Morocco’s Template for Dealing with Terrorism
OPINION — Africa has replaced the Middle East as the epicenter of global terrorist threats, according to a recent analysis by the United Nations Office […] More
Archive for ‘Counterterrorism’
The Significance of al-Zawahiri’s Death
OPINION — There are undoubtedly those who wonder why the President of the United States would bother to address the American public about the death […] More
Justice by Hellfire: The Killing of Ayman al-Zawahiri
It’s possible that the terrorist leader, wanted for his role in plotting the 9/11 attacks and later becoming the head of al Qaeda after the […] More
Today’s Terrorist Threat
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — MI5 Director General, Ken McCallum’s, joint address on 6th July with the FBI Chief saw a welcome rebalancing of the Security Service’s […] More
The Problem with The Sahel
OPINION — With little public notice, the two-decades-long U.S. war on terrorism continues in the Sahel, the semi-arid region of western and north-central Africa. According […] More
The Battle the FBI is Waging Every Day
OPINION — FBI Director Christopher Wray’s talk at the Reagan Library on January 31 was titled “Countering Threats Posed by the Chinese Government Inside the […] More
A CIA Story of Disruption and Overt Success
BOOK REVIEW: Disruption: Inside the Largest Counterterrorism Investigation in History By Aki J. Peritz / Potomac Books Reviewed by Bill Harlow The Reviewer — Bill Harlow is […] More
Where is the US’ Counterterrorism Doctrine Now?
Javed Ali is an associate professor of practice at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Ali brings more than 20 years of professional […] More
How Can Blinken’s Bold Plan for Afghanistan Succeed?
Tim Willasey-Wilsey, Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey is a Cipher Brief Expert on Afghanistan and a visiting Professor of War Studies at King’s College, London […] More
Biden’s National Security Test
Cipher Brief Expert John McLaughlin is former Acting Director of the CIA, former Deputy CIA Director and is the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the […] More
One Year after Killing of Baghdadi, What is the State of the Islamic State?
Bottom Line Up Front One year ago today, U.S. Special Operations Forces hunted down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who died after detonating a […] More
Trump’s Pre-Election Search for a National Security Win
OPINION — President Trump and his team are trying to come up with at least one last minute foreign policy success before Election Day, just […] More
The China Problem
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo called out China’s claims in the South China Sea this week, saying they are “completely unlawful.” It was a distinctive […] More
The Next American Terrorist
The Growing Irrelevance of Organizational Structure for U.S. Domestic Terrorism Bruce Hoffman, Terrorism Expert, Professor, Georgetown University Bruce Hoffman is a professor at Georgetown University […] More
COVID Lessons Learned From Tackling Extremist Ideologies
Farah Pandith, Former Special Representative to Muslim Communities, US Department of State Farah Pandith served as a political appointee under Presidents George H.W. Bush, George […] More
Iran and Hezbollah’s Pre-Operational Modus Operandi in the West – Part Two
In part one of Iran and Hezbollah’s Pre-Operational Modus Operandi in the West, authors Mitch Silber and Ioan Pop pulled from court documents and open […] More
OSINT Global Trendline Report: COVID and the Americas
The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Trend Line Report utilizes open source data on a quarterly basis to track trends around the world that impact national and global […] More
The Coronavirus is worse than the System Blinking Red
Norman T. Roule served for 34-years in the Central Intelligence Agency, managing numerous programs relating to Iran and the Middle East. He served as the […] More
The US Deal with the Taliban
The United States signed a peace agreement with Taliban leaders on Saturday that is intended to end the US’ 18-year involvement in Afghanistan. The deal […] More
NYC Police Department Forms Special Unit to Combat Racially and Ethnically Motivated Extremism
Bottom Line Up Front The NYC Police Department has formed a special unit to combat white supremacy extremists and others motivated by race or […] More
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Legacy
The demise of Osama bin Laden in 2011 did not end al-Qaeda. Nor will the apparent demise of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi end the terror of […] More
The CIA’s Role in the Post 9/11 World
BOOK REVIEW: Black Site: The CIA in the Post-9/11 World by Philip Mudd, former Deputy Director of the CIA Counterterrorist Center and FBI National Security […] More
A True, Gritty Account of Life in the CIA’s Office of Security
BOOK REVIEW: Guardian: Life in the Crosshairs of the CIA’s War on Terror By Thomas Pecora “The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet […] More
Life as a Female CIA Targeting Officer
[ED NOTE from Cipher Brief CEO Suzanne Kelly: I met Nada Bakos, the author of The Targeter: My Life in the CIA, Hunting Terrorists and […] More