Afghanistan’s security forces unraveled this month. What broke their seven-year stalemate with the Taliban? Yuri M. Zhukov and Stephen Biddle - August 31, 2021 The dynamics behind this kind of collapse are more common than you might think
Groups like the Taliban have seized power elsewhere. Will the Taliban face similar difficulties governing? Raphael Lefevre - August 24, 2021 The research shows how hard it is to go from armed rebellion to leadership
The Taliban has seized more cities, despite U.S. efforts to build a strong Afghan military. What happened? Rachel Tecott - August 8, 2021 Persuading partners to emulate the U.S. military approach doesn’t necessarily work, new research finds
U.S. officials are talking about urban warfare. Here’s what urban warfare really involves. Margarita Konaev and Kirstin J.H. Brathwaite - June 4, 2020 How do you ‘mass and dominate the battlespace’ in a U.S. city?
What will happen to Iraqi Shiite militias after one key leader’s death? Ranj Alaaldin - February 28, 2020 This won’t help U.S.-Iran tensions
Iraqis have been holding peaceful mass protests. The U.S. strike and its aftermath are undermining that. Zahra Ali - January 7, 2020 Here’s what Iraqi protesters want.
In Iraq, demonstrators demand change — and the government fights back Zahra Ali and Safaa Khalaf - October 7, 2019 Initially described as protests over the economy, they have become a call for revolution.
Here’s how airstrikes targeting Iranian-backed paramilitary groups in Iraq threaten post-ISIS stability Renad Mansour - September 8, 2019 What a rift in the understanding between formal and de facto armed groups could mean for Iraq
How ordinary Iraqis resisted the Islamic State Jonathan Hall, Isak Svensson, Eric Skoog, and Dino Krause - March 21, 2019 New data from Mosul shows the power of the less powerful
Why are Iraq’s paramilitaries turning on their own ranks? Renad Mansour - February 18, 2019 [caption id="attachment_83855" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Shiite fighters from the Popular Mobilization
How the Iraqi crackdown on the Islamic State may actually increase support for the Islamic State Mara Revkin and Kristen Kao - January 7, 2019 [caption id="attachment_82203" align="aligncenter" width="960"] A man, blindfolded and handcuffed, kneels
After several high-profile murders in Iraq, here’s what headlines missed about their cause. Zahra Ali - October 15, 2018 [caption id="attachment_78816" align="aligncenter" width="960"] In this image from Oct. 1,
Why the Nobel Peace Prize went to 2 people fighting sexual violence in war Ragnhild Nordås and Elisabeth Wood - October 8, 2018 As Islamic State forces swept through northern Iraq in 2014,
The U.S. military is trying to manage foreign conflicts — not resolve them. Here’s why. Paul Staniland - July 16, 2018 [caption id="attachment_75692" align="aligncenter" width="960"] A U.S. soldier assigned to provide
What Iraq’s election means for its Shiite militias Ranj Alaaldin - May 12, 2018 https://www.washingtonpost.com/video/world/baghdad-residents-vote-in-parliamentary-election/2018/05/12/77c31d4c-55d0-11e8-a6d4-ca1d035642ce_video.html Today's parliamentary elections in Iraq are the country’s first since the Islamic
Why has Trump been threatening to attack Syria? (Hint: It’s probably not about Syria.) Carrie Lee - April 13, 2018 [caption id="attachment_72221" align="aligncenter" width="960"] President Trump at a news conference
How militants in Iraq and Syria recruit and use children Mara Revkin - February 14, 2018 [caption id="attachment_69216" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Young boys known as the Cubs
With the destruction of the caliphate, the Islamic State has lost far more than territory J.M. Berger and Amarnath Amarasingam - October 31, 2017 [caption id="attachment_65608" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Iraqi federal police officers hold up
How 9/11 created a feedback loop for international jihadism Martha Crenshaw and Lisa Blaydes - September 22, 2017 [caption id="attachment_63827" align="aligncenter" width="960"] U.S. soldiers and Iraqi civilians pull
Property stolen during the Holocaust made some communities richer, even 70 years later Volha Charnysh and Evgeny Finkel - August 8, 2017 [caption id="attachment_61942" align="aligncenter" width="960"] The entrance to the former Nazi
Islamic State’s next move could be underground criminal networks Aisha Ahmad - August 8, 2017 After months of fierce ground war, Iraqi Prime Minister Haider
The Kurdish region of Iraq is going to vote on independence. Here’s what you need to know. Ramzy Mardini and Morgan Kaplan - June 21, 2017 [caption id="attachment_60140" align="aligncenter" width="960"] President of the Iraqi Kurdistan region
How Trump’s alignment with Saudi Arabia and the UAE is inflaming the Middle East Marc Lynch - June 7, 2017 [caption id="attachment_59460" align="aligncenter" width="960"]in President Trump speaks with Qatar's Sheikh
The Trump administration wants to send more military advisers to Afghanistan. Good luck with that. Stephen Biddle, Ryan Baker, and Julia Macdonald - May 15, 2017 [caption id="attachment_58268" align="alignleft" width="960"] Marines salute during a handover ceremony
Trump had his first big foreign policy challenge. So what did we learn? Elizabeth N. Saunders - April 7, 2017 [caption id="attachment_56595" align="aligncenter" width="960"] President Trump receives a briefing on
Why the words we use about terrorism matter Jacob Olidort - March 30, 2017 [caption id="attachment_56029" align="aligncenter" width="960"] An Islamic State fighter holds a
Congress may give Trump legal authority to fight the Islamic State Andrew Rudalevige - March 27, 2017 [caption id="attachment_55840" align="alignnone" width="960"] U.S. forces drive armored vehicles near
Fighting the Islamic State won’t change the sectarian image of Iraq’s militias Mieczyslaw Boduszynski - December 28, 2016 [caption id="attachment_51868" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Iraqi rapid response forces gather during
Food scarcity causes conflicts — but so can food abundance. Here’s why. Ore Koren - November 23, 2016 [caption id="attachment_49828" align="aligncenter" width="960"] Displaced Iraqis receive food at a
Why Iraqis living under the Islamic State fear their liberators Munqith al-Dagher and Karl Kaltenthaler - April 11, 2016 [caption id="attachment_38930" align="aligncenter" width="908"] A supporter flies the flag of
Refugees in Europe? Here’s a different reason people are saying no to them. Ábel Ravasz - January 18, 2016 [caption id="attachment_33864" align="aligncenter" width="908"] Migrants from Syria, Iraq and Afghanistan
Here’s why we can only contain the Islamic State, not bomb it back to the Stone Age Stephen Biddle and Jacob Shapiro - December 1, 2015 [caption id="attachment_32401" align="aligncenter" width="908"] U.S. Air Force F-15E Strike Eagles
Why the U.S. (still) can’t train the Iraqi military Caitlin Talmadge and Austin Long - September 22, 2015 [caption id="attachment_29703" align="aligncenter" width="908"] Iraqi soldiers with U.S.-made weapons take
Why the U.S. (still) can't train the Iraqi military - September 22, 2015 [caption id="attachment_29703" align="aligncenter" width="908"] Iraqi soldiers with U.S.-made weapons take
A provocative article says the Islamic State is a mystery. Here’s why that’s wrong. Costantino Pischedda - August 27, 2015 [caption id="attachment_28953" align="aligncenter" width="908"] In this June 23, 2014, file
A provocative article says the Islamic State is a mystery. Here's why that's wrong. - August 27, 2015 [caption id="attachment_28953" align="aligncenter" width="908"] In this June 23, 2014, file
Contesting the Caliphate Marc Lynch - July 22, 2015 [caption id="attachment_27696" align="aligncenter" width="620" class="center"] In this photo released on
Why the Islamic State won't become a normal state - July 9, 2015 [caption id="attachment_27173" align="aligncenter" width="908"] In this Monday, June 16, 2014
Why the Islamic State won’t become a normal state Lawrence Rubin - July 9, 2015 [caption id="attachment_27173" align="aligncenter" width="908"] In this Monday, June 16, 2014
How to stop ISIS from recruiting American teens Seamus Hughes and Lorenzo Vidino - June 17, 2015 [caption id="attachment_26182" align="aligncenter" width="1484"] Militants from the Islamic State parade
Why the Islamic State's annihilation of ancient cultures matters - May 29, 2015 [caption id="attachment_25495" align="aligncenter" width="620" class="center"] Syrian citizens walk in the
Why the Islamic State’s annihilation of ancient cultures matters Michael Danti - May 29, 2015 [caption id="attachment_25495" align="aligncenter" width="620" class="center"] Syrian citizens walk in the
The Islamic State, Boko Haram and the evolution of international jihad Nathaniel Allen - March 27, 2015 [caption id="attachment_23098" align="alignnone" width="620"] A wall painted by Boko Haram
How Iraqi Sunnis really feel about the Islamic State Munqith al-Dagher - March 24, 2015 [caption id="attachment_23025" align="aligncenter" width="620"] In this June 16, 2014 file
The U.S. just leaked its war plan in Iraq. Why? Joshua Rovner and Caitlin Talmadge - February 27, 2015 [caption id="attachment_12228" align="aligncenter" width="908"] The jacket belonging to an Iraqi
How much of a state is the Islamic State? Quinn Mecham - February 5, 2015 [caption id="attachment_20946" align="alignnone" width="620"] Smoke rises behind an Islamic State
How sensationalist TV stories on terrorism make Americans more hawkish Shana Gadarian - October 9, 2014 Television news in the last several weeks has seemed eerily
The Islamic State and the politics of official narratives Laurie Brand - September 8, 2014 [caption id="attachment_15431" align="aligncenter" width="620"] A resident of Tabqa city celebrates
The past and future of Iraq’s minorities Elizabeth Ferris and Abbie Taylor - September 8, 2014 [caption id="attachment_15391" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Displaced people from the minority Yazidi
The past and future of Iraq's minorities Elizabeth Ferris and Abbie Taylor - September 8, 2014 [caption id="attachment_15391" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Displaced people from the minority Yazidi
Who is to blame for Iraq’s problems? Al Ali and Sinan Antoon - July 21, 2014 [caption id="attachment_13341" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] A U.S. Marine covers the face
Who is to blame for Iraq's problems? Al Ali and Sinan Antoon - July 21, 2014 [caption id="attachment_13341" align="aligncenter" width="2048"] A U.S. Marine covers the face
The jihadist governance dilemma Daveed Gartenstein-Ross and Amichai Magen - July 18, 2014 [caption id="attachment_13181" align="aligncenter" width="620"] On June 16,demonstrators chant pro-Islamic State
The logic of violence in the Islamic State’s war Stathis Kalyvas - July 7, 2014 [caption id="attachment_12670" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Militants take part in a parade
The logic of violence in the Islamic State's war Stathis Kalyvas - July 7, 2014 [caption id="attachment_12670" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Militants take part in a parade
Can ISIS overcome the insurgency resource curse? Ariel Ahram - July 2, 2014 [caption id="attachment_12548" align="aligncenter" width="908"] A file picture dated March 11,
Maliki has only himself to blame for Iraq’s crisis Al Ali - June 26, 2014 [caption id="attachment_12376" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (front)
Maliki has only himself to blame for Iraq's crisis Al Ali - June 26, 2014 [caption id="attachment_12376" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki (front)
What do we mean by ‘Islamist’? Elizabeth Nugent - June 23, 2014 [caption id="attachment_12228" align="aligncenter" width="600"] An Iraqi Army uniform jacket lies
How Arab backers of the Syrian rebels see Iraq Marc Lynch - June 18, 2014 [caption id="attachment_12020" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Supporters of the Islamic State of
Getting rid of Maliki won't solve Iraq's crisis Fanar Haddad - June 17, 2014 [caption id="attachment_11987" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talks
Getting rid of Maliki won’t solve Iraq’s crisis Fanar Haddad - June 17, 2014 [caption id="attachment_11987" align="aligncenter" width="620"] Iraqi Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki talks
Why the Iraqi army collapsed (and what can be done about it) Keren Fraiman, Caitlin Talmadge, and Austin Long - June 13, 2014 The collapse of Iraqi security forces this week has been
How can the U.S. help Maliki when Maliki’s the problem? Marc Lynch - June 12, 2014 [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="606" special=""] Fighters from the Islamic State
How can the U.S. help Maliki when Maliki's the problem? Marc Lynch - June 12, 2014 [caption id="" align="aligncenter" width="606" special=""] Fighters from the Islamic State
The Middle East quasi-state system Ariel Ahram - May 27, 2014 [caption id="attachment_10914" align="aligncenter" width="1024" special=""] File: In Hermel, Lebanon, people
Is this the end of Sykes-Picot? Gregory Gause - May 20, 2014 [caption id="attachment_10666" align="aligncenter" width="605"] Dr. Michael Izady, Gulf/2000 Program at