The Post-Caliphate Counterterrorism Challenge

By John McLaughlin

John E. McLaughlin is the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS).  He served as Acting Director of Central Intelligence from July to September 2004 and as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence from October 2000 to July 2004. He was a US Army Officer in the 1960s, with service in Vietnam.

The Cipher Brief spoke with network member and former Acting Director of the CIA, John McLaughlin, about the current U.S. counterterrorism strategy, as well as what to expect from the terrorist threat in the coming year. According to McLaughlin, under President Barack Obama, the U.S. has been “highly successful” at eliminating terrorist leaders, but has been “less successful” at denying terrorists safe havens. Further, McLaughlin explained that as ISIS is beaten back in its self-declared caliphate in Syria and Iraq, he anticipates “the greatest post-caliphate danger is likely to be in Europe.”

The Cipher Brief: How has U.S. counterterrorism policy developed in the eight years under President Obama?

“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief in terms of the number of articles published by formers.” —Sept. 2018, Studies in Intelligence, Vol. 62

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