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Iraq

Winning Battles, Losing Strategy: Why Military Superiority No Longer Guarantees Victory

America’s battlefield dominance remains unmatched, but Iraq, Afghanistan and now Iran shows that tactical success increasingly fails when military [...] More

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U.S. Strikes Back: Cipher Brief Experts Weigh in on What it Means

U.S. Strikes Back: Cipher Brief Experts Weigh in on What it Means

SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE – Last week’s retaliatory strikes by the U.S. for the killing of three American military service members in Jordan last weekend, [...] More

After Iran Proxy Strikes, Should U.S. Troops Leave Iraq and Syria?

After Iran Proxy Strikes, Should U.S. Troops Leave Iraq and Syria?

SUBSCRIBER+REPORTING – In the wake of Sunday’s strike that killed three Americans and injured dozens more at a small U.S. base in Jordan – the first [...] More

Conflict is One Part History, One Part Petraeus Memoir

OPINION — David Petraeus and Andrew Roberts are getting lots of attention for their outstanding new book, Conflict: The Evolution of Warfare from [...] More

What We Should Have Learned About Groupthink from the Iraq War

As we approach the 20th anniversary of the Iraq invasion, we should reflect on what lessons the United States may have gleaned from the experience [...] More

President Biden's Middle East: A Briefing with Norman Roule

President Biden's Middle East: A Briefing with Norman Roule

President Joe Biden’s administration is aiming its Middle East agenda on adhering to campaign promises, examining current policies and undoing some [...] More

A Look at the U.S. Army's Future Mission

A Look at the U.S. Army's Future Mission

Thousands of people are virtually gathering this week as the Association of the United States Army (AUSA) kicks off its annual conference focused on [...] More

One Foot In, One Foot Out: The Muddled U.S. Approach to the Middle East

Bottom Line Up FrontThe United States recently announced plans to remove two Patriot anti-missile systems from Saudi Arabia, which could be [...] More

Instability in Iraq During Leadership Transition

Bottom Line up FrontIraq’s new government will struggle to extricate the country from its role as an arena for conflict between Iran and the United [...] More

COVID and Navigating the New Middle East Challenges

COVID and Navigating the New Middle East Challenges

The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has added a significant layer of uncertainty to an already complicated situation in the Middle East. The [...] More

OSINT Global Trendline Report: The Middle East and Africa

OSINT Global Trendline Report: The Middle East and Africa

The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Trend Line Report utilizes open source data on a quarterly basis to track trends around the world that impact national [...] More

Iran and the United States Continue to Compete for Influence in Iraq

Bottom Line Up FrontBaghdad’s difficulty in assembling a new government is a result of U.S.-Iran competition for influence in Iraq.The latest choice [...] More

Iran Continuing Overt and Covert Activities in Iraq

Bottom Line Up FrontIran is continuing its efforts to strengthen its influence in Iraq and drive U.S. military personnel out.Iran’s struggles with [...] More