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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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Brief Analysis
Bahrain Reveals Visit by Israel’s Top General
The meeting highlights the continuing U.S.-led focus on the Iranian threat and the underlying strength of the Abraham Accords.
Feb 10, 2023
◆
  • Simon Henderson
JT
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Iraq’s "Muqawama Government" Drives Out Prominent LGBTQ Advocate
Officials appear to be cracking down on freedom of speech and alternative lifestyles opposed by the self-styled militia "resistance."
Feb 10, 2023
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Amir al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
U.S. President George W. Bush and Pakistani President Pervez Musharraf - source: U.S. government
Articles & Testimony
Musharraf’s Life Story Tracked Pakistan’s Struggle with the U.S.
The late leader’s funeral also shed light on the status of military-civil relations in Islamabad, where governments come and go but the military remains the most powerful party.
Feb 8, 2023
◆
  • Simon Henderson
President Biden delivers the 2022 State of the Union address in Washington - source: U.S. government
Brief Analysis
The State of the Union and the Middle East
A compendium of what the past three U.S. presidents have said—and not said—about the region in their annual speeches before Congress.
Feb 8, 2023
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  • Eric Feely
Tehran protests
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
The Fractured Opposition to the Islamic Regime
The Iranian opposition has aligned itself well with the recent protest movement, but evidence of its ability to play an organizational or leadership role in future protests remains limited.
Feb 7, 2023
◆
  • Ata Hoodashtian
US and Israeli military planes participate in the 2023 Juniper Oak joint exercise over Ashdod, Israel - source: IDF
Brief Analysis
The Juniper Oak Military Exercise: Implications for Innovation, Experimentation, and U.S. Policy Toward Iran
Last week’s large, combined exercise was intended to assure friends and deter adversaries, but both goals will ultimately depend on fixing a flawed policy toward Iran.
Feb 1, 2023
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
Iraqi prime minister Mohammed Shia' Al Sudani in 2022 - source: Wikimedia Commons
Brief Analysis
Sudani’s Wobbly Balancing Act Between Tehran and Washington
Although it is still too early to write the prime minister off as an Iranian lackey, he is on a familiar trajectory for Iraqi governments: doing the minimum necessary to prevent deterioration with Washington while satisfying the voracious demands of his Iran-backed partners.
Jan 27, 2023
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  • David Schenker
Akram Kaabi meets Russian Deputy Foreign Minister Bogdanov in Moscow in December 2022
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Akram Kaabi’s Visit to Moscow and Its Aftermath
Russia now feels emboldened to openly host Iraqi "resistance" leaders with no government role—including designated terrorists—to discuss their shared interest in confronting the West and working together in Syria and Iraq.
Jan 27, 2023
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  • Erik Yavorsky
◆ Militia Spotlight
Turkish president Erdogan at NATO headquarters in Brussels
Articles & Testimony
When Will Turkey Ratify Sweden and Finland’s NATO Accession?
The key to an “F-16s for NATO expansion” agreement lies in the sequencing, with President Biden facing congressional opposition and President Erdogan dealing with economic and election challenges.
Jan 25, 2023
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  • Soner Cagaptay
Articles & Testimony
The UNIFIL Follies Turn Deadly on the Israel-Lebanon Border
The recent murder of an Irish peacekeeper has once again exposed the international mission as a costly failure—one that should be drastically curtailed come renewal time this summer.
Jan 24, 2023
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  • David Schenker
TW Tanf hit
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Transnational Muqawama Show Disapproval Via Warithuun Attack on al-Tanf
With probable IRGC-QF acquiescence, a militia facade group struck U.S. targets in Syria to register its defiance against a possible extension of the U.S. presence in Iraq.
Jan 24, 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
CENTCOM seal
Brief Analysis
Assessing CENTCOM’s Posture in 2023
To meet ambitious goals with reduced resources, the U.S. military and its regional partners will need to continue expanding their focus on unmanned systems, artificial intelligence, agile combat employment, and integrated air defense.
Jan 24, 2023
◆
  • Nathan P. Olsen
Iranian and Russian flags on a table
Brief Analysis
After Ukraine: Russia’s Potential Military and Nuclear Compensation to Iran
Despite the obstacles to expanded cooperation, Russian aid could help Tehran promote repression at home and instability abroad, so the United States and its allies should seek to deter such collaboration wherever possible.
Jan 20, 2023
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  • Louis Dugit-Gros
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • Farzin Nadimi
  • Henry Rome
Ghaani
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
What Do Iran’s Protests Mean for Iraq and the Kurdistan Region?
Internal instability in Iran may cause significant religious, economic, and political repercussions across the border in Iraq.
Jan 17, 2023
◆
  • Zubir R. Ahmed
  • Nawzad Shukri
Sudani CF
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Militia Spokesmen Reflect on Sudani Inviting U.S. Forces to Remain
Asaib Ahl al-Haq is signaling pragmatism, while Kataib Hezbollah is contorting its arguments to allow it to play along, albeit without explicitly accepting a U.S. military presence.
Jan 17, 2023
◆
  • Ameer al-Kaabi
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Fighters of Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), walk together near Baghouz, Deir Al Zor province - source: Reuters
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Turkish Drone Strikes and Building Concerns About Washington in Syria’s Autonomous Administration
Some U.S. allies believe the Biden administration has been noticeably muted regarding Turkey's escalations in northern Syria and the Kurdistan Region of Iraq.
Jan 11, 2023
◆
  • Baraa Sabri
Iraqi cabinet
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Muqawama Lauds "Resistance Government" in Iraq
Pro-militia parliamentarians and journalists have become increasingly open about what they expect the Sudani government's role to be: a cover for the muqawama.
Jan 11, 2023
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
  • Crispin Smith
◆ Militia Spotlight
Israeli prime minister Natanyahu and U.S. president Biden in Jerusalem in 2021 - Source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Netanyahu’s Potential Friction Points with Biden (Part 2): Iran, Saudi Arabia, Ukraine, and Domestic Issues
The prime minister will need a great deal of U.S. military and diplomatic assistance to achieve his foreign policy imperatives—a fact he should not forget when mulling potentially divisive moves at home.
Jan 10, 2023
◆
  • David Makovsky
Brief Analysis
Secretive Agenda for Pakistani Military Visit to Saudi Arabia and the UAE
Official mentions of “military and defense cooperation” could include sharing of nuclear and missile technology.
Jan 9, 2023
◆
  • Simon Henderson
Composite image showing the cover of the book "25 Days to Aden" and a UAE tank.
In-Depth Reports
25 Days to Aden
The Unknown Story of Arabian Elite Forces at War
An in-depth look at the dramatic campaign by Arab special forces and Yemeni tribesmen to liberate a crucial port city.
January 2023
◆
  • Michael Knights

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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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