The Cipher Brief

China’s Military Purges Were Larger Than We Thought

A new report reveals that Xi Jinping’s sweeping purge has removed more than half of the PLA’s senior officers, raising questions about China’s readiness for a Taiwan contingency

China Holds Annual Two Sessions Political Meetings-NPC

In China, the generals keep losing their jobs. On February 26, nine senior officers of the People’s Liberation Army (PLA) – five generals, one [...] More

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DOES THE SHIP OF STATE LEAK FROM THE TOP? The Pentagon escorted senior civilian Dan Caldwell out last year amid a leak investigation into who was feeding sensitive information to journalists. This week, the Office of the Director of National Intelligence hired him to help support the President's Daily Brief. Caldwell is said to have passed his polygraph so apparently the previous allegations were unsubstantiated. But his new home office has its own leak problems. Joe Kent, who led ODNI's National Counterterrorism Center until resigning this week in protest over the Iran war, is now reportedly under FBI investigation for [...] More

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State Secrets

Washington Post columnist and bestselling novelist David Ignatius joins State Secrets to reflect on more than five decades covering intelligence, war, and global power. In this conversation with Suzanne Kelly, Ignatius shares his perspective on what he calls a potentially historic moment in U.S. conflict with Iran and explains why today’s battles increasingly unfold in the gray zone - from cyber operations to covert networks operating far from traditional battlefields.

Ignatius also discusses the evolving relationship between journalists and intelligence agencies, the challenges of reporting during periods of restricted access, and why original reporting still matters in an era of AI-generated analysis.

Drawing on decades of travel and firsthand reporting - from Beirut to Kyiv - he explains why being on the ground remains essential to understanding modern conflict, including what he calls Ukraine’s emerging “algorithm war.”

The conversation comes as Ignatius is honored with The Cipher Brief’s 2026 Impact in Journalism Award, recognizing a career spent uncovering how intelligence, technology, and geopolitics shape the world.