Becca Wasser

Airpower played a pivotal role in the U.S.-led fight against the Islamic State from 2014 to 2019. This report sheds light on debates about the impact of air operations and how airpower was applied. The authors find that airpower was essential, but it alone would not have been likely to defeat the militant group. Instead, the combination of airpower and partner-led ground forces was needed to destroy the Islamic State as a territorial entity.

Russia has used gray zone tactics-ambiguous actions that target domestic or international public opinion-extensively within Europe. The RAND Corporation ran a series of war games to explore this issue, observing behavior and gaining insights from these games. The authors of this report summarize the key insights from these war games and describe the research effort that informed them.

Scholars and policymakers have sought to understand what drives sectarianism in the Middle East and its relationship to multiple conflicts, but far less attention has been focused on the factors that make a community more resilient to sectarianism. This report provides a better understanding of how communities inoculate themselves from sectarianism or recover from it and draws lessons on how to promote resilience and cross-sectarian cooperation.

The Leahy laws prohibit U.S. assistance to foreign security forces that have perpetuated gross violations of human rights. This report analyzes the vetting process that helps the Department of Defense--in close collaboration with the Department of State--to implement these laws and recommends improvements. The report should help strengthen DoD's ability to implement the laws effectively.

This report examines what binds and divides the six Gulf Cooperation Council (GCC) states Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and the United Arab Emirates and presents the outlook for the GCC s evolution over the next ten years. The study aims to help policymakers better understand intra-GCC dynamics and prepare for future trends in a region with high stakes for U.S. strategic interests."