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Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

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Brief Analysis
Iranian Casualties in Syria and the Strategic Logic of Intervention
Iran's battlefield losses have continued even after the drawdown of forces it surged into Syria late last year and the subsequent 'cessation of hostilities,' raising questions about Tehran's strategy and tactics in the war.
Mar 11, 2016
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  • Ali Alfoneh
  • Michael Eisenstadt
Articles & Testimony
The Future of Iraq's Armed Forces
Efforts to rebuild Iraqi forces should focus on establishing support units in the right proportion to combat brigades.
Mar 10, 2016
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  • Michael Knights
Brief Analysis
The Israeli Perspective on Safe Zones in Syria
Despite the potential benefits of a safe zone along the Jordan-Syria border, Russia's presence in the war would probably limit Israel's ability to openly support or contribute to such an initiative.
Mar 10, 2016
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  • Nadav Pollak
Fikra Forum
Fikra Forum
Will the Referendum Lead to an Independent Kurdish State?
March 10, 2016 Since February 2016 the public sector in Kurdistan has protested corruption and unpaid wages. For the first time in 25 years, Kurdish protesters are publicly showing their disappointment in the government. Meanwhile, the KDP’s Massoud Barzani, whose term as president has technically come and gone, has begun
Mar 10, 2016
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  • Frzand Sherko
Brief Analysis
A Safe Zone in Southern Syria
As the Assad coalition and the Islamic State turn their attention southward, Jordan and the thousands of displaced Syrians waiting outside its border face an increasingly perilous security situation.
Mar 8, 2016
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  • David Schenker
  • Andrew J. Tabler
Protesters hold Syrian and Hezbollah flags
Brief Analysis
How Iran Is Building Its Syrian Hezbollah
Syrian Shiite fighters increasingly show loyalty to Tehran, over even the Assad regime, marking an important shift in the wartime dynamic.
Mar 8, 2016
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  • Phillip Smyth
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
How to Prevent al-Qaeda from Seizing a Safe Zone in Northwestern Syria
Strong ground support for moderate rebels would be needed to keep any buffer zone in the northwest from falling under the control of al-Qaeda's Syrian affiliate.
Mar 7, 2016
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  • Fabrice Balanche
Articles & Testimony
Iraq's Popular Demobilisation
The prime minister has broad backing to begin absorbing Shiite militias into the armed forces, though two key PMUs seem bent on resisting the move.
Feb 26, 2016
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  • Michael Knights
In-Depth Reports
Russia in the Middle East
Motives, Consequences, Prospects
Since becoming president in 2000, Vladimir Putin has reinvigorated Russia's Middle East ties, a trend underscored by his bold military intervention in the Syria crisis. Through these and other regional moves, he has sought to gain ground at the West's expense while bolstering the Kremlin's legitimacy against domestic pressures --
Feb 26, 2016
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  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Brief Analysis
Kerry Neither Rules Out nor Supports Safe Zone Concept
The assertion that such an effort would require up to 30,000 U.S. troops, and that it could risk a direct confrontation with Russia, requires a much closer look.
Feb 26, 2016
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  • James Jeffrey
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Two Potential Safe Zones in Northern Syria
Both Idlib province and eastern Aleppo province have been relatively spared from the fighting, and their rural communities remain strong.
Feb 24, 2016
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  • Fabrice Balanche
Maps & Graphics
Brief Analysis
Ceasefire and Elections in Syria: Putin Still a Step Ahead
If Moscow and Damascus have their way, the latest ceasefire will further divide the rebels, isolate Turkey, and facilitate their ongoing military and political strategy for preserving Assad's rule.
Feb 23, 2016
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  • Fabrice Balanche
Brief Analysis
Iranian EFPs in the Gulf: An Emerging Strategic Risk
Tehran and its proxies have increased their efforts to provide armor-piercing explosive devices to Shiite cells in Bahrain and Saudi Arabia, and this game-changing escalation could pose even greater challenges if Riyadh takes further action in Syria.
Feb 23, 2016
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  • Michael Knights
Brief Analysis
Hezbollah Fatalities in the Syrian War
Analysis of funeral reports and other open-source data offers potentially revealing insights into the militia's combat losses in Syria, its shifting role in the war next door, and the security of its position back home in Lebanon.
Feb 22, 2016
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  • Ali Alfoneh
Articles & Testimony
The First Step Should Be to Create Buffer Zones in Syria
Any safe zones would need to be secured by the military forces of Syria’s neighbors, such as Turkey and Jordan, as well as by U.S. air and ground support.
Feb 22, 2016
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  • Andrew J. Tabler
Brief Analysis
A Turkish 'Secure Strip' in Syria: Domestic Concerns and Foreign Limitations
Although Ankara has the necessary parliamentary authorization and professional military capacity to establish a safe zone, it would still need Western intelligence help, air support, and diplomatic backing to cover the operation and deter Russian retaliation.
Feb 19, 2016
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  • Soner Cagaptay
  • Cem Yolbulan
Articles & Testimony
Russian Expectations for Post-Sanctions Iran
Joint support of Basher al-Assad's regime has highlighted Moscow and Tehran’s developing political alliance. In contrast, the level of economic cooperation between the two states has historically been very modest: 2014 trade between the two countries amounted to $1.68 billion and was just 0.2% of all Russian foreign trade. Yet
Feb 19, 2016
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  • Huseyn Panahov
United Nations headquarters building in New York - source: Reuters
Brief Analysis
Legal Justifications for a Safe Zone in Syria
UN Security Council Resolutions 2170, 2249, and 2254 offer ample grounds for establishing a zone to protect refugees and counter the Islamic State, but shaping the international diplomatic response would be paramount given the legal gray areas inherent in such action.
Feb 19, 2016
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  • James Jeffrey
Articles & Testimony
Safety First in Syria
However difficult it might be to implement safe zones after years of inaction, the humanitarian disaster will only grow without them, as will the threat to regional and European stability.
Feb 19, 2016
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  • Anna Borshchevskaya
Brief Analysis
Iran and Russia's Growing Defense Ties
The lifting of international sanctions and the region's vastly changing geopolitical environment have opened a window of opportunity for Tehran to buy potent arms from Russia and modernize its arsenal.
Feb 18, 2016
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  • Farzin Nadimi

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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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