Institute for the Study of War
The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is an American nonprofit research group and think tank founded in 2007 by military historian Kimberly Kagan and headquartered in Washington, D.C.[1] ISW provides research and analysis regarding issues of defense and foreign affairs. It has produced reports on the Syrian civil war, the War in Afghanistan, and the Iraq War, "focusing on military operations, enemy threats, and political trends in diverse conflict zones".[2][3] ISW currently publishes daily updates on the Russian invasion of Ukraine[4][5] and the Israel-Hamas War. ISW also published daily updates on Mahsa Amini protests in Iran.
Abbreviation
ISW
2007
Public Policy think tank
1400 16th St NW
- Washington, D.C., United States
- Jack Keane
- Kimberly Kagan
- Kelly Craft
- William Kristol
- Joseph I. Lieberman
- Kevin Mandia
- Jack D. McCarthy, Jr.
- Bruce Mosler
- David Petraeus
- Warren Phillips
- William Roberti
ISW was founded in response to the stagnation of the Iraq and Afghanistan wars, with core funding provided by a group of defense contractors;[6] it continues to be supported by defense contractors as well as private donations.[7] According to a mission statement on its website, ISW aims to provide "real-time, government-independent, and open-source analysis of ongoing military operations and insurgent attacks".[8]
Political stance and influence[edit]
ISW criticized both the Obama and 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."[9] In 2017, ISW analyst Christopher Kozak praised president Donald Trump for the Shayrat missile strike but advocated further attacks, stating that "deterrence is a persistent condition, not a one hour strike package."[10] In 2018, ISW analyst Jennifer Cafarella published an article calling for the use of offensive military force against the Assad government.[11]
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 the CENTCOM strategic review in January 2009.[12] Kagan served in Kabul as a member of General Stanley McChrystal's strategic assessment team, composed of civilian experts, during his strategic review in June and July 2009. She and her husband Frederick Kagan returned to Afghanistan in the summer of 2010 to assist General David Petraeus with key transition tasks following his assumption of command in Afghanistan.[7]
Personnel[edit]
Governance[edit]
The ISW board includes General Jack Keane, Kimberly Kagan, former US Ambassador to the UN Kelly Craft, William Kristol, former US Senator Joseph I. Lieberman, Kevin Mandia, Jack D. McCarthy, Jr., Bruce Mosler, General David Petraeus, Warren Phillips, and William Roberti.[13]
The ISW is a private organization and as such has refused any and all government funding, instead relying on donations to keep the think-tank operational. This includes substantial backing from several corporations. Some notable past and present corporate supporters include: Cushman & Wakefield, Alvarez and Marsal, Russell Reynolds Associates, Lincolnshire Management, Raytheon, Microsoft, Palantir, General Motors, General Dynamics, and Kirkland & Ellis.[14][15][16]
Reception[edit]
ISW has been described as "a hawkish Washington group"[32] favoring an "aggressive foreign policy" in a 2012 report from the Washington Post.[7]
Writers for Business Day, The Nation and Foreign Policy have called ISW "neoconservative".[33][34][35]
In 2013, a senior analyst at the ISW, Elizabeth O'Bagy, was fired after it was revealed she did not have a doctorate from Georgetown University, and following criticism of the omission in an op-ed of her affiliation with the Syrian Emergency Task Force, a U.S.-based group that supports and lobbies for the moderate Syrian opposition. This generated controversy after O'Bagy's research for the Institute was cited in a U.S. Senate hearing on possible U.S. military intervention in Syria.[36]
