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

What Would Follow a Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation?

The move to label Brotherhood affiliates as terrorist groups could reshape regional alliances, financial networks, and U.S. domestic politics.

What Would Follow a Muslim Brotherhood Terrorist Designation?

DEEP DIVE — On November 24, 2025, President Trump launched a process to designate Muslim Brotherhood chapters in Lebanon, Egypt, and Jordan as [...] More

Middle EastTerrorism
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The Open Source Report

The Urgency of the Moment for Congress on AI and National Security

Global Intelligence Report for Thursday, December 18, 2025

U.S. Senate Passes $901 Billion Defense Bill

Putin declares war goals will be met 'unconditionally,’, U.S. meeting both Russian and Ukrainian negotiators

China’s ‘Manhattan Project’ to rival the West in AI chips

Venezuelan Navy is escorting vessels after Trump’s blockade threat

Access Today’s Report

Expert Insights

Cipher Brief Experts bring context to today’s global events

The Next Nuclear Proliferation Crisis Is Already Here

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

OPINION — Russian President Vladimir Putin has repeatedly threatened that Russia might use nuclear weapons if its sovereignty or territory is threatened, as it enters the fourth year in its war of aggression in Ukraine. [...] More

Ambassador Joseph DeTraniNuclear

Anti-Semitism is a National Security Issue: It’s Time to Treat it Like One

Nick Fishwick

EXPERT OPINION / PERSPECTIVE -- Less than three months ago, two people were killed in a terrorist attack on Jewish people in a synagogue in Manchester, UK, on the most solemn day of the Jewish religious calendar.Three [...] More

TerrorismNick Fishwick
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News & Analysis

Winter is Coming to Ukraine as it Faces a New Kind of War and Uncertainty About a Key Ally

Winter is Coming to Ukraine as it Faces a New Kind of War and Uncertainty About a Key Ally

EXPERT INTERVIEW — Ukraine’s President Volodymyr Zelensky was in Berlin on Monday for an intense round of diplomacy with top U.S. and European [...] More

EuropeUkraine

Opinion

The Cipher Brief's Recommended Reads for the Holidays

Bill Harlow

The Cipher Brief's Recommended Reads for the Holidays

BOOK REVIEWS & RECOMMENDATIONS -- Welcome to our annual holiday book review and recommendations list, where we highlight some of the terrific books [...] More

Alternative Perspectives

What’s on The Cipher Brief’s Digital Channel

Tapping a China Vibe in South Koreaplay icon

Tapping a China Vibe in South Korea

The Open Source Report

Book Reviews

History's Most Mistrusted Friendship
History's Most Mistrusted Friendship

Stealing Success: A Hard Look at China's Rise
Stealing Success: A Hard Look at China's Rise

The FBI’s Pursuit of Chi Mak and the Challenge of Modern Spycraft
The FBI’s Pursuit of Chi Mak and the Challenge of Modern Spycraft

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The Best National Security Gossip

IS NASA BACK? After almost a year of chaos and a mass exodus of staff, NASA finally has a permanent boss as Billionaire Jared Isaacman was confirmed by the Senate with a comfortable yes, fine, go ahead 67–30 vote. Isaacman arrives with big ambitions, a glossy strategic plan named after a Greek goddess, and the kind of Silicon Valley-meets-space-cadet swagger that’s giving Washington déjà vu from the early ’90s, when another outsider executive, Dan Goldin, tried to drag NASA into the future. Isaacman’s “Project Athena” playbook promises a NASA that gets back to doing the impossible: sending humans deeper into space, [...] More

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Events

Live Events

The Cipher Brief 2026 HONORS Awards

The Cipher Brief 2026 HONORS Awards

Join us for the third annual Cipher Brief Honors Dinner, the evening of March 13, 2026. This Black-Tie event is invite only, please apply here for a [...] More

Upcoming: 13 March, 2026

Podcasts

State Secrets


In this edition of the State Secrets podcast, we’re talking with two men who are carrying one of the most legendary torches in modern thriller history. Brian Andrews and Jeffrey Wilson are the powerhouse duo behind the tier one series and are the authors of the latest novel in the Tom Clancy, Jack Ryan universe - Executive Power. Host Suzanne Kelly talks with them about a covert team wiped out in Angola and a high-stakes hostage with action playing out on a global scale, of course. In other words, all the good stuff.

Cover Stories: Spies, Books & Entertainment


David McCloskey, former CIA Analyst turned novelist is out with his fourth book, The Persian, about an Iranian dentist who is recruited by Mossad to take on a dangerous mission inside Iran. Cover Stories Host Suzanne Kelly digs in on how McCloskey’s real-life Intelligence background fueled his latest novel, and discovers a few of McCloskey’s own secrets along the way.