50 Years Later, Reflections on Vietnam – From Those Who Lived It
SPECIAL REPORT — Fifty years ago this week, the long U.S. war in Vietnam came to an end. U.S. combat troops had left the country two […] More
News & Analysis
The U.S. Tries to Halt a Shipbuilding Crisis
EXPERT INTERVIEWS — There is at least one issue involving national security and U.S. manufacturing that enjoys bipartisan support – and at least one Trump administration […] More
Assessing the Dangers of a ‘New Nuclear Age’
EXPERT INTERVIEWS — The arsenals of nuclear powers are growing, the number of nations with nuclear weapons may soon rise as well, and Russia has used […] More
Space: A Final Frontier for National Security?
EXPERT INTERVIEWS — The domain of space has become essential to 21st-century life, given the extent to which communications and navigation are now reliant on space-based […] More
The Latest
OPINION: Assessing the State of our National Security
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION – I had the pleasure of delivering the opening address at the recent Cipher Brief HONORS Dinner where we recognized some […] More
Can the CIA and U.S. military stop the Mexican cartels?
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — On January 20, the first day of his second term, President Donald Trump formally labeled Mexico’s crime cartels as international terrorists. Last […] More
20 Years Later, Assessing the Value of the ODNI
EXPERT INTERVIEWS — The Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) marks an anniversary today — 20 years since its creation as the top oversight […] More
Leveraging AI in ‘No-Fail Mission’ for U.S. Intelligence
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – It’s hard to overstate the complexity and importance of the work of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA), which — by its own […] More
The ODNI, 20 Years After Its Creation: Reflections From the First Director
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – The Office of the Director of National Intelligence – the ODNI – was born twenty years ago this month, in response to […] More
The Pathways to a New U.S.-Iran Nuclear Deal
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT – In the early days of the Trump administration, talk of peace deals and ceasefires were focused on the wars in […] More
One Month Into U.S. Campaign, Assessing Damage to the Houthis
EXPERT INTERVIEW— For the past month, the United States military has been carrying out its most robust campaign yet against the Houthi militia, which is […] More
Top U.S. Commanders See Major Pacific Risks
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — A pair of top U.S. military commanders warned Congress last week of dangers in their areas of operations which could factor in […] More
Facing Russia Threat and U.S. Pivot, Poland Prepares for War
EXPERT INTERVIEW — Other than Ukraine itself, few European countries have been as directly impacted by Russia’s 2022 invasion as Poland. From the beginning, Poland, which […] More
Who is Putin’s Special Envoy Kirill Dmitriev?
EXPERT INTERVIEW – The visit of Kirill Dmitriev to Washington last week marked the first time in more than three years that a envoy from […] More
Ukraine’s Drone Boom – and What It Might Teach the World
EXPERT INTERVIEWS – Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky announced this week that Ukraine plans to take an already-booming domestic drone industry and boost it to “the […] More
China Military Drills, a Pentagon Memo and a Question: What Next for Taiwan?
EXPERT INTERVIEWS — Last week, the Taiwan Strait landed back on the front pages for two very different reasons: China held a two-day, large-scale military exercise […] More
Allies Weigh In On The Future Under Trump 2.0
EXPERT INTERVIEWS – Over the past two and a half months, as President Donald Trump’s administration has upended long-standing policies and assumptions about America’s role […] More
Abrupt Changes at the top of the National Security Agency Risk Destabilization
EXCLUSIVE CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — The Cipher Brief was the first to report on Thursday in the weekly Dead Drop column that Director of the […] More
Trump’s Tariffs Have National Security Implications Too
EXPERT INTERVIEWS — President Donald Trump’s sweeping tariffs have spared no nations, slammed several longtime allies, and sent global markets into a tailspin. They will likely […] More