Dead Drop: January 24

January 24, 2020 | Anonymous

TIMELY TV: With targeted attacks on terrorist leaders much in the news, HBO and Israeli-based entertainment producer Keshet International are developing a limited series about the secret history of Israel’s targeted assassinations.  According ...

The Unintended Consequences of Military Aid

January 24, 2020 | Rana Shabb

This Academic Incubator column is part of an academic partnership with the Nunn School of International Affairs at the Georgia Institute of Technology, presenting regular expert commentary on global security-related ...

January 23, 2020 | Thomas Donahue

Thomas Donahue is a Cipher Brief expert and former Senior Director for Cyber Operations on the U.S. National Security Council Staff.  His article was originally published by National Defense University Press PRISM.  ...

January 22, 2020 | Thomas Donahue

Thomas Donahue is a Cipher Brief expert and former Senior Director for Cyber Operations on the U.S. National Security Council Staff.  His article was originally published by National Defense University ...

January 22, 2020 | John McLaughlin

John McLaughlin served as the Deputy Director of the Central Intelligence Agency from 2000-2004 and served as Acting Director of the CIA in 2004.  He currently serves as a distinguished ...

January 21, 2020 | Shadow Strike Book

BOOK REVIEW: Shadow Strike: Inside Israel’s Secret Mission to Eliminate Syrian Nuclear Power By Yaakov Katz Reviewed by Marc Polymeropoulos Marc Polymeropoulos served 26 years in the CIA before retiring ...

January 21, 2020 | Walter Pincus

OPINION -- When are members of Congress going to wake up and play their Constitutional role as an equal branch of government? Neither the Democratic leadership in the House, nor ...

January 20, 2020 | Robert Dannenberg

Rob Dannenberg is a 24-year veteran of the CIA, where he served in several senior leadership positions, including chief of operations for the Counterterrorism Center, chief of the Central Eurasia ...

January 17, 2020 | Jonathan Hoffman

This Academic Incubator column is part of a Cipher Brief academic partnership program that presents insights on global security-related issues from the next generation of national security leaders.   Today's author ...

January 16, 2020 | Ambassador Gary Grappo

Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the ruler of Oman and the Middle East’s longest serving ruler, died on January 10 after nearly 50 years in power.  Oman, under Qaboos rule, transformed ...

January 15, 2020 | The Cipher Brief

CONVERSATION STARTER -- Few would argue that the January 3 drone strike that killed Iranian General and Quds Force Commander General Qassem Soleimani was a bold move.  The overt nature ...

January 15, 2020 | Emile Nakhleh

Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. Nakhleh is currently a Research Professor and Director ...

January 14, 2020 | Walter Pincus

OPINION -- Ten minutes into President Trump’s speech at his first 2020 presidential re-election campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, last Friday, he drew great cheers when he said, “If you ...

January 14, 2020 | The Man Who Solved The Market

BOOK REVIEW: The Man Who Solved the Market: How Jim Simons Launched the Quant Revolution By Gregory Zuckerman Reviewed by Christopher Messina Messina is an investor and entrepreneur who works in ...

January 13, 2020 | The Cipher Brief

The U.S. is considering whether it will expel more than a dozen Saudi Arabian military students after a shooting at a naval base in Pensacola, Florida last month that killed ...

January 05, 2020 | The Cipher Brief

The U.S. targeting and killing of Iranian Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani by a drone strike in Baghdad on Friday has prompted a series of swift statements and actions throughout ...

December 17, 2019 | Norman T. Roule

As the U.S. continues to announce new sanctions aimed at Iran, there are some signs that indicate the U.S. policy of applying maximum pressure on Iran is working.  Or is ...

December 13, 2019 | The Cipher Brief

The Gray Zone is that place between war and peace where actors use a range of elements at their disposal to effect outcome.  We see it in everyday operations like ...

December 12, 2019 | Tim Willasey-Wilsey

EXPERT OPINION -- Kim Jong-un is a desperate man. He has long believed that Donald Trump’s unpredictability and their quirky friendship offers him the best, and possibly only, chance of ...

December 09, 2019 | Rob Lively

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in April 1949 with the goal of deterring Soviet expansionism and to move European nations closer to the United States in a ...

December 04, 2019 | The Cipher Brief

There is little argument that the 70-year-old NATO Alliance today finds itself in one of the most complicated security environments it has ever seen. China and Russia continue to pose ...

November 25, 2019 | The Cipher Brief

Nine American women and children were killed by suspected drug cartel members in an attack in northern Mexico earlier this month, refocusing attention on the country’s long-standing drug and corruption ...

January 24, 2020 | Anonymous

TIMELY TV: With targeted attacks on terrorist leaders much in the news, HBO and Israeli-based entertainment producer Keshet International are developing a limited series about the secret history of Israel’s targeted assassinations.  According ...

January 23, 2020 | Thomas Donahue

Thomas Donahue is a Cipher Brief expert and former Senior Director for Cyber Operations on the U.S. National Security Council Staff.  His article was originally published by National Defense University Press PRISM.  ...

January 22, 2020 | Thomas Donahue

Thomas Donahue is a Cipher Brief expert and former Senior Director for Cyber Operations on the U.S. National Security Council Staff.  His article was originally published by National Defense University ...

January 15, 2020 | The Cipher Brief

CONVERSATION STARTER -- Few would argue that the January 3 drone strike that killed Iranian General and Quds Force Commander General Qassem Soleimani was a bold move.  The overt nature ...

January 13, 2020 | The Cipher Brief

The U.S. is considering whether it will expel more than a dozen Saudi Arabian military students after a shooting at a naval base in Pensacola, Florida last month that killed ...

January 05, 2020 | The Cipher Brief

The U.S. targeting and killing of Iranian Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani by a drone strike in Baghdad on Friday has prompted a series of swift statements and actions throughout ...

December 17, 2019 | Norman T. Roule

As the U.S. continues to announce new sanctions aimed at Iran, there are some signs that indicate the U.S. policy of applying maximum pressure on Iran is working.  Or is ...

December 13, 2019 | The Cipher Brief

The Gray Zone is that place between war and peace where actors use a range of elements at their disposal to effect outcome.  We see it in everyday operations like ...

December 12, 2019 | Tim Willasey-Wilsey

EXPERT OPINION -- Kim Jong-un is a desperate man. He has long believed that Donald Trump’s unpredictability and their quirky friendship offers him the best, and possibly only, chance of ...

December 09, 2019 | Rob Lively

The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in April 1949 with the goal of deterring Soviet expansionism and to move European nations closer to the United States in a ...

December 04, 2019 | The Cipher Brief

There is little argument that the 70-year-old NATO Alliance today finds itself in one of the most complicated security environments it has ever seen. China and Russia continue to pose ...

November 25, 2019 | The Cipher Brief

Nine American women and children were killed by suspected drug cartel members in an attack in northern Mexico earlier this month, refocusing attention on the country’s long-standing drug and corruption ...