The Cipher Brief: National Security news, analysis and expert commentary.

The Open Source Report

Thursday, September 12, 2024

Blinken discussing support for Ukraine in visit to Poland

Putin launches counterattack in Kursk

E.U. energy commissioner says bloc 'no longer at mercy of Putin’s pipelines’

U.S. aircraft carrier stationed in the Middle East is sailing for home

Philippines resolute on Sabina Shoal stance, but seeks to soften tensions with China

U.S., E.U. diplomats reproach China for tech transfers aiding Russian ‘war machine’

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The Experts

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

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Featured Viewing

Russia’s Covert Info War | The World Deciphered Ep. 5


Opinion

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Russia’a Military Failures & The War in Afghanistan | THE WORLD DECIPHERED EP. 4

The Long Road to a Ceasefire | The World Deciphered Ep. 3

Ukraine’s Stunning Russia Incursion | THE WORLD DECIPHERED Ep. 2


Book Reviews

Dead Drop

This Week’s Dead Drop: September 6

NOC IS CON SPELLED BACKWARDS: There was a long, convoluted, and confusing story in the Wall Street Journal recently titled, “A Fake Spy, Russian Oil and $1 Million Funneled to Democrats.” We confess that we don’t entirely understand the article – but that’s never stopped us from bringing stuff up before. The story centers around a green-card-holding Indian businessman who apparently made a ton of money – and was a generous donor to U.S. Democratic party causes. Some folks told the paper that this guy wanted to create a private paramilitary organization – not unlike [...] More

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Podcasts

State Secrets

An Israeli airstrike against a school building in Gaza City earlier this month, killed nearly 100 people. Israel said the school served as an active Hamas and Islamic Jihad military facility. Hamas – which regularly sets up operational headquarters in civilian areas - denies it. With so many innocent civilians killed, this is exactly the kind of strike that is drawing intense criticism some ten months into Israel’s war against Hamas. A war that started with Hamas’ horrific terrorist attack on Israel last October.

Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment

We talk with retired Navy Rear Admiral Mike Studeman about his book “Might of the Chain: Forging Leaders of Iron Integrity about why trust in leaders in the public and private sector has sunk to all-time lows and his formula for restoring and keeping that trust.Drawing on his naval experience (and heritage) Studeman explains how every person in an organization must pull their share of the load – because one weak link may sink the enterprise.The book has great value for sailors and non-sailors alike, giving readers insights on how to harden their own leadership mettle.


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Since retiring from CIA in 2017, I’ve been honored to be a part of the exceptional Cipher Brief team providing expert assessment – whether it’s nuclear proliferation, transnational terrorism, and climate change or hard targets like Iran, North Korea, China, and Russia – The Cipher Brief delivers without the predisposed ideological bias so often prevalent in today’s discourse.

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