All Policy Analysis by Jeffrey White

Washington Institute research explains the complexities of the Islamic State in Iraq and al-Sham (ISIS).

The latest ISIS victories in northern Syria raise questions about who can prevent further advances, pointing to the potential need for foreign air intervention.

Washington Institute experts assess the current state of military operations in Iraq and evaluate Abadi's ability to extricate his country from deadlock, defeat, and disintegration.

Hamas should be shielding the people of Gaza from the worst of the fighting, not using them as human shields.

Ghaith al-Omari of the American Task Force on Palestine joins Institute fellows David Pollock and Jeffrey White to discuss the Gaza conflict.

Israel's ground operations and objectives are limited for now, but the IDF is ready to expand the mission if Hamas chooses to prolong the faceoff and continue firing rockets.

Such a program should strengthen the moderate opposition militarily and enhance its political and informational capabilities, while disrupting Salafi-jihadist recruitment.

Events on the battlefield will reveal the true effects of the crisis, but the ISIS campaign in Iraq could ultimately help the Syrian opposition and hurt the Assad regime.

The regime's air defenses have been weakened by the war, leaving room for low-risk air operations that could achieve important military and humanitarian objectives with reasonable investment of resources.

A close look at the group's military and ideological credentials seems to reveal a model candidate for greater U.S. and allied support, including lethal military assistance.

The regime's recent military successes are by no means sweeping, but its incremental gains in Aleppo and Damascus belie perceptions of stalemate and could shift the war's direction in its favor.

On January 27, 2014, Andrew Tabler, Jeffrey White, and Aaron Zelin addressed a Policy Forum at The Washington Institute. Tabler is a senior fellow in the Institute's Program on Arab Politics and author of In the Lion's Den: An Eyewitness Account of Washington's Battle with Syria. White is a Defense

The ongoing clashes between rival rebel factions will likely be protracted and indecisive, and the resultant diversion of effort is already working to the regime's advantage.