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In late June 2013, the Syrian government renewed its campaign in the central Syrian province of Homs, indicating that it failed to achieve its operational and strategic objectives after defeating the rebels in al-Qusayr.
Iraq continues its slide towards widespread violence. Over the weekend, the Iraqi government has issued an ultimatum to anti-government protesters following an attack in Anbar province that left five soldiers dead.
"The American refusal to proffer lethal aid serves only to undermine the credibility of the U.S. with the opposition, while strengthening the hand of Qatar and Saudi Arabia." ISW Founder and President Dr. Kimberly Kagan writes for Hoover Institution's Strategika.
Today, political and military power in Iraq is highly centralized in Prime Minister Maliki’s personal office. This will have important implications for the future of Iraq and the trajectory and durability of its democratic transition.
At least 3 million Syrians have been displaced from their homes but remain within their war-torn country with no way to escape. PBS NewsHour reports.
In early 2012, ISW, AEI, and the Brookings Institution undertook a war game designed to simulate a worsening of the Syrian conflict and its effects on neighboring countries.
The conflict in Syria transitioned from an insurgency to a civil war during the summer of 2012. This report seeks to explain how the Assad regime lost its counterinsurgency campaign, but remains well situated to fight a protracted civil war against Syria’s opposition.
Current estimates of Syrian opposition strength have generated confidence that the Assad regime will be defeated militarily. This assessment cannot be made without also estimating the real fighting power of the Syrian regime.
Three thousand troops are not sufficient to keep even a single U.S. military base in Afghanistan after 2014. This report, released jointly with AEI's Critical Threats Project, describes how to calculate the force requirements for keeping one base in Afghanistan.
Leaving a bare-bones U.S. presence will risk a return of the Taliban—and civil war.