Putting Guard Rails Around the Nuclear Option
OPINION — “I am told that there are responsible officials in Russia that, were he [Russian President Vladimir Putin] to push a nuclear button, they […] More
White House
Why The Intelligence Community Needs a Climate Change Task Force
Kristin Wood, Sr. Climate Editor, The Cipher Brief Kristin Wood is the Senior Climate Editor for The Cipher Brief, a Cipher Brief expert, a non-resident […] 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
A Bill, the President and China
Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics from […] More
The Latest
Washington’s Cyber Reckoning
As Washington continues to investigate the true depth of what experts are describing as one of the most damaging cyberattacks in U.S. history, both government […] More
The Times that Try Men’s Souls
OPINION – The military has become the U.S. institution in which the public has the most confidence, as measured by the latest Gallup Poll, which […] More
How Will a Biden Administration Engage the Middle East?
The Cipher Brief is a non-political media outlet focused on publishing expert perspectives on national security issues. We are committed to presenting multiple opinions to […] 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 Reckoning: Donald Trump and Xi Jinping
Dr. Kenneth Dekleva served as a Regional Medical Officer/Psychiatrist (including 5 years at the U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russian Federation) with the U.S. Dept. of State […] More
A Cyber Leader for Today
The Cipher Brief spoke with former Special Assistant to President Obama and Cyber Security Coordinator on the National Security Council, Michael Daniel about the need […] 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
Hovakimian’s Quest for Approval
OPINION – President Trump’s nominee for the top legal job in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Patrick Hovakimian, gave limited answers to […] More
What Follows a ‘Sayonara’ Foreign Policy
Cipher Brief Expert and former Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International […] More
The Future of Hong Kong
A whirlwind of actions and statements regarding Hong Kong over the past week has increased tensions between the US and China. Even before Beijing passed […] More
How to Compete with China without Going to War
Well before COVID-19 there was a “hardening of expert and public opinion in America on the seriousness of the Chinese threat,” according to Cipher Brief […] More
The Real Impact of COVID on Mexico’s Drug Cartels
Since the start of the coronavirus pandemic, law enforcement has kept a close eye on the impact the virus might have on drug cartels. Supply […] More
The Strange Case of Michael Flynn
OPINION — Cherry-picked information filed last Thursday by the Justice Department in Attorney General William Barr’s effort to have charges dismissed against one-time Trump National […] 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
Is a New Strategy Emerging for Targeted Killings?
OPINION — Ten minutes into President Trump’s speech at his first 2020 presidential re-election campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, last Friday, he drew great cheers […] More