Institute for the Study of War/Related Articles

Research staff
a Senior Fellow at ISW, is the chief military correspondent for the New York Times, where he has worked since 1985; coauthor, with LTG (U.S. Marine Corps, ret.) Bernard Trainor, of Cobra II and The General's War is a former U.S. Army officer and Fellow at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW) where he conducts research in his areas of expertise: U.S. military counterinsurgency operations, Kurdish political dynamics, Iraqi’s political landscape, elections and security; previous was a platoon leader in an infantry company assigned to the Doura district in Baghdad under Task Force Dragon; later staff of Commanding General David Petraeus at Multi-National Force-Iraq; International Affairs Fellow at the Council on Foreign Relations (CFR) Research Manager at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), supervises the Iraq and Afghanistan Projects and does research on Iraqi political dynamics, Shi’a militia groups, and the security envi­ronment in central and southern Iraq. Ms. Cochrane Sullivan has also authored numer­ous publications on these issues, including Balancing Maliki and The Fragmentation of the Sadrist Trend; Command Historian for Multi-National Force-Iraq in the first quarter of 2009 is a Research Analyst at ISW, specializing in Helmand Province of Afghanistan Research Analyst at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), where he analyzes political developments inside Afghanistan and Pakistan, the U.S. military and civilian efforts in Afghanistan, and the political strategy and information operations of the insurgency and counterinsurgency in Afghanistan.; recently Communications and Operations Advisor to Afghanistan's domestic election observers group, the Free and Fair Election Foundation of Afghanistan, from July to September 2009; Also worked on Afghanistan-based projects with organizations such as the Human Rights Watch, the Friedrich Ebert Foundation, Human Rights First, and the Centre for Conflict and Peace Studies. Mr. Humayoon studied and observed the planning and convention of the Afghanistan-Pakistan Joint Peace Jirga of August 2007 in Kabul; former staff of thethe Middle East Institute (MEI) on Afghanistan and Pakistan research. Born in Kabul, he attended high school in Afghanistan and Pakistan's Peshawar city; Mr. Humayoon has native fluency in Dari/Farsi and Pashto, and is proficient in Urdu. Research analyst at the Institute for the Study of War (ISW), where he specializes in the security and political dynamics of Kandahar Province; previous experience at the Marine Corps Intelligence Headquarters and for the Ugandan State Minister for Disaster Relief and Refugees in Kampala, Uganda.

Program staff
the Director of Communications of ISW, leads ISW's outreach to Congress and the media. Ms. Ortagus recently embedded with the U.S. Army in Afghanistan and visited Kabul, Bagram, Jalalabad and Kunar Province along the Pakistani border. Prior to joining ISW, Ms. Ortagus was the Director of Policy Coalitions for the Foundation for Defense of Democracies. She traveled to Baghdad, Iraq as an embedded journalist with the Army 1-4 Cavalry and 2-4 Infantry at Forward Operating Base Falcon. Ms. Ortagus is also an analyst for London’s GMTV and a commentator for FOX News, MSNBC, al Hurra and al Jazeera English. the Development Director of ISW, has distinguished herself through contributions to the nonprofit and political sector, serving as a community organizer, spokeswoman, and fundraiser for a diverse portfolio of not-for-profit organizations; previously the Development Officer at the Marine Corps Heritage Foundation; served as a Research Analyst for the Presbyterian Clergy Project on Human Rights. Ms. Seidler also served for United States Congressman Pete Sessions (R-TX), in Washington, DC. a Communications Associate at ISW, holds a Bachelor’s Degree in History from College of Charleston with a concentration in Middle Eastern studies and U.S. Military history. In 2008, Maggie completed an internship with The Foundation For Individual Rights In Education; She has also served as a Volunteer Educator aboard the aircraft carrier U.S.S. Yorktown at Patriot’s Point Naval and Maritime Museum in Charleston, South Carolina.