The Government Strikes Back

July 20, 2018 | Suzanne Kelly

In the four days since the Trump-Putin summit, we’ve seen a parade of justified emotion as Republicans joined the chorus of critics speaking out against the President’s performance at the ...

Dead Drop: July 20

July 20, 2018 | Anonymous

HEAD SCRATCHER: A lot of current and former intelligence officials we know are trying to decipher an @realDonaldTrump tweet from Wednesday which asserted: “So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved ...

Congress' Contribution to Innovation in National Security

July 19, 2018 | Congressman Will Hurd

The United States inherently boasts a creative, risk-taking culture that is inextricably linked to its free enterprise system. And while the federal government has a critical role to play in ...

Iran's Dire Straits

July 18, 2018 | Steven Ward

In early July, Iranian President Hassan Rouhani threatened to prevent other countries from exporting oil if U.S. sanctions prevented Iran from selling its oil. Senior Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) commanders ...

July 17, 2018 | Cipher Brief Analysis

The Trump Administration is increasing pressure on Iran since withdrawing from the JCPOA in May.  Last month, the U.S. began pressuring other countries to halt imports of  Iranian oil.  The ...

July 17, 2018 | Daniel Hoffman

Cipher Brief Expert and former CIA Station Chief Dan Hoffman was in Helsinki filing question and answer dispatches for Cipher Brief members. Here’s a look at his post-summit brief: The Cipher ...

July 17, 2018 | Walter Pincus

OPINION -- It’s time to put Paul J. Manafort into the chronology of the Russian intelligence hacking program, as described in Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller III’s indictment of 12 Russian intelligence ...

July 17, 2018 | William Brooke Stallsmith

On the heels of the Helsinki summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, it bears revisiting some of the important, outstanding questions that remain about how ...

July 16, 2018 | Rolf Mowatt-Larssen

Cipher Brief Expert Rolf Mowatt-Larssen is the former Director of Intelligence and Counterintelligence at the U.S. Department of Energy.  He is currently senior fellow at the Harvard Kennedy School's Belfer ...

July 16, 2018 | Jill Dougherty

The Cipher Brief spoke with Jill Dougherty, Global Fellow at The Wilson Center and CNN's former Moscow Bureau Chief, about what Putin will be able to take away from this ...

July 15, 2018 | Daniel Hoffman

Cipher Brief Expert and former CIA Station Chief Dan Hoffman is on the ground in Helsinki filing question and answer dispatches for Cipher Brief members.  He has deep expertise in ...

July 15, 2018 | Rob Dannenberg

UPDATED: As U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin emerge from their summit meeting in Helsinki, Finland, in which no aides were allowed in the meeting, The Cipher Brief ...

July 13, 2018 | David Priess and John Sipher

For decades, former secretary of state and White House chief of staff James Baker has touted his version of a salty military catchphrase as a good-government mantra: “Prior preparation prevents poor ...

July 13, 2018 | Don Hepburn Deputy Assistant Director, International Operations Division, FBI

Don Hepburn is a former senior CIA and FBI official and is currently President of Boanerges Solutions.  He wrote this column with significant contributions from CAPT Evan D. Robinson, USN ...

July 12, 2018 | Norman T. Roule

German prosecutors have charged an Iranian diplomat with conspiracy to murder after counterterrorism officials say they averted a planned terrorist attack near Paris last month.    Prosecutors say the 46-year-old ...

July 12, 2018 | Joel T. Meyer

As the accused accomplices of terrorist Mohammed Merah stood trial in France in October 2017, aggregate web page traffic related to the location of the trial, hostile vehicle mitigation equipment, ...

July 11, 2018 | General Philip M. Breedlove

Background:  The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is responsible for all of NATO’s military operations.  The senior role has traditionally been held by an American, who usually serves a dual-hatted ...

July 10, 2018 | Joseph DeTrani

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is resetting expectations for a denuclearization timeline for North Korea, saying Monday that it will take 'decades' to get North Korea to dismantle its nuclear ...

July 05, 2018 | Joseph DeTrani

As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads to North Korea seeking signs of progress after the recent Singapore summit,  some of his colleagues in the U.S. Intelligence community are doubting ...

July 03, 2018 | Norman Roule

The OPEC conference in Vienna ended on June 22 with a Saudi-engineered defeat of Iran’s efforts to oppose any production hike.  Masked in vague language, the new OPEC agreement will ...

July 02, 2018 | Cipher Brief Staff

Keeping New Jersey safe is by itself a daunting challenge, but its unique proximity to its metropolitan neighbors makes the state a critical component of broader U.S. Homeland Security. Located ...

June 28, 2018 | Cipher Brief Analysis

As details are released about the upcoming summit between the U.S. and Russia, Intelligence Officers are expected to ramp up collection efforts in order to prep the field ahead of ...

July 20, 2018 | Anonymous

HEAD SCRATCHER: A lot of current and former intelligence officials we know are trying to decipher an @realDonaldTrump tweet from Wednesday which asserted: “So many people at the higher ends of intelligence loved ...

July 17, 2018 | Cipher Brief Analysis

The Trump Administration is increasing pressure on Iran since withdrawing from the JCPOA in May.  Last month, the U.S. began pressuring other countries to halt imports of  Iranian oil.  The ...

July 17, 2018 | William Brooke Stallsmith

On the heels of the Helsinki summit between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, it bears revisiting some of the important, outstanding questions that remain about how ...

July 15, 2018 | Rob Dannenberg

UPDATED: As U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin emerge from their summit meeting in Helsinki, Finland, in which no aides were allowed in the meeting, The Cipher Brief ...

July 13, 2018 | David Priess and John Sipher

For decades, former secretary of state and White House chief of staff James Baker has touted his version of a salty military catchphrase as a good-government mantra: “Prior preparation prevents poor ...

July 12, 2018 | Norman T. Roule

German prosecutors have charged an Iranian diplomat with conspiracy to murder after counterterrorism officials say they averted a planned terrorist attack near Paris last month.    Prosecutors say the 46-year-old ...

July 11, 2018 | General Philip M. Breedlove

Background:  The Supreme Allied Commander Europe (SACEUR) is responsible for all of NATO’s military operations.  The senior role has traditionally been held by an American, who usually serves a dual-hatted ...

July 10, 2018 | Joseph DeTrani

Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is resetting expectations for a denuclearization timeline for North Korea, saying Monday that it will take 'decades' to get North Korea to dismantle its nuclear ...

July 05, 2018 | Joseph DeTrani

As Secretary of State Mike Pompeo heads to North Korea seeking signs of progress after the recent Singapore summit,  some of his colleagues in the U.S. Intelligence community are doubting ...

July 03, 2018 | Norman Roule

The OPEC conference in Vienna ended on June 22 with a Saudi-engineered defeat of Iran’s efforts to oppose any production hike.  Masked in vague language, the new OPEC agreement will ...

July 02, 2018 | Cipher Brief Staff

Keeping New Jersey safe is by itself a daunting challenge, but its unique proximity to its metropolitan neighbors makes the state a critical component of broader U.S. Homeland Security. Located ...

June 28, 2018 | Cipher Brief Analysis

As details are released about the upcoming summit between the U.S. and Russia, Intelligence Officers are expected to ramp up collection efforts in order to prep the field ahead of ...