Publications

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: September 30 - October 12, 2015

October 12, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande
Key Takeaway: The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continued to ramp up its aerial campaign in Syria, claiming to conduct 250 “combat sorties” from October 9-12. This spike in Russian military activity is a notable escalation compared to the 20 “combat sorties” flown on October 8. Most Russian airstrikes continued to concentrate in northwestern Hama province in support of a large-scale regime offensive in the area.

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: September 30 - October 12, 2015

October 12, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande
Key Takeaway: The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) continued to ramp up its aerial campaign in Syria, claiming to conduct 250 “combat sorties” from October 9-12.

Russian Military Activity: October 1-8, 2015

October 9, 2015 - Hugo Spaulding

Russia's Syrian campaign is part of larger confrontation with the U.S. and NATO.  In addition to expanding the scope of its operations to bolster the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Russia issued an open challenge to NATO through repeated violations of Turkish airspace, the shadowing of U.S. Predator drones in Syria, and the launch of cruise missiles into Syria from the Caspian Sea through Iraqi airspace without warning the U.S. beforehand. Russia accelerated its efforts to court U.S.

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: September 30 - October 9, 2015

October 9, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande
Key Takeaway: The Russian Ministry of Defense (MoD) claimed that Russian warplanes conducted 67 “combat missions” throughout Syria on October 9, marking the largest number of Russian airstrikes in Syria on a single day since September 30. Russian airstrikes continued to largely concentrate in rebel-held areas of northwestern Syria from October 8-9. In particular, Russian warplanes continued to conduct airstrikes in support of a large-scale regime offensive against rebel positions in the northern Hama countryside.
 

Russian Airstrikes in Syria: September 30 - October 9, 2015

October 9, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande

Russian Military Activity: October 1-8, 2015

October 8, 2015 - Hugo Spaulding

Russia's Syrian campaign is part of larger confrontation with the U.S. and NATO. In addition to expanding the scope of its operations to bolster the regime of Bashar al-Assad, Russia issued an open challenge to NATO through repeated violations of Turkish airspace, the shadowing of U.S. Predator drones in Syria, and the launch of cruise missiles into Syria from the Caspian Sea through Iraqi airspace without warning the U.S. beforehand.

Iraqi Security Forces Launch New Offensive in Ramadi

October 8, 2015 - Patrick Martin

Iraq after Russian Intervention in Syria

October 7, 2015 - Patrick Martin

The Russian formation of a coordination cell in Baghdad is an inflection point aimed at undercutting U.S. influence over the direction of the anti-ISIS efforts in Iraq and Syria. However, the Russian footprint in Iraq is much smaller than in Syria, while U.S. influence over the ISF and Iraqi state are much greater than U.S. influence in Syria. The U.S. and the U.S.-led Coalition can maintain its position as Iraq’s essential ally in the anti-ISIS fight by increasing advisory, materiel, and aerial support to the Iraqi state, without substantially increasing its ground presence.

Syrian Opposition Guide

October 7, 2015 - Jennifer Cafarella

This reference guide provides a baseline for identifying Syrian opposition groups. The guide aims to permit researchers to track how groups realign as the Russians commence operations. It seeks to inform the development of policies that aim to protect Syrian rebels willing to cooperate with the U.S. in order to defeat ISIS and marginalize al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.

Syrian Opposition Guide

October 7, 2015 - Genevieve Casagrande

This reference guide provides a baseline for identifying Syrian opposition groups. The guide aims to permit researchers to track how groups realign as the Russians commence operations. It seeks to inform the development of policies that aim to protect Syrian rebels willing to cooperate with the U.S. in order to defeat ISIS and marginalize al-Qaeda affiliate Jabhat al-Nusra.

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