Military & Security

Policy Analysis on Military & Security

Iran and Saudi Arabia on a Collision Course

To prevent recent airline and shipping incidents from escalating into a wider military confrontation with Iran, all sides will need to exercise great caution in the Persian Gulf and the skies over Yemen.

Apr 30, 2015

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Farzin Nadimi

Articles & Testimony

The Cult of the Offensive: The Islamic State on Defense

There is nothing mystical about ISIS as a defensive force: where it has succeeded, it has done so almost entirely due to the absence of effective opposition, not because of its inherent strength.

Apr 30, 2015

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Michael Knights

Video

In-Depth Reports

From Today to January 2017

A Conversation on the Balance of the Obama Administration and the Middle East

Watch a panel discussion among leading international journalists following Vice President Biden's remarks to the Institute's 30th anniversary gala dinner.

Apr 30, 2015

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Judith Miller
Hisham Melhem
Lally Weymouth
Ehud Yaari
Robert Satloff

Brief Analysis

Growing Rebel Capabilities Press the Syrian Regime

Given the major setbacks the regime has suffered over the past week, now is a good time to apply maximum pressure on Assad, whether to force genuine diplomatic negotiations or accelerate a full military defeat.

Apr 27, 2015

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Jeffrey White
Oula A. Alrifai

Articles & Testimony

What AQAP's Operations Reveal About Its Strategy in Yemen

While airstrikes in Yemen are changing the nature of AQAP's battlespace, they are not yet fundamentally altering the strategic calculus behind a campaign that took shape well before the Saudi-led intervention.

Apr 23, 2015

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Aaron Y. Zelin
Patrick Hoover

Brief Analysis

Lebanon Continues to Muddle Through

Washington's efforts to increase security assistance are helpful, but Lebanon will remain a priority target for ISIS and other Sunni terrorist groups so long as Hezbollah continues fighting for the Assad regime in Syria.

Apr 13, 2015

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David Schenker

Brief Analysis

Preserving Israeli-Palestinian Security Cooperation

As bilateral security cooperation comes under increasing pressure, a new PA police initiative shows why it needs to be protected and prioritized going forward.

Apr 10, 2015

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Ghaith al-Omari

Brief Analysis

The ISIS Battle for Yarmouk Camp: Troubling Implications

Whether ISIS holds on in Yarmouk or not, its southward expansion is a further sign that fighting the group in Iraq and eastern Syria will not be enough.

Apr 10, 2015

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Jeffrey White
Andrew J. Tabler

Brief Analysis

Pushing Back ISIS: Getting the Ground Component Right

U.S. airpower, regular Iraqi troops, and local fighters constitute the model for rolling back ISIS in Anbar and Mosul.

Apr 10, 2015

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James Jeffrey

Brief Analysis

Regional Dimensions of the Syria Train-and-Equip Program

Augmenting the planned force could help address intensifying threats posed by ISIS, along with Iran-backed militias and the Assad regime.

Apr 10, 2015

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Soner Cagaptay
Andrew J. Tabler

Articles & Testimony

Obama Wrecked U.S.-Egypt Ties

By canceling a weapons financing system that had long served as a signal of Egypt's privileged relationship with Washington, the president might have closed the book on any chance for closer ties during his term.

Apr 7, 2015

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Eric Trager

Video

Brief Analysis

Making Sense of Chaos in the Middle East

Multiple Wars, Multiple Alliances

Volcanic changes in the region are under way, with the outbreak of Sunni-Shiite wars in Iraq, Syria, and Yemen, unprecedented tension between Washington and Israel, and U.S.-Iranian nuclear talks that appear on the verge of breakthrough. Watch an expert discussion of these challenges and the future of U.S. policy in the region.

Apr 6, 2015

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James Jeffrey
Dennis Ross

Brief Analysis

The Battle for Idlib: Military Implications

Although not the catastrophe it could have been, the defeat holds major implications for the regime's strategy in Idlib province, its willingness to hold precarious positions elsewhere in Syria, and its dependence on foreign forces.

Mar 30, 2015

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Jeffrey White

Brief Analysis

Yemen Redux: Reclaiming Stability in the Arabian Peninsula

Although Washington's strategy in Yemen has largely unraveled, U.S. officials have several options for building on the current pan-Arab intervention, bolstering the Hadi government, and addressing the causes of instability in the country.

Mar 30, 2015

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Daniel Green

Articles & Testimony

Uncertain of Obama, Arab States Gear Up for War

A pan-Arab coalition with a patchy record steps up as Yemen falls apart and U.S. policy remains unclear... Read the full article on the Wall Street Journal website.

Mar 29, 2015

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David Schenker
Gilad Wenig

Brief Analysis

Assisting the Arab Military Intervention in Yemen

Washington can play a valuable behind-the-scenes role in Operation Decisive Storm, maximizing the chance that U.S. allies can prevent a Houthi takeover.

Mar 27, 2015

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Michael Knights

Brief Analysis

U.S. Air Support for Tikrit: The Right Decision

At a time when easy choices no longer exist in the Middle East, Washington's decision to intervene militarily is a sound one, but only if the administration recognizes Iraq's current political and security realities.

Mar 26, 2015

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James Jeffrey

Articles & Testimony

Iraq's Bekaa Valley

The PMUs active in the area embody a classic security dilemma: the armed force best able to protect a country from external enemies that also poses the greatest potential risk to the civilian leadership.

Mar 16, 2015

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Michael Knights

Articles & Testimony

A New Era for Egypt's Military

Since the July 2013 coup against Mohamed Morsi, Cairo has been particularly brash in its approach to security and appears more willing to project force abroad.

Mar 16, 2015

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Gilad Wenig

Brief Analysis

Syrian Regime Military Operations Against ISIS

The regime is entirely pragmatic when choosing what groups to fight with or against, making it an unreliable prospective coalition ally, at best, against the self-styled Islamic State.

Mar 13, 2015

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Jeffrey White

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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 is the Kahn Senior Fellow and director of The Washington Institute's Military and Security Studies Program.

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 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

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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