Recent Publications

“Moscow in the Middle East”
April 10, 2021 — In 1971 Dr. John R. Thomas documented the involvement of the Soviet Union in the Middle East from the start of the Cold War. Like its name and borders, the motivations for that country’s involvement in the region have changed. Russia today promulgates relationships with the governments of the Middle East in a nonideological, more limited manner... MORE

“Diverging Interests- US Strategy in the Middle East”
February 3, 2021 — Today, two-thirds of soldiers depart the US Army with a disability rating. Unfortunately, some soldiers are exploiting a generous disability system overextended beyond its original purposes and potentially damaging trust in the military, jeopardizing Army readiness, and encouraging a culture that erodes the Army’s notions of selfless service.Read... MORE

“Civilians, Urban Warfare, and US Doctrine”
February 2, 2021 — The novel coronavirus is only the latest in a series of global crises with implications for the regional order in the Middle East. These changes and the diverging interests of actors in the region have implications for US strategy and provide an opportunity to rethink key US relationships there.Read the article:... MORE

Nonstate Actors and Anti-Access/Area Denial Strategies: The Coming Challenge
February 6, 2020 — Author: Dr. Jean-Loup SamaanThis monograph explores the emerging challenge of nonstate actors’ anti-access and area denial (A2/AD) strategies and their implications for the United States and its allies by looking at two regions, the Middle East and Eastern Europe, with case studies such as Hezbollah in Lebanon, Hamas in the Gaza Strip, the Houthis... MORE

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The Russian Military in Contemporary Perspective
September 24, 2019 — Editor: Dr Stephen J. BlankView the Executive Summary Wherever one looks, Russia is carrying out aggressive military and informational attacks against the West in Europe, North and South America, the Arctic, and the Middle East. This “war against the West” actually began over a decade ago, but its most jarring and shocking event, the one that... MORE

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Maneuvering the Saudi-Iranian Rivalry in the Middle East: How the United States Can Preserve and Protect Its Long-Term Interests in the Region
November 15, 2018 — Author: Mr Gregory AftandilianView the Executive SummaryThis monograph examines the conflicts in the Middle East region between Saudi Arabia and Iran and the so-called proxy wars that are being fought between them, and discusses ways that the United States needs to maneuver carefully in this struggle to preserve its long-term interests in the area... MORE

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SSI Live 80 – Is a Reset with Russia in the Offing?
July 31, 2018 — The Helsinki summit meeting between Presidents Trump and Putin may be the first step in a rapprochement between the United States and Russia. If so, what are the strategic and policy implications in Europe, with specific regard to the security of U.S. allies in Eastern Europe, with regard to the conflict in Syria, vis-à-vis U.S. partners in the Middle East, or in other regards?... MORE

Strategic Insights: Strategic Questions Loom Large for President Trump in the Middle East
April 11, 2017 — Dr. Christopher J. Bolan“Strategy without tactics is the slowest route to victory. Tactics without strategy is the noise before defeat.” Sun TzuThe primary shortcoming of U.S. policymakers since the terrorist attacks of September 11, 2001, has been a consistent inability to translate tactical and operational military successes into sustainable... MORE

Strategic Insights: Reimagining U.S. Foreign Assistance in the Middle East
February 7, 2017 — Author: Dr Christopher J BolanView the Executive Summary U.S. President Donald Trump has proved himself willing to question and challenge many of the conventional wisdoms embedded in contemporary American foreign policies. During his presidential campaign, he questioned the utility of the North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) that has formed... MORE

An Arab NATO in the Making? Middle Eastern Military Cooperation Since 2011
September 6, 2016 — Author: Dr Florence GaubView the Executive SummaryArab military cooperation has been, over the past century, mostly a history of failures. Whether the Arab League’s Defence Pact or the Middle East Command, ideas for collective security in the region all failed to move beyond the state of declarations. Most of the time, Arab states were either at... MORE

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Strategic Insights: The Sinister Shadow of Escalating Middle Eastern Sectarianism
January 21, 2016 — Dr. W. Andrew Terrill In one of the opening scenes of the 1973 movie, The Exorcist, an older Catholic priest stands among the ruins of the ancient Mesopotamian city of Hatra.1 In the movie, he views an ancient statue of an Assyrian wind demon and stares directly into the stone representation of his enemy’s face. In the background, two extremely... MORE

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Arab Threat Perceptions and the Future of the U.S. Military Presence in the Middle East
October 22, 2015 — Author: Dr W Andrew TerrillView the Executive Summary The threat perceptions of many Arab states aligned with the United States have changed significantly as a result of such dramatic events as the 2011 U.S. military withdrawal from Iraq, the emergence and then fading of the Arab Spring, the rise of Iranian power and Tehran’s nuclear agreement with... MORE