Latest Briefs

If the U.S. Doesn't Get China Right, Nothing Else Will Matter

by Christopher Johnson

General Michael Hayden, the co-host of The Cipher Brief’s Annual Threat Conference for the past two years, has famously said that the world has been more dangerous in the past, but it has never...

Shifting Sands of the Middle East and the Impact on the Arab World

by Kenneth Pollack

In part two of his two-part exclusive series for The Cipher Brief, AEI Scholar Kenneth Pollack, the author of the recently-released Armies of Sand: The Past, Present and Future of Arab Military...

The Changing Balance of Power in the Middle East

by Kenneth Pollack

In part one of his two-part exclusive analysis for The Cipher Brief, AEI Scholar Kenneth Pollack, the author of the recently-released Armies of Sand: The Past, Present and Future of Arab Military...

Special Operations Focuses Inward

by COL David Maxwell

United States Special Operations Forces are attracting attention for the wrong reasons after a spate of incidents overseas that involved the murder of Americans, allegedly carried out by SOF...

Iran in 2019: Cautiously Surviving

by Steven Ward

There is certain to be no shortage of headlines in the new year when it comes to Iran’s relationship with the rest of the world. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo made clear during remarks in...

Moscow's History of Accusing Americans of Espionage

by Michael Sulick

This is Cipher Brief Level I Member Only content. It can be accessed via login or by signing up to become a Cipher Brief Member.  Joining this high-level, security-focused community is only...

EXCLUSIVE: On Nobility and the CIA's War in Afghanistan

OPINION — On December 31, The New York Times published a piece that claimed Afghan forces “trained and equipped by CIA agents or contractors” were conducting “torture and killings with...

Private Sector Preps for Active Shooters in 2019

by The Cipher Brief

As we head into 2019, the U.S. does so as a nation that has become accustomed to active shooters, evidenced by horrific tragedies that occurred in 2018.  On Feb. 14, 2018, 17 people died at Parkland...

Will Syria Become a Path to the Next 9/11?

by The Cipher Brief

SPECIAL REPORT – This is a Special Report from The Cipher Brief  The White House has confirmed President Trump’s intentions to withdraw U.S. forces from Syria.  “We have defeated ISIS in...

Trump's Team on Syria Weighs Risk

by The Cipher Brief

Reports that President Trump has ordered a withdrawal of U.S. troops from Syria are not inconsistent with prior messages we’ve heard from the President this year.  In April, The Cipher Brief...