 | |
| Abbreviation | ISW |
|---|---|
| Formation | 2007; 18 years ago (2007) |
| Type | Public policythink tank |
| Legal status | 501(c)(3) |
| Headquarters | 1400 16th St NW |
| Location |
|
President | Kimberly Kagan |
| Website | understandingwar |
TheInstitute for the Study of War (ISW) is an Americannonprofitresearch group and advocacythink tank founded in 2007 bymilitary historianKimberly Kagan and headquartered inWashington, D.C.[1][2] ISW provides research and analysis of modern armed conflicts andforeign affairs. It has produced reports on theSyrian civil war, thewar in Afghanistan, and thewar in Iraq, "focusing on military operations, enemy threats, and political trends in diverse conflict zones".[3][4] ISW currently publishes daily updates on theRussian invasion of Ukraine[5][6] and theGaza war. ISW also published daily updates onMahsa Amini protests in Iran. ISW was founded in response to the stagnation of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars and core funding to the group is provided by U.S. military contractors.[2]
Journalists forPolitico,[7]Time,[8]Wired,[9]Vox[10] andThe Guardian[11] have described the group's orientation as "hawkish", while writers forNPR described its position as "sometimes hawkish".[12] Writers forBusiness Day,[13]The Nation,[14][15]Arab Studies Quarterly,[16]Strategic Studies Quarterly,[17]The Hankyoreh[18] andForeign Policy[19] have described ISW asneoconservative.James A Russell, writing inSmall Wars & Insurgencies, described the think tank as neoconservative and right wing, comparing the organization toThe Heritage Foundation andThe Washington Institute for Near East Policy.[20]The Washington Post has described the group as favoring an "aggressive foreign policy".[21] Writing forThe Intercept, journalistRobert Wright described the think tank as "ultra-hawkish" and its objectivity as "dubious".[22]
ISW criticized both theObama andfirst Trump administration policies on the Syrian conflict, advocating a more hawkish approach. In 2013, Kagan called for arms and equipment to be supplied to "moderate" rebels, with the hope that a state "friendly to the United States [would emerge] in the wake of Assad."[23] In 2017, ISW analyst Christopher Kozak praised president Donald Trump for theShayrat missile strike but advocated further attacks, stating that "deterrence is a persistent condition, not a one hour strike package."[24] In 2018, ISW analyst Jennifer Cafarella published an article calling for the use of offensive military force against the Assad government.[25]
The ISW board includes GeneralJack Keane, military historianKimberly Kagan, former US Ambassador to the UNKelly Craft,William Kristol, Kevin Mandia, Jack D. McCarthy, Jr., Bruce Mosler, GeneralDavid Petraeus, Warren Phillips, William Roberti, Edouard Matitia Cohen, Hudson La Force,James Gilmore III, and Jennifer London.[26]
ISW maintains close ties with the United States military and the defense industry,[9][2] and major contributors to the think tank have includedGeneral Dynamics,Raytheon,CACI andDynCorp.[17] ISW founder Kimberly Kagan participated formally on the Joint Campaign Plan Assessment Team for Multi-National Force – Iraq U.S. Mission – Iraq in October 2008, and as part of the Civilian Advisory Team for theCENTCOM strategic review in January 2009.[27] Kagan served in Kabul as a member of GeneralStanley McChrystal's strategic assessment team, composed of civilian experts, during his strategic review in June and July 2009. She and her husband Frederick returned to Afghanistan in the summer of 2010 to assist General Petraeus with key transition tasks following his assumption of command in Afghanistan.[21]
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The ISW's Afghanistan Project monitors and analyzes the effectiveness of Afghan and Coalition operations to disrupt enemy networks and secure the population, while also evaluating the results of Afghanistan's 2010 Presidential election.[28]
The Afghanistan Project remains focused on the main enemy groups in Afghanistan, specifically: theQuetta Shura Taliban, theHaqqani network, andHizb-i Islami Gulbuddin.[28] Specific attention is paid to understanding the ethnic, tribal, and political dynamics within these areas and how these factors are manipulated by the enemy and misunderstood by the Coalition.
In 2010, ISW researchers testified before theUnited States Congress in regards to understanding the problems of corruption and use of local powerbrokers in ISAF's Afghanistan strategy.[29]
The Iraq Project at the ISW produces reports about the security and political dynamics within Iraq.[citation needed]
ISW president Kagan supported "the Surge" strategy in Iraq and argued for a restructured American military strategy more generally.The Surge: The Untold Story, co-produced by ISW provides an historical account of U.S. military operations in Iraq during the Surge of forces in 2007 and 2008. Thedocumentary tells the story of the Surge in Iraq, as told byU.S. military commanders and diplomats as well as Iraqis.[30]
The video documented the Iraq Surge as part of a population-centriccounterinsurgency approach and features many of the top commanders and others responsible for its implementation—including Gen. Jack Keane (Ret.), Gen.David Petraeus, Amb.Ryan Crocker, Gen.Raymond Odierno, Gen. Nasier Abadi (Iraq), Col.Peter Mansoor (Ret.), Col. J.B. Burton, Col. Ricky Gibbs, Col. Bryan Roberts, Col.Sean MacFarland, Col. James Hickey, Col. David Sutherland, Col. Steven Townsend, Lt.-Col. James Crider, and Lt. James Danly (Ret.)[31]
The Surge: The Untold Story was nominated for several awards and in 2010 was a winner of a Special Jury Award at the WorldFest film festival inHouston.[32] It also won honors as the best documentary part of theMilitary Channel's Documentary Series at the GI Film Festival inWashington, D.C.[33]
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The Institute for the Study of War launched its Middle East Security Project in November 2011.[34] The project seeks: to study the national security challenges and opportunities emerging from the Persian Gulf and wider Arab World; to identify ways the United States and Gulf States can check Iran's growing influence and contain the threat posed by its nuclear ambitions; to explain the shifting balance of power within the Middle East caused by recent upheaval, and assess the responses of the United States and Arab States to address these changes as they emerge. The Project currently is focused on Syria and Iran, and also produced a series of reports during the Libyan Revolution.[citation needed]
ISW has chronicled the resistance to PresidentBashar al-Assad through a number of reports, including:
ISW released four reports on the conflict that overthrewMuammar Gaddafi between September 19, 2011, and December 6, 2011. The series was entitled "The Libyan Revolution" with each of the four parts focused on different stages in the struggle in order to chronicle the revolution from start to finish.[citation needed]
The Middle East Security Project has released reports on the status of the Iranian military as well as the influence that Iran has on its neighbors in the region. These reports include "Iran's Two Navies" and "Iranian Influence in the Levant, Egypt, Iraq, and Afghanistan" which was co-written with theAmerican Enterprise Institute.[citation needed]
The ISW has reported onRussia's invasion of Ukraine, starting with Russian activities in theWar in Donbas in 2014 and the later buildup of Russian forces for the invasion in 2022.[35]
The ISW has also published daily updates on the war in Ukraine since the invasion in the form of their Russian Offensive Campaign Assessment where they disseminate reports from open sources. ISW's maps of theRussian invasion of Ukraine have been republished byReuters,[36] theFinancial Times,[37] theBBC,[38]The Guardian,[39]The New York Times,[40]The Washington Post,[41] andThe Independent.[42]
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