All Policy Analysis by Michael Knights

On April 29, 2011, Ahmed Ali, Michael Knights, and Michael Eisenstadt addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Mr. Ali is a Marcia Robbins-Wilf research associate at the Institute, focusing on Iraqi political dynamics. Dr. Knights is a Lafer fellow at the Institute, specializing in the military and security

Since the overthrow of Saddam Hussein's regime in 2003, Iran has tried to establish itself as the key external power broker in Iraq by exploiting ties with key parties, arming and training militias, and exerting economic, religious, and informational influence. Although these efforts have yielded mixed results thus far, the

Much has been achieved in the first few days of Operation Odyssey Dawn: in the east, the regime's advance on the opposition capital of Benghazi has been decisively checked, and conditions have been set for policing of a no-fly zone across Libya's coastal belt. But the zone is merely a

On March 6, Iraqi soldiers acting on the orders of Prime Minister Nouri al-Maliki shut down the Baghdad offices of two Iraqi political parties.

In PolicyWatch #1768, Jeffrey White highlighted the possibility for a prolonged struggle in Libya's civil war due to the lack of offensive capability demonstrated by both sides. The following article explores the reasons why strategic geography in Libya reinforces the potential for stalemate and underlines the need for international intervention

In PolicyWatch #1763, Jason Hanover and Jeffrey White outlined the range of military options that the United States could employ to protect the Libyan population from the Qadhafi regime's military forces. The following article specifies the challenges posed by the enforcement of no-fly zones and related no-drive zones, drawing on

On January 5, radical Shiite leader Muqtada al-Sadr entered Iraq after a three-year self-imposed exile in Iran, but then returned to Iran fifteen days later. According to Saudi-owned media outlets, he fled because of threats from Asaib Ahl al-Haqq (AAH), a militant offshoot of his own Sadrist movement. Whatever the

On October 22, 2010, Ahmed Ali, Michael Knights, and Michael Eisenstadt addressed a special Policy Forum luncheon at The Washington Institute. Mr. Ali is a Marcia Robbins-Wilf research associate at the Institute, focusing on the political dynamics of Iraq. Dr. Knights is a Lafer fellow at the Institute, specializing in