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Putin's War in Syria book cover

In-Depth Reports

Putin's War in Syria

Russian Foreign Policy and the Price of America's Absence

The Russian leader defied expectations of a quixotic, costly outcome for his country’s 2015 intervention in Syria. As it actually played out, explains Anna Borshchevskaya in her recently published book, Russia leveraged the conflict and U.S. inaction to position itself as a leading power in the Middle East.

November 4, 2021

Anna Borshchevskaya

Articles & Testimony

Don’t Let China Distract Us from Russia

Putin has a long list of achievements in the Middle East and is not leaving the stage anytime soon, so Washington must respond to the hardnosed realism that drives him to undermine U.S. influence.

Anna Borshchevskaya

Turkey’s F-16 Request May Not Stave Off the Inevitable

Washington and Ankara have significant diplomatic and security incentives for considering the deal, while rejecting it outright would likely hasten Erdogan’s drift into Putin’s orbit.

Grant Rumley
Soner Cagaptay

USAF ground crew directs a B-1 Lancer bomber

Articles & Testimony

The Threat of War Is the Only Way to Achieve Peace with Iran

Tehran no longer takes Washington seriously, so the Biden administration needs to put the prospect of military escalation back on the table if it hopes to make progress on the nuclear issue.

Dennis Ross

Iraqi forces marching

In-Depth Reports

U.S.-Iraq Security Cooperation in the Post-Combat Era

Questions about the viability of the Iraqi security forces—brought into sharp focus by the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan—require a data-led analysis of where the forces are today and what mix of U.S., NATO, and European efforts can help them thrive in the future.

Michael Knights
Alex Almeida

Soldiers at sunset

In-Depth Reports

A Vanishing West in the Middle East

The Recent History of U.S.-Europe Cooperation in the Region

To encourage a new multilateralism, Europe will need to gain credibility on hard security matters, the United States will need to reimagine how it deals with allies, and both will need to figure out when to let Middle East countries handle Middle East problems.

Charles Thépaut

Middle East Protests, Burning Flag

In-Depth Reports

Washington and the Next Arab Spring

Should protests grow more destabilizing, the United States will need to balance its values and interests regarding bilateral ties, the popular movement in question, broader regional dynamics, and competition with Russia or China.

Sarah Feuer
David Schenker

◆ Reform, Protest, Change

A U.S. Army soldier on patrol in Iraq

Affirming U.S. Commitments Abroad: The View from Syria’s Democratic Council

The head of the council joins two Washington Institute experts for a far-ranging conversation on the U.S. role in the northeast, Kurdish threat perceptions, the effect of the Afghanistan withdrawal, and more.

Elham Ahmad
Andrew J. Tabler
David Pollock

Articles & Testimony

Transatlantic Cooperation on Countering Global Violent Extremism

Reinvesting in civilian capabilities, sharing the burden with other actors, and assessing the widening ideological scope of the extremist threat will be central to any effective program of action.

Matthew Levitt

Articles & Testimony

Hezbollah’s Grip on Lebanon Is Weakening. Here’s How Washington Can Help.

Instead of continuing to work with corrupt Lebanese state institutions, the United States should pursue opportunities with the business community and civil society, whose members are eager to separate themselves from the group.

Hanin Ghaddar

President Biden addresses the UN General Assembly

Articles & Testimony

Biden UN Speech Misunderstands the Point of ‘Forever Wars’—in the Mideast and Elsewhere

U.S. military deployments create the strong alliances and local partnerships that the president said he wants.

Ido Levy

Middle East doctor, Turkish protestor, veiled voter

In-Depth Reports

A New Start for the U.S. on Mideast Democracy and Human Rights

In a region where publics are clamoring for healthcare, housing, jobs, and freedom of expression, progress toward electoral democracy need not always be the top priority.

David Pollock
Robert Satloff

◆ Reform, Protest, Change

Promo photo for the U.S. Navy's new Task Force 59.

New Navy Task Force Aims to Deter Iran with Unmanned Systems

The high-tech force will explore human-machine teaming concepts in waters near Iran, but questions remain about whether the United States is prepared to defend those assets when necessary.

Farzin Nadimi

Iranian Membership in the Shanghai Cooperation Organization: Motivations and Implications

The Russian/Chinese-led bloc is expected to approve Iran’s accession this week amid uncertainty over President Raisi’s foreign posture and ongoing turmoil in Afghanistan.

Nicole Grajewski

Articles & Testimony

The 9/11 Attacks, 20 Years On: An FBI Terrorism Analyst Reflects on an Unwinnable War

As Washington recalibrates its costly strategy against violent extremists, its goal should be to reduce terrorism to a low-level threat that law enforcement can handle.

Matthew Levitt

Articles & Testimony

U.S. Policy on the Mediterranean and the Role of PMCs

Although Biden may not see Russia as his top priority, Moscow’s proxy military activities in the Mediterranean are directly aimed at diluting Washington’s leverage in the Middle East, Africa, and Europe.

Anna Borshchevskaya

A Taliban fighter at a police station in Kabul

Articles & Testimony

How Not to Repeat My History with the Taliban

To avoid the worst outcomes, Washington needs to assiduously enforce any deals with the new Afghan leadership, cooperate effectively with other world powers, and explain to a domestic audience how the withdrawal will facilitate a focus on different priorities.

David Pollock

A Missed Opportunity in America’s Refunding of UNRWA

Washington could have used the agency’s financial straits as an opportunity to prevent misuse of funds, compel textbook revisions, and identify individuals on its rolls who actually meet the UNHCR definition of a refugee.

James G. Lindsay

Political Uncertainty Deepens in Tunisia

Washington should publicly emphasize the importance of preserving hard-won progress on political pluralism and human rights, while privately conveying that Tunis must return to the constitutional framework in order to receive MCC and IMF funding.

Sarah Feuer
Grant Rumley
Ben Fishman
Aaron Y. Zelin

Photo showing 1983 terrorist attack at U.S. Marine barracks in Beirut, Lebanon.

Articles & Testimony

Stop the Doomsaying, U.S. Credibility Will Weather Afghanistan

Regional mistakes and setbacks stretching back to the Carter administration did not stop countries from relying on Washington, and the Kabul crisis will be no different in the end.

Dennis Ross

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