees
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
The Muhandis Company: Iraq’s Khatam al-Anbia
Similar to Iran's Revolutionary Guards, Iraqi "resistance" groups have long sought a company with preferential access to lucrative state contracts, and the Sudani government is finally providing them after years of opposition—on the Saudi border no less.
Mar 21, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
A suspected Hezbollah tunnel under the Lebanon-Israel border discovered by the IDF - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Hezbollah Infiltrates Israel (Part 1): Another Step Toward Changing the Rules of the Game
Despite representing a significant escalation, the incident also continues a longstanding pattern of behavior aimed at rewriting the informal understandings established since the 2006 war.
Mar 21, 2023
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
Lebanon Flag
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Can Federalism Work in Lebanon?
For those promoting federalism in Lebanon, a historical analysis of the country's geographic and ethnosectarian divisions demonstrates the necessity of inclusive discussion and collective engagement.
Mar 20, 2023
◆
  • Robert Rabil
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
How Iraqis View Life after the Fall of Saddam—Twenty Years Ago and Today
Two decades after the fall of Saddam Hussein, widespread frustration with the current state of Iraq is leading increasing numbers to express a negative view of life in the post-Saddam era.
Mar 19, 2023
◆
  • Munqith Dagher
Rayan al-Kildani and Muhandis
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Profile: Kataib Babiliyoun (50th PMF Brigade)
Kataib Babiliyoun pretends to be a local Christian unit, but its members have been recruited from Shia Muslim communities in southern Iraq with the goal of dominating the strategic Nineveh Plains region.
Mar 16, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Yaqoub Beth-Addai
◆ Militia Spotlight: Profiles
NPU Nineveh Plains
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Nineveh Plains Christians Defend Against the Babiliyoun Militia
An Iran-backed militia run by a notorious human rights abuser was kicked out of a Christian town after it tried to replace local police leaders.
Mar 16, 2023
◆
  • Yaqoub Beth-Addai
◆ Militia Spotlight

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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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