U.S.-Egypt Military Relationship

Engineering & Transportation

Witty retired U.S. Army Middle East Foreign Area Officer, Col. David M.

Engineering

Washington Institute for Near Fast Policy

The Age of Political Jihadism: A Study of Hayat Tahrir al-Sham

The Syria-based group now functions more like a government than a nonstate actor, portending a reorientation for the larger jihadist movement. Hayat Tahrir al-Sham, a group previously linked to the Islamic State of Iraq and to al-Qaeda, has evolved in ways that challenge accepted views of "jihadism." Now ruling over territory in Syria's northern Idlib and western Aleppo governorates, it functions more like a government than a nonstate actor, and HTS leader Abu Muhammad al-Jawlani is seeking the group's removal from the U.S. State Department's list of Foreign Terrorist Organizations. But HTS is hardly anodyne. The group still espouses extremist beliefs that glamorize terrorism abroad, and its fighters fire rockets into civilian areas controlled by the Assad regime. Moreover, HTS hosts other designated groups in its territory, including Jamaat Ansar al-Islam, Katibat Imam al-Bukhari, and Katibat al-Tawhid wal Jihad. In this thought-provoking Policy Focus, illustrated with photographs of HTS personalities and personnel, jihadism expert Aaron Y. Zelin digs deep into the group's past before reckoning with the implications of Jawlani's request. Whatever the U.S. decision, he suggests, political jihadism is here to stay.

Politics & Social Sciences

Zelin, Aaron Y.

Politics & Government

<a id="_dx_frag_StartFragment" name="_dx_frag_StartFragment"></a>Springtime in Israel has been marked by instability, from a spate of deadly terrorist attacks to the resignation of Idit Silman from the coalition government and violent clashes in Jerusalem. Yet these developments do not change the fundamental challenges in U.S.-Israel relations: first, the shape of a new Iran nuclear deal, and second, Israel's West Bank policy, which has largely allowed the hardcore among Jewish settlers to pursue their ideological goals through the construction of settlements, outposts, and neighborhoods outside major blocs. In this finely detailed Policy Focus--released in tandem with an update to his landmark <a href="https://www.washingtoninstitute.org/westbankinteractivemap/" style="text-decoration:none;">"Settlements and Solutions"</a> interactive map--Israel expert David Makovsky explains why communities outside the West Bank security barrier constitute a central obstacle to a future two-state solution. In making his case--aided by an assortment of charts and graphics--he explores settlers' voting patterns, discusses trends in violent activity on both sides, and explains why a quiet U.S.-Israel understanding could help preserve an outcome that advances both American interests and Israeli democracy.<a id="_dx_frag_EndFragment" name="_dx_frag_EndFragment"></a>

Beyond the Blocs: Jewish Settlement East of Israel's Security Barrier and How to Avert the Slide to a One-State Outcome

History

Makovsky, David

Middle East

Springtime in Israel has been marked by instability, from a spate of deadly terrorist attacks to the resignation of Idit Silman from the coalition government and violent clashes in Jerusalem. Yet these developments do not change the fundamental challenges in U.S.-Israel relations: first, the shape of a new Iran nuclear deal, and second, Israel's West Bank policy, which has largely allowed the hardcore among Jewish settlers to pursue their ideological goals through the construction of settlements, outposts, and neighborhoods outside major blocs.&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;&nbsp;In this finely detailed Policy Focus--released in tandem with an update to his landmark&nbsp;"Settlements and Solutions"&nbsp;interactive map--Israel expert David Makovsky explains why communities outside the West Bank security barrier constitute a central obstacle to a future two-state solution. In making his&nbsp;case--aided by an assortment of charts and graphics--he explores settlers' voting patterns, discusses trends in violent activity on both sides, and explains why a quiet U.S.-Israel understanding could help preserve an outcome that advances both American interests and Israeli democracy.

Beyond the Blocs

Hezbollahland: Mapping Dahiya and Lebanon's Shia Community

The southern Beirut suburb encompasses multiple layers of clashing and besieged identities that pose major internal challenges to Hezbollah's hold over Lebanon.The highway leading south from Beirut's Rafic Hariri International Airport skirts the Hezbollah stronghold of Dahiya, allowing travelers to feel the group's power and presence without seeing the surrounding community for what it is--multiple layers of clashing and besieged identities that pose major internal challenges to Hezbollah's hold over Lebanon. For motorists,&nbsp;the highway barrier blocks any concept of the area's polarized conditions, from the posh, shop-lined sections where senior Hezbollah officials live to the dark, impoverished warrens postered with fading images of "martyrs." Drivers also miss the network of Iran-sponsored media channels, military depots, and religious institutions that flourish in the suburb--along with the secret prisons that fortify Hezbollah's iron grip.In this Policy Focus, richly illustrated with local maps, former Lebanese journalist Hanin Ghaddar reveals the widening gaps between the country's Shia community and its Hezbollah overlords, especially since mass protests shook the nation in October 2019. This analysis not only corrects past oversimplifications of Lebanese Shia, it also offers a path for policymakers seeking to undermine the militant group and give the fragile country hope for the future.

Travel

Ghaddar, Hanin

The Regent of Allah: Ali Khamenei's Political Evolution in Iran

During his lengthy tenure as Iran's Supreme Leader, Ali Khamenei has shown a knack for consolidating power by creating layers of bureaucracy in military, economic, and religious affairs. In turn, he has liberally purged officials who have hinted at disloyalty to him, the Islamic Republic, or its governing doctrine, velayat-e faqih (rule of the jurisprudent). But Khamenei does not lack for personal complexity. As a younger man, he dressed casually, flaunted his love of literature, and composed poetry. And as a leader, he has often demonstrated flexibility--coined as "heroic flexibility" in the case of the 2015 nuclear deal--at times of national risk or strained social cohesion. He has likewise blessed the rise of relatively moderate presidents such as Mohammad Khatami and Hassan Rouhani when he thought their leadership would reinforce national stability. Such flexibility could apply to forthcoming negotiations with Washington on the nuclear fileThis wide-ranging study details Khamenei's political ascent, from his role as an influential cleric in Mashhad to his presidency under Ruhollah Khomeini and his surprising appointment as Supreme Leader. It details the massive religious, intelligence, and cultural infrastructure he was erected--with all officials reporting to him. Whoever succeeds him, the author makes plain, will inherit an infrastructure designed to preserve Iran's authoritarian system and suppress rumblings of internal dissent.

The Regent of Allah

Khalaji, Mehdi

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