Publications

Iraq Control of Terrain Map: November 25, 2015

November 25, 2015 - Patrick Martin

Kurdish forces recaptured the Yazidi-majority district of Sinjar, west of Mosul from ISIS on November 13. Confrontations between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) will grow increasingly likely as both seek to control Sinjar, while Kurdish control over the mixed-demographic district is already leading to heightened tensions between Yazidis and Sunni Arabs.

Iraq Control of Terrain Map: November 25, 2015

November 25, 2015 - Patrick Martin

Kurdish forces recaptured the Yazidi-majority district of Sinjar, west of Mosul from ISIS on November 13. Confrontations between the Kurdistan Democratic Party (KDP) and the Kurdistan Workers’ Party (PKK) will grow increasingly likely as both seek to control Sinjar, while Kurdish control over the mixed-demographic district is already leading to heightened tensions between Yazidis and Sunni Arabs.

Russo-Turkish Tensions Since the Start of the Russian Air Campaign

November 25, 2015 - Institute for the Study of War

Russia and Turkey have long been at odds over Syria, with Moscow backing President Bashar al Assad and Ankara supporting the opposition to overthrow him. Tensions increased dramatically with the start of the Russian air campaign on September 30. The Turkish shoot-down of a Russian combat aircraft on November 24 is an escalation in this tense stand-off between Russia and a NATO member.

Russo-Turkish Tensions Since the Start of the Russian Air Campaign

November 24, 2015 - Institute for the Study of War

Russia and Turkey have long been at odds over Syria, with Moscow backing President Bashar al Assad and Ankara supporting the opposition to overthrow him. Tensions increased dramatically with the start of the Russian air campaign on September 30. The Turkish shoot-down of a Russian combat aircraft on November 24 is an escalation in this tense stand-off between Russia and a NATO member.

ISW's President's Circle Dinner 2015

November 24, 2015 - ISW Press

ISW held its Fifth Annual President's Circle Dinner honoring General Raymond T. Odierno (U.S. Army, Ret.) with the National Security Award for his Distinguished Service to Our Nation.

Russian Strikes in Syria: November 9 - November 19, 2015

November 20, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande

Russia shifted its air campaign in an effort to mimic the U.S.-led anti-ISIS coalition's recent offensive to target ISIS-run oil and natural gas infrastructure from November 18-19. Russian military chief of staff Col. Gen.

Iraq Situation Report: November 10 - 19, 2015

November 19, 2015 - Patrick Martin

The combined Kurdish offensive against ISIS in Sinjar is less significant as a tactical gain against ISIS than as a symbolic victory for multiple Kurdish factions that will ultimately compete for dominance. 

Russia Security Update: November 11-18, 2015

November 18, 2015 - Hugo Spaulding

Russia is attempting to align itself with France in the wake of ISIS’s terrorist attacks in Paris on November 13. Russia took steps to reassert its freedom of action in Syria as France expanded its anti-ISIS air campaign in response to the Paris attacks. On November 17, Russia launched air strikes from long-range strategic bombers for the first time since its intervention in the Syrian Civil War and announced plans to deploy 12 additional fixed-wing attack aircraft.

Russian Strikes in Syria: November 6 - November 17, 2015

November 18, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande

Russia announced a new phase of its air campaign in Syria on November 17 following a new directive from Russian President Vladimir Putin.

The Islamic State's Trap for Europe: November 15, 2015

November 16, 2015 - Harleen Gambhir

ISW’s Counter-terrorism Analyst Harleen Gambhir makes the case that "Europe and the United States must accept the reality that protracted sectarian warfare in the Middle East is a clear and present danger to their safety and security at home" arguing that these attacks "are yet more proof that we cannot live in peace at home while millions of people are engulfed in war." Read her full op-ed in the Washington Post here.

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