Difference between revisions of "Institute for the Study of War"

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The [[Institute for the Study of War]] was founded by Dr. [[Kimberly Kagan]] to defend US counterinsurgency strategy in Iraq.<ref>[http://www.understandingwar.org/who-we-are Who We Are], Institute for the Study of War, accessed 2 April 2014.</ref>
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{{short description|'''Washington-based military and national security research organisation'''}}
 +
{{Infobox organization
 +
| name = Institute for the Study of War
 +
| logo =
 +
| type = Non-profit research organisation
 +
| founded = {{Start date|2007|05}}
 +
| founder = [[Kimberly Kagan]]
 +
| registration_id = 26-0273675 (United States Employer Identification Number)
 +
| headquarters = 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 515, Washington, DC 20036
 +
| key_people = [[Kimberly Kagan]] (president); [[Jack Keane]] (chairman)
 +
| website = https://understandingwar.org/
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}}
 +
The '''Institute for the Study of War''' ('''ISW''') is a Washington-based research organisation founded by [[Kimberly Kagan]] in May 2007, according to its own 2011 annual report.<ref name="ISWAnnual2011">Institute for the Study of War, [https://www.understandingwar.org/sites/default/files/2011_AnnualReport_26MAR_email.pdf ''2011 Annual Report''], organisation's own annual report for 2011, pp. 5–7, 13, 15–17, 24 and 28–33, accessed 6 November 2026.</ref> Its work combines military analysis, mapping and national security education. Its initial research concerned the Iraq war; subsequent programmes covered Afghanistan, Syria, Russia and Ukraine, and China and Taiwan.<ref name="ISWHistory">Institute for the Study of War, [https://understandingwar.org/about-isw/our-history/ Our History], accessed 6 November 2026.</ref>
  
−
==Notes==
+
ISW has maintained close relationships with senior United States military commanders. Kagan advised [[David Petraeus]] in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Petraeus and retired general [[Jack Keane]] subsequently served on its board. It also collaborates with the [[American Enterprise Institute]] (AEI), including the [[Critical Threats Project]] directed by [[Frederick Kagan]].<ref name="ISWHistory" /><ref name="ISWPeople">Institute for the Study of War, [https://understandingwar.org/people/ Who We Are], accessed 7 November 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
The institute says it accepts funding from foundations, corporations and individuals, but not from United States or foreign governments.<ref name="ISWSupport">Institute for the Study of War, [https://understandingwar.org/get-involved/ Get Involved], accessed 6 November 2026.</ref> Reporting on its work in Afghanistan has examined the relationship between military access, public advocacy and support from defence contractors.<ref name="Chandrasekaran2012">Rajiv Chandrasekaran, [https://www.independent.co.uk/news/world/americas/did-general-david-petraeus-grant-friends-access-to-top-secret-files-8426225.html Did general David Petraeus grant friends access to top secret files?], ''The Independent'', 20 December 2012, republished from ''The Washington Post'', accessed 6 November 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
== Origins and military advisory work ==
 +
ISW's own 2011 annual report dates [[Kimberly Kagan]]'s first Iraq report to March 2007 and the institute's founding to May that year, during the United States troop increase generally known as the surge.<ref name="ISWAnnual2011" /> According to ISW's institutional history, [[David Petraeus]] invited her to Baghdad to advise him, alongside [[Jack Keane]]. ISW continued its Iraq programme after the withdrawal of United States forces in 2011.<ref name="ISWHistory" />
 +
 
 +
The institute launched an Afghanistan programme in 2009. Its account of this period records Kagan's participation in [[Stanley McChrystal]]'s strategic review and the involvement of Kagan and ISW analysts [[Jeff Dressler]] and [[Carl Forsberg]] in Petraeus's 2010 campaign review.<ref name="ISWHistory" />
 +
 
 +
In November 2012, [[Justin Elliott]] reported for [[ProPublica]] that [[Frederick Kagan]] and Kimberly Kagan had spent approximately 270 days in Afghanistan during Petraeus's command and a further 128 days under [[John Allen]], according to Frederick Kagan. He described the trips as a means both of supplying outside advice and of informing people who would participate in public debate in the United States. He denied that the couple issued or transmitted military orders. A [[US Department of Defense|Department of Defense]] spokesman said that outside experts were periodically invited to receive briefings, but that the military did not maintain a comprehensive list of think-tank visitors to its Kabul headquarters.<ref name="Elliott2012">Justin Elliott, [https://www.propublica.org/article/meet-the-think-tankers-advising-the-us-military-in-kabul Meet the Think Tankers Advising the U.S. Military in Kabul], ''ProPublica'', 30 November 2012, accessed 6 November 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
[[Rajiv Chandrasekaran]] subsequently reported that the Kagans had desks, military email accounts, high-level security clearances and access to classified intelligence at Petraeus's headquarters. His investigation, republished in ''[[The Independent]]'', recorded both praise for their analytical work and concerns among officers about their informal authority. The Kagans said they received no government pay for this work, continued to receive salaries from their respective think tanks, and made clear that they were not speaking for Petraeus.<ref name="Chandrasekaran2012" />
 +
 
 +
== Research and education ==
 +
In its own 2011 annual report, ISW stated that its mission included improving the United States' ability to conduct military operations and respond to threats in order to achieve United States strategic objectives. It described its method as detailed open-source intelligence analysis, combined with research visits to conflict zones and education for military and civilian leaders, journalists and the public.<ref name="ISWAnnual2011" />
 +
 
 +
The report also records the introduction of [[Palantir Technologies|Palantir]] software in 2011 for mapping incidents and analysing connections between people, organisations and events. ISW said it worked with Palantir Technologies and [[Praescient Analytics]] to train its analysts, and used the platform to examine the Libya conflict and networks associated with an alleged Iranian assassination plot in the United States.<ref name="ISWAnnual2011" />
 +
 
 +
ISW's institutional history dates its Syria programme to 2011 and its Russia–Ukraine programme to 2014. It established centres named after [[Jack Keane]] and [[David Petraeus]] in 2020 and a geospatial intelligence team in 2022. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, its Russia team moved to daily assessments and mapping.<ref name="ISWHistory" />
 +
 
 +
Its personnel directory, consulted in November 2026, lists teams covering Russia and Ukraine, the Middle East, China and Taiwan, the defence of Europe, geospatial intelligence and cognitive warfare. It identifies partnerships with the [[Critical Threats Project]] and [[Coalition Defense of Taiwan]] at the [[American Enterprise Institute]], led respectively by [[Frederick Kagan]] and [[Dan Blumenthal]]. These partnerships produce jointly authored research.<ref name="ISWPeople" />
 +
 
 +
ISW's analysis also advances policy and operational recommendations. In August 2024, a paper by Frederick Kagan, [[Kimberly Kagan]] and colleagues proposed that Ukraine seek to restore battlefield manoeuvre through successive smaller counteroffensives, technological adaptation and operational surprise, rather than a single decisive attack.<ref name="Maneuver2024">Frederick W. Kagan, Kimberly Kagan and colleagues, [https://understandingwar.org/research/future-of-war/ukraine-and-the-problem-of-restoring-maneuver-in-contemporary-war/ Ukraine and the Problem of Restoring Maneuver in Contemporary War], ''Institute for the Study of War'', 12 August 2024, accessed 6 November 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
The [[Hertog War Studies Program]], launched in 2013, is an educational component of ISW's work. The institute presents it as a way of developing future national security personnel.<ref name="ISWHistory" />
 +
 
 +
== Policy networks ==
 +
In his 2009 book ''The Gamble'', [[Thomas E. Ricks]] stated that the chapter “Big Wasta” relied in part on ISW's report ''The Battle for Basra'', written by [[Marisa Cochrane Sullivan|Marisa Cochrane]] and dated 23 June 2008.<ref name="Ricks2009">Thomas E. Ricks, ''The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006–2008'', New York: The Penguin Press, 2009, p. 380.</ref>
 +
 
 +
In a 2016 doctoral study at the [[University of Glasgow]], [[Henda Spence]] drew on interviews with congressional staff to examine ISW's role in debates over Syria. She argued that its maps and military analysis made it a useful resource for policymakers, while its recommendations favoured greater United States military involvement. She interpreted this combination of technical expertise and access as a form of policy entrepreneurship.<ref name="Spence2016">Henda C. G. Spence, [https://theses.gla.ac.uk/7761/1/2016SpencePhD.pdf The influence of neoconservatism on US foreign policy debates during the Obama administration], PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, 2016, pp. 204–205, accessed 6 November 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
== Leadership and governance ==
 +
The following is the board roster displayed by ISW when consulted on 7 November 2026. The website does not give appointment dates for these entries.<ref name="ISWPeople" />
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ Board of directors listed in November 2026
 +
! Person !! Position or affiliation given by ISW
 +
|-
 +
| [[Jack Keane]] || Chairman; president of [[GSI, LLC]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Kimberly Kagan]] || Founder and president, ISW
 +
|-
 +
| [[Kelly Craft]] || Former United States ambassador to the [[United Nations]] and Canada
 +
|-
 +
| [[William Kristol]] || Director, [[Defending Democracy Together]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Hudson La Force]] || Former chief executive, [[W. R. Grace & Co.]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Jennifer London]] || Consultant, [[CACI International|CACI]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Kevin Mandia]] || Chief executive and board director, [[Mandiant]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Jack D. McCarthy Jr.]] || Senior managing director and founder, [[A&M Capital]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Bruce Mosler]] || Chairman of military and veteran programmes, [[Cushman & Wakefield]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[David Petraeus]] || Partner, [[KKR]]; chairman, [[KKR Global Institute]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[William Roberti]] || Managing director, [[Alvarez & Marsal]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Edouard Matitia Cohen]] || Chief operating officer, [[Covalis Capital]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[James S. Gilmore III]] || Former United States ambassador to the [[Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe]]; former governor of Virginia
 +
|-
 +
| [[Todd Ricketts|Todd M. Ricketts]] || Co-owner, [[Chicago Cubs]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Donald V. Smith]] || Retired senior managing director, [[Houlihan Lokey]]
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
ISW's website records that [[Joe Lieberman|Joseph Lieberman]], who died in March 2024, had been a board member since 2014.<ref name="ISWPeople" />
 +
 
 +
=== Board and leadership in 2011 ===
 +
ISW's own 2011 annual report lists seven directors and a separate seven-member advancement committee, with two people serving on both. The affiliations below are those printed in that historical report; it does not provide appointment or resignation dates.<ref name="ISWAnnual2011" />
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ Board and advancement committee listed for 2011
 +
! Person !! Capacity in the report !! Affiliation given in the report
 +
|-
 +
| [[Jack Keane]] || Board chairman || Founder, [[Keane Advisors LLC]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Kimberly Kagan]] || Board member; founder and president || ISW
 +
|-
 +
| [[William Kristol]] || Board member || Founder and editor, [[Weekly Standard|The Weekly Standard]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Elizabeth Cheney]] || Board member || Founder, [[Keep America Safe]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Dennis Showalter]] || Board member || History professor, [[Colorado College]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Hal Hirsch]] || Board member and advancement committee member || Managing director, [[Alvarez & Marsal]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[William Roberti]] || Board member and advancement committee member || Managing director, Alvarez & Marsal
 +
|-
 +
| [[James Dubik]] || Advancement committee member || Senior fellow, ISW
 +
|-
 +
| [[Guy Filippelli]] || Advancement committee member || Chief executive, [[Berico Technologies]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Kimberley Roberts]] || Advancement committee member || Director of government analysis, [[SAIC]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Martin Sullivan]] || Advancement committee member || President, [[Commonwealth Consulting]]
 +
|-
 +
| [[Dave West]] || Advancement committee member || Director, [[Wolf Den Associates]]
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
The same report identifies the following senior leadership and fellows.<ref name="ISWAnnual2011" />
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ Selected leadership and fellows listed in the 2011 report
 +
! Person !! Role
 +
|-
 +
| [[Kimberly Kagan]] || Founder and president
 +
|-
 +
| [[Marisa Cochrane Sullivan]] || Deputy director
 +
|-
 +
| [[James Dubik|James M. Dubik]] || Senior fellow
 +
|-
 +
| [[Michael Gordon]] || Senior fellow
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
== Funding and finances ==
 +
ISW describes itself as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation and says that it does not accept government funding. Its fundraising page invites companies to join its Corporate Council or technology partnerships and permits anonymous donations.<ref name="ISWSupport" />
 +
 
 +
=== Defence-industry support ===
 +
ISW's own 2011 annual report identifies [[CACI International]], [[DynCorp|DynCorp International]], [[Palantir Technologies]] and [[Northrop Grumman]] as its Corporate Council, and [[General Dynamics Corporation|General Dynamics]] as sponsor of its National Security Leadership Award. The report records that [[Kimberly Kagan]] presented that award to [[David Petraeus]] at its inaugural President's Circle dinner on 4 August 2011.<ref name="ISWAnnual2011" />
 +
 
 +
The report says that charitable support enabled ISW scholars to deploy without government salaries and outside the military chain of command. Kagan's presidential letter specifically credits donors with enabling deployments and research visits. Corporate Council benefits advertised in the report included exclusive leadership briefings, advance publications, access to ISW's network, tailored analysis, corporate visibility and invitations to events with national security leaders.<ref name="ISWAnnual2011" />
 +
 
 +
[[Rajiv Chandrasekaran]]'s subsequent investigation quoted Kagan thanking corporate supporters for enabling her extended deployment to Afghanistan. His reporting examines the relationship between that support, access to commanders and the Kagans' advisory work.<ref name="Chandrasekaran2012" />
 +
 
 +
In August 2021, [[Sarah Lazare]] reported in ''[[In These Times]]'' that CACI International remained listed as an ISW corporate sponsor, alongside General Dynamics and [[Microsoft]]. She also identified CACI director [[Warren Phillips]] as an ISW board member at that time, and questioned the absence of funding disclosures in media appearances discussing withdrawal from Afghanistan. These were the relationships reported in 2021, rather than a statement of ISW's current donor list.<ref name="Lazare2021">Sarah Lazare, [https://inthesetimes.com/article/military-contractor-caci-international-weapons-military Military Contractor CACI Says Afghanistan Withdrawal Is Hurting Its Profits. It's Funding a Pro-War Think Tank.], ''In These Times'', 25 August 2021, accessed 6 November 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
=== Supporters acknowledged in the 2011 report ===
 +
The following table includes every founding supporter and company in the Corporate Council and award-sponsor categories on page 32, plus two selected supporters from page 33. The report acknowledges names and support categories but does not give individual donation amounts. These are historical acknowledgements, not a current donor list.<ref name="ISWAnnual2011" />
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ Selected supporters acknowledged in ISW’s own 2011 annual report
 +
! Supporter !! Category in the report
 +
|-
 +
| [[Paul E. Singer Family Foundation]] || Founding supporter
 +
|-
 +
| [[Donors Trust]] || Founding supporter
 +
|-
 +
| [[Smith Richardson Foundation]] || Founding supporter
 +
|-
 +
| [[Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation]] || Founding supporter
 +
|-
 +
| [[Roger Hertog]] || Founding supporter
 +
|-
 +
| [[General Dynamics Corporation|General Dynamics]] || National Security Leadership Award sponsor
 +
|-
 +
| [[CACI International]] || Corporate Council
 +
|-
 +
| [[DynCorp|DynCorp International]] || Corporate Council
 +
|-
 +
| [[Palantir Technologies]] || Corporate Council
 +
|-
 +
| [[Northrop Grumman]] || Corporate Council
 +
|-
 +
| [[Greenhill Family Foundation]] || Commander’s and President’s Circle
 +
|-
 +
| [[DRS Technologies]] || Benefactors and Patrons
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
=== Reported financial scale ===
 +
The figures below are extracted from ISW's tax filings by [[ProPublica]]'s Nonprofit Explorer. They are annual organisation-wide totals, not amounts attributable to particular donors.<ref name="ISW990">ProPublica, [https://projects.propublica.org/nonprofits/organizations/260273675 Institute For The Study Of War Inc], ''Nonprofit Explorer'', extracted Form 990 data for financial years ending December 2022–2024, accessed 6 November 2026.</ref>
 +
 
 +
{| class="wikitable"
 +
|+ ISW financial totals, US dollars
 +
! Financial year ending December !! Revenue !! Expenditure !! Year-end net assets
 +
|-
 +
| 2022 || $5,408,922 || $3,878,696 || $4,916,054
 +
|-
 +
| 2023 || $9,240,453 || $5,617,988 || $8,538,519
 +
|-
 +
| 2024 || $8,244,937 || $6,699,775 || $10,083,681
 +
|}
 +
 
 +
== See also ==
 +
* [[Kimberly Kagan]]
 +
* [[Frederick Kagan]]
 +
* [[American Enterprise Institute]]
 +
* [[Center for a New American Security]]
 +
* [[Hertog Foundation]]
 +
 
 +
== External links ==
 +
* [https://understandingwar.org/ Official website]
 +
 
 +
== Notes ==
 
<references/>
 
<references/>
  
 +
[[Category:Think Tanks]]
 
[[Category:United States]]
 
[[Category:United States]]

Latest revision as of 00:57, 7 November 2026

Washington-based military and national security research organisation

Institute for the Study of War

Type Non-profit research organisation
Founded May 2007
Founder(s) Kimberly Kagan
Registration ID 26-0273675 (United States Employer Identification Number)
Headquarters 1400 16th Street NW, Suite 515, Washington, DC 20036
Key people Kimberly Kagan (president); Jack Keane (chairman)
Website https://understandingwar.org/

The Institute for the Study of War (ISW) is a Washington-based research organisation founded by Kimberly Kagan in May 2007, according to its own 2011 annual report.[1] Its work combines military analysis, mapping and national security education. Its initial research concerned the Iraq war; subsequent programmes covered Afghanistan, Syria, Russia and Ukraine, and China and Taiwan.[2]

ISW has maintained close relationships with senior United States military commanders. Kagan advised David Petraeus in Iraq and Afghanistan, and Petraeus and retired general Jack Keane subsequently served on its board. It also collaborates with the American Enterprise Institute (AEI), including the Critical Threats Project directed by Frederick Kagan.[2][3]

The institute says it accepts funding from foundations, corporations and individuals, but not from United States or foreign governments.[4] Reporting on its work in Afghanistan has examined the relationship between military access, public advocacy and support from defence contractors.[5]

Origins and military advisory work

ISW's own 2011 annual report dates Kimberly Kagan's first Iraq report to March 2007 and the institute's founding to May that year, during the United States troop increase generally known as the surge.[1] According to ISW's institutional history, David Petraeus invited her to Baghdad to advise him, alongside Jack Keane. ISW continued its Iraq programme after the withdrawal of United States forces in 2011.[2]

The institute launched an Afghanistan programme in 2009. Its account of this period records Kagan's participation in Stanley McChrystal's strategic review and the involvement of Kagan and ISW analysts Jeff Dressler and Carl Forsberg in Petraeus's 2010 campaign review.[2]

In November 2012, Justin Elliott reported for ProPublica that Frederick Kagan and Kimberly Kagan had spent approximately 270 days in Afghanistan during Petraeus's command and a further 128 days under John Allen, according to Frederick Kagan. He described the trips as a means both of supplying outside advice and of informing people who would participate in public debate in the United States. He denied that the couple issued or transmitted military orders. A Department of Defense spokesman said that outside experts were periodically invited to receive briefings, but that the military did not maintain a comprehensive list of think-tank visitors to its Kabul headquarters.[6]

Rajiv Chandrasekaran subsequently reported that the Kagans had desks, military email accounts, high-level security clearances and access to classified intelligence at Petraeus's headquarters. His investigation, republished in The Independent, recorded both praise for their analytical work and concerns among officers about their informal authority. The Kagans said they received no government pay for this work, continued to receive salaries from their respective think tanks, and made clear that they were not speaking for Petraeus.[5]

Research and education

In its own 2011 annual report, ISW stated that its mission included improving the United States' ability to conduct military operations and respond to threats in order to achieve United States strategic objectives. It described its method as detailed open-source intelligence analysis, combined with research visits to conflict zones and education for military and civilian leaders, journalists and the public.[1]

The report also records the introduction of Palantir software in 2011 for mapping incidents and analysing connections between people, organisations and events. ISW said it worked with Palantir Technologies and Praescient Analytics to train its analysts, and used the platform to examine the Libya conflict and networks associated with an alleged Iranian assassination plot in the United States.[1]

ISW's institutional history dates its Syria programme to 2011 and its Russia–Ukraine programme to 2014. It established centres named after Jack Keane and David Petraeus in 2020 and a geospatial intelligence team in 2022. Following Russia's full-scale invasion of Ukraine in February 2022, its Russia team moved to daily assessments and mapping.[2]

Its personnel directory, consulted in November 2026, lists teams covering Russia and Ukraine, the Middle East, China and Taiwan, the defence of Europe, geospatial intelligence and cognitive warfare. It identifies partnerships with the Critical Threats Project and Coalition Defense of Taiwan at the American Enterprise Institute, led respectively by Frederick Kagan and Dan Blumenthal. These partnerships produce jointly authored research.[3]

ISW's analysis also advances policy and operational recommendations. In August 2024, a paper by Frederick Kagan, Kimberly Kagan and colleagues proposed that Ukraine seek to restore battlefield manoeuvre through successive smaller counteroffensives, technological adaptation and operational surprise, rather than a single decisive attack.[7]

The Hertog War Studies Program, launched in 2013, is an educational component of ISW's work. The institute presents it as a way of developing future national security personnel.[2]

Policy networks

In his 2009 book The Gamble, Thomas E. Ricks stated that the chapter “Big Wasta” relied in part on ISW's report The Battle for Basra, written by Marisa Cochrane and dated 23 June 2008.[8]

In a 2016 doctoral study at the University of Glasgow, Henda Spence drew on interviews with congressional staff to examine ISW's role in debates over Syria. She argued that its maps and military analysis made it a useful resource for policymakers, while its recommendations favoured greater United States military involvement. She interpreted this combination of technical expertise and access as a form of policy entrepreneurship.[9]

Leadership and governance

The following is the board roster displayed by ISW when consulted on 7 November 2026. The website does not give appointment dates for these entries.[3]

Board of directors listed in November 2026
Person Position or affiliation given by ISW
Jack Keane Chairman; president of GSI, LLC
Kimberly Kagan Founder and president, ISW
Kelly Craft Former United States ambassador to the United Nations and Canada
William Kristol Director, Defending Democracy Together
Hudson La Force Former chief executive, W. R. Grace & Co.
Jennifer London Consultant, CACI
Kevin Mandia Chief executive and board director, Mandiant
Jack D. McCarthy Jr. Senior managing director and founder, A&M Capital
Bruce Mosler Chairman of military and veteran programmes, Cushman & Wakefield
David Petraeus Partner, KKR; chairman, KKR Global Institute
William Roberti Managing director, Alvarez & Marsal
Edouard Matitia Cohen Chief operating officer, Covalis Capital
James S. Gilmore III Former United States ambassador to the Organization for Security and Co-operation in Europe; former governor of Virginia
Todd M. Ricketts Co-owner, Chicago Cubs
Donald V. Smith Retired senior managing director, Houlihan Lokey

ISW's website records that Joseph Lieberman, who died in March 2024, had been a board member since 2014.[3]

Board and leadership in 2011

ISW's own 2011 annual report lists seven directors and a separate seven-member advancement committee, with two people serving on both. The affiliations below are those printed in that historical report; it does not provide appointment or resignation dates.[1]

Board and advancement committee listed for 2011
Person Capacity in the report Affiliation given in the report
Jack Keane Board chairman Founder, Keane Advisors LLC
Kimberly Kagan Board member; founder and president ISW
William Kristol Board member Founder and editor, The Weekly Standard
Elizabeth Cheney Board member Founder, Keep America Safe
Dennis Showalter Board member History professor, Colorado College
Hal Hirsch Board member and advancement committee member Managing director, Alvarez & Marsal
William Roberti Board member and advancement committee member Managing director, Alvarez & Marsal
James Dubik Advancement committee member Senior fellow, ISW
Guy Filippelli Advancement committee member Chief executive, Berico Technologies
Kimberley Roberts Advancement committee member Director of government analysis, SAIC
Martin Sullivan Advancement committee member President, Commonwealth Consulting
Dave West Advancement committee member Director, Wolf Den Associates

The same report identifies the following senior leadership and fellows.[1]

Selected leadership and fellows listed in the 2011 report
Person Role
Kimberly Kagan Founder and president
Marisa Cochrane Sullivan Deputy director
James M. Dubik Senior fellow
Michael Gordon Senior fellow

Funding and finances

ISW describes itself as a 501(c)(3) non-profit organisation and says that it does not accept government funding. Its fundraising page invites companies to join its Corporate Council or technology partnerships and permits anonymous donations.[4]

Defence-industry support

ISW's own 2011 annual report identifies CACI International, DynCorp International, Palantir Technologies and Northrop Grumman as its Corporate Council, and General Dynamics as sponsor of its National Security Leadership Award. The report records that Kimberly Kagan presented that award to David Petraeus at its inaugural President's Circle dinner on 4 August 2011.[1]

The report says that charitable support enabled ISW scholars to deploy without government salaries and outside the military chain of command. Kagan's presidential letter specifically credits donors with enabling deployments and research visits. Corporate Council benefits advertised in the report included exclusive leadership briefings, advance publications, access to ISW's network, tailored analysis, corporate visibility and invitations to events with national security leaders.[1]

Rajiv Chandrasekaran's subsequent investigation quoted Kagan thanking corporate supporters for enabling her extended deployment to Afghanistan. His reporting examines the relationship between that support, access to commanders and the Kagans' advisory work.[5]

In August 2021, Sarah Lazare reported in In These Times that CACI International remained listed as an ISW corporate sponsor, alongside General Dynamics and Microsoft. She also identified CACI director Warren Phillips as an ISW board member at that time, and questioned the absence of funding disclosures in media appearances discussing withdrawal from Afghanistan. These were the relationships reported in 2021, rather than a statement of ISW's current donor list.[10]

Supporters acknowledged in the 2011 report

The following table includes every founding supporter and company in the Corporate Council and award-sponsor categories on page 32, plus two selected supporters from page 33. The report acknowledges names and support categories but does not give individual donation amounts. These are historical acknowledgements, not a current donor list.[1]

Selected supporters acknowledged in ISW’s own 2011 annual report
Supporter Category in the report
Paul E. Singer Family Foundation Founding supporter
Donors Trust Founding supporter
Smith Richardson Foundation Founding supporter
Lynde and Harry Bradley Foundation Founding supporter
Roger Hertog Founding supporter
General Dynamics National Security Leadership Award sponsor
CACI International Corporate Council
DynCorp International Corporate Council
Palantir Technologies Corporate Council
Northrop Grumman Corporate Council
Greenhill Family Foundation Commander’s and President’s Circle
DRS Technologies Benefactors and Patrons

Reported financial scale

The figures below are extracted from ISW's tax filings by ProPublica's Nonprofit Explorer. They are annual organisation-wide totals, not amounts attributable to particular donors.[11]

ISW financial totals, US dollars
Financial year ending December Revenue Expenditure Year-end net assets
2022 $5,408,922 $3,878,696 $4,916,054
2023 $9,240,453 $5,617,988 $8,538,519
2024 $8,244,937 $6,699,775 $10,083,681

See also

External links

Notes

  1. ↑ 1.0 1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 Institute for the Study of War, 2011 Annual Report, organisation's own annual report for 2011, pp. 5–7, 13, 15–17, 24 and 28–33, accessed 6 November 2026.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 2.3 2.4 2.5 Institute for the Study of War, Our History, accessed 6 November 2026.
  3. ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Institute for the Study of War, Who We Are, accessed 7 November 2026.
  4. ↑ 4.0 4.1 Institute for the Study of War, Get Involved, accessed 6 November 2026.
  5. ↑ 5.0 5.1 5.2 Rajiv Chandrasekaran, Did general David Petraeus grant friends access to top secret files?, The Independent, 20 December 2012, republished from The Washington Post, accessed 6 November 2026.
  6. ↑ Justin Elliott, Meet the Think Tankers Advising the U.S. Military in Kabul, ProPublica, 30 November 2012, accessed 6 November 2026.
  7. ↑ Frederick W. Kagan, Kimberly Kagan and colleagues, Ukraine and the Problem of Restoring Maneuver in Contemporary War, Institute for the Study of War, 12 August 2024, accessed 6 November 2026.
  8. ↑ Thomas E. Ricks, The Gamble: General David Petraeus and the American Military Adventure in Iraq, 2006–2008, New York: The Penguin Press, 2009, p. 380.
  9. ↑ Henda C. G. Spence, The influence of neoconservatism on US foreign policy debates during the Obama administration, PhD thesis, University of Glasgow, 2016, pp. 204–205, accessed 6 November 2026.
  10. ↑ Sarah Lazare, Military Contractor CACI Says Afghanistan Withdrawal Is Hurting Its Profits. It's Funding a Pro-War Think Tank., In These Times, 25 August 2021, accessed 6 November 2026.
  11. ↑ ProPublica, Institute For The Study Of War Inc, Nonprofit Explorer, extracted Form 990 data for financial years ending December 2022–2024, accessed 6 November 2026.
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