Dr. Kimberly Kagan founded ISW in May 2007, as U.S. forces undertook a daring new counterinsurgency strategy to reverse the grim security situation on the ground in Iraq . Frustrated with the prevailing lack of accurate information documenting developments on the ground in Iraq and the detrimental effect of biased reporting on policymakers, Dr. Kagan established ISW to provide real-time, independent, and open-source analysis of ongoing military operations and insurgent attacks in Iraq.
Its board members include military experts like retired generals Jack Keane and David H. Petraeus.
It has daily updates from various hotspots around the world. It covers the activities that Israel is involved in in a much different way than we see in the media.
It frames it as part of the war between Iran's Axis of Resistance against the West.
The site lists Axis of Resistance objectives for each arena:
Gaza:Erode the will of the Israeli political establishment and public to sustain clearing operations in the Gaza StripReestablish Hamas as the governing authority in the Gaza StripWest Bank:Establish the West Bank as a viable front against IsraelSouthern Lebanon and Golan Heights:Deter Israel from conducting a ground operation into LebanonPrepare for an expanded and protracted conflict with Israel in the near termExpel the United States from Syria
Surprisingly, it doesn't list objectives of the Houthis, but it does cover their activities as well as those of Syrian pro-Iranian forces as part of the same Axis of Resistance forces.
Seeing the war as part of a multi-front war by Iran against Israel and the West is more accurate than this being considered an "Israel-Hamas war." While it is true that Hamas may have attacked on October 7 on its own, it generally follows the dictates and strategy of Iran.
ISW updates its maps daily.
Reading this after following the media - and even the Israeli media - is a breath of fresh air. They report incidents that don't make it into the news or that get buried. They give references to Hamas sources. Everything is transparent and there is no agenda beyond having accurate information to relay to US decision-makers.
From what I can tell so far, this is an essential site to understand what is happening and the larger context without the layers of spin and politics that most news media has.
