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Syrian flag over a ruined building destroyed by bombing
Video
Brief Analysis
The Struggle for Peace in Syria: A Decade of Decisionmaking
Two former U.S. ambassadors and a Syrian opposition official examine the many diplomatic, geopolitical, and humanitarian lessons the conflict holds for the Biden administration.
Mar 11, 2021
◆
  • Bassma Kodmani
  • Robert Ford
  • James Jeffrey
Brief Analysis
Reshaping U.S. Force Posture in the Middle East
By adjusting carrier rotations, ISR capabilities, headquarters locations, and other key aspects of its posture, the Biden administration can contribute to regional security and self-sufficiency while still shifting toward great-power competition.
Mar 10, 2021
◆
  • Christine McVann
Articles & Testimony
Addressing Iran’s Weaponization Work Will Fortify the Nuclear Deal
Allowing Tehran to whitewash its nuclear activities and sites would set a terrible precedent for other nations who might be tempted to pursue a covert weapons program.
Mar 9, 2021
◆
  • Jay Solomon
Soldiers in Africa, in Syria/Iraq, sensors, pen, other technology
In-Depth Reports
Rethinking U.S. Efforts on Counterterrorism:
Toward a Sustainable Plan Two Decades After 9/11
The shift away from a U.S.-led military posture will require that Washington repair its damaged credibility with allies abroad. A major task at home will be disentangling counterterrorism budgets from the military budgets on which they have long been grafted.
Mar 8, 2021
◆
  • Matthew Levitt
◆ Transition 2021
Articles & Testimony
Competitive, Competent, Conservative: Internationalism After Trump
It is unclear whether those who seek to carry on his foreign policy legacy will embrace wan realism, amoral nationalism, or a more successful conservative internationalism, but either way a clear-eyed evaluation of U.S. challenges and options is crucial.
Mar 8, 2021
◆
  • Michael Singh
Articles & Testimony
How Should Joe Biden Respond to Russia’s Middle East Strategy?
Washington has prioritized counterterrorism for years and is only now shifting to great-power competition, but Moscow has never lost sight of geopolitics, and its actions in the region should be seen through that lens.
Mar 8, 2021
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
KH
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
KH Publicly Leads Calls for Escalation Against U.S. Presence
After being struck by U.S. forces, Kataib Hezbollah dropped the pretense of the coordination committee and acted unilaterally.
Mar 7, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
NATO solderis with alliance and national flags
Brief Analysis
NATO in Iraq: Not a Surge
NATO stands ready to increase its commitment in a slow and steady manner consistent with Baghdad’s needs, but careful communication will be crucial, as will a more strategic discussion on how to combine different assistance efforts.
Mar 5, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
  • Pierre Morcos
Sabereen News Logo
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
The Tuna and Noodles Saga: Findings from a War of Words Between Militias
Bitter squabbles between the social media platforms of two competing Iraqi militias offer insights into the movements and their relationship.
Mar 3, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Russian president Vladimir Putin
Articles & Testimony
How Russia Is Responding to Joe Biden’s Syria Airstrike
The omissions in Moscow’s statements on the U.S. operation are as revealing as the predictable hyperbole and hypocrisy.
Mar 1, 2021
◆
  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Nujaba flags
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Harakat al-Nujaba Identifies with the Iraqi Resistance Coordination Committee
What to make of HaN spokesperson Nasr al-Shammari's admission that his group is a member of the top militia committee?
Feb 28, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
Figure 1: Qais al-Khazali’s interview with iNEWS TV, June 1, 2021.
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
In Their Own Words: Senior Leaders Admit to Membership in the Tansiqiya
Qais al-Khazali, Muhammad Mohi, and Nasr al-Shammari have all provided televised prima facie evidence of their groups' involvement in acts of anti-coalition terrorism.
Feb 28, 2021
◆
  • Hamdi Malik
◆ Militia Spotlight
U.S. soldiers at an Iraqi base after a rocket attack by Iran-backed militias
Articles & Testimony
Why Biden’s Airstrikes on Iran Militias Matter
The operation on the Iraq-Syria border could prove more significant than critics allow, but only if the administration keeps showing that there are limits to what it will tolerate in pursuing a new nuclear deal.
Feb 26, 2021
◆
  • Phillip Smyth
Brief Analysis
Biden’s Warning to Iran and Its Proxies: Implications of the Syria Strike
The administration’s early recourse to armed force may have surprised Tehran, but the proxy tests will continue, suggesting the need for sustained U.S. intelligence support and multilateral engagement with partners.
Feb 26, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
U.S.-Israel cooperation images: in agtech, medicine, military, etc.
In-Depth Reports
Asset Test 2021:
How the U.S. Can Keep Benefiting from Its Alliance with Israel
Areas for especially timely U.S.-Israel cooperation include climate resilience, agtech, and medical research, as well as longstanding work in the military and security arenas.
Feb 24, 2021
◆
  • Michael Eisenstadt
  • David Pollock
◆ Transition 2021
Brief Analysis
Attributing the Erbil Attack: The Role of Open-Source Monitoring
Even Iran’s proxies now have proxies, but authorities can still untangle and attribute their illegal acts through expanded use of rich open-source evidence.
Feb 24, 2021
◆
  • Crispin Smith
  • Michael Knights
  • Hamdi Malik
U.S. and Israeli flags
Brief Analysis
Israel Braces for U.S. Revival of the JCPOA
The best approach for both governments is to internalize lessons from 2015 and enter a comprehensive, discreet discussion focusing on constructive ideas and realistic outcomes.
Feb 22, 2021
◆
  • Michael Herzog
Articles & Testimony
Rocket Attacks on Erbil: Part 2
The U.S. response needs to get more specific, while the KRG and Baghdad need to patch up their urgent security differences and stop entangling them with broader territorial, constitutional, or budgetary issues.
Feb 18, 2021
◆
  • David Pollock
President Joe Biden speaks on the phone in the Oval Office of the White House
Articles & Testimony
Iran Just Handed Biden His First Credibility Test
Proxy rocket attacks in Iraq require a clear response, otherwise the safety of U.S. troops and the prospect of nuclear negotiations will both be in doubt.
Feb 17, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights
Brief Analysis
Rockets over Erbil: How to Respond to an Iraqi Militia Outrage
Iran-backed militias took the unprecedented step of rocketing a major city and U.S. base in Iraqi Kurdistan, and the Biden administration must quickly find its own formula for restoring deterrence.
Feb 16, 2021
◆
  • Michael Knights

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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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