Today’s Global Threat from Terrorism
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — The US – Europe Group on Afghanistan, which includes special envoys and representatives for Afghanistan from France, Germany, Italy, Norway, the UK, […] More
Islamic Extremism
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
What Iran’s Election Tells Us About Where It’s Headed
Hard-line cleric Ebrahim Raisi won Iran’s presidential election on Saturday in a move that is expected to bolster the conservative legacy of the country’s supreme […] 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
The Latest
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
A Look Inside the Justice Department’s National Security Priorities
Last week, the Justice Department brought an indictment against two individuals accused of working with China’s Ministry of State Security to conduct a decade-long cyber […] More
Russian Aims in Afghanistan
Bottom Line: Russia is accused of funding Taliban contract killings of US troops in Afghanistan. US military officials made limited accusations of Russian arms support […] 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
Recent Islamic State Attacks Demonstrate its Durability and Resilience
Bottom Line Up Front While much of the world has been struggling to respond to the fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Islamic […] More
COVID and Navigating the New Middle East Challenges
The global pandemic caused by COVID-19 has added a significant layer of uncertainty to an already complicated situation in the Middle East. The Cipher Brief […] More
OSINT Global Trendline Report: The Middle East and Africa
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
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
US Foreign Policy and a ‘Bridge to the Unknown’
Cipher Brief Expert John McLaughlin is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He served as the Deputy […] 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
OSINT Global Trendline Report
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 […] More
No Longer Worried About ISIS? Think Again.
The killings of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his possible deputy by U.S. special operations forces are major losses for the extremists, ones that are likely […] 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
What ISIS Leader’s Death Could Mean for Al Qaeda
Bruce Hoffman is a professor at Georgetown University and Visiting Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has served […] More