Japan’s Arms Merchants Are Off to a Rocky Start
When Japanese Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s government redrew Japan’s self-imposed arms export restrictions in 2014, it hoped to spark a revolution in a domestic defense […] More
News & Analysis
The Inside Story on U.S. Sanctions
Financial sanctions have emerged as a vital strategic weapon for the United States and a primary means of non-military confrontation with nations, companies, and individuals […] More
How the U.S. Financial Blacklist Shapes Foreign Policy
The U.S. government imposes sanctions on individuals, companies, and nations for a variety of reasons, but the practical consequences are always the same: U.S. sanctions […] More
U.S. Sanctions Aim to Change Rogue Behavior
David Cohen, former Deputy Director of the CIA and Under Secretary of the Treasury for Terrorism and Financial Intelligence, says the U.S. sanctions program is […] More
Mexico’s Violence Spikes, Fueled by Drug Trafficking, Kidnapping, Corruption
Homicides in Mexico surged by 255 percent from 2015 to 2016, and extortion cases increased by 30 percent, according to a recent American Enterprise Institute […] More
Why Mexican Security is Crumbling – and How That Matters Here
Mexico was ranked the most-worsened country this year on the Fund for Peace’s Fragile States Index (FSI), tying with Ethiopia for the bottom spot. Although […] More
U.S., Mexican Militaries Must Keep Working Together, Sharing Intel
Mexico’s stability affects the U.S., and U.S. policy has an effect on its southern neighbor’s stability. The recent Fund for Peace Fragile States Index showed […] More
Clapper: Trump Jr. Emails “Only One Anecdote in a Much Larger Story”
Donald Trump Jr. eagerly accepted help connected with what he was explicitly told was the Russian government’s effort to boost his father’s campaign, a move […] More
The New Nuclear Triad
Defense Secretary James Mattis on June 14 gave Congress an update on the 2017 Nuclear Posture Review, saying, “We’re looking at each leg of the […] More
Columbia Class Submarine Improves Versatility, Endurance, and Stealth of the Triad
Among the three legs of the triad, the U.S. Navy’s ballistic missile submarines are the most survivable and the hardest to detect. Their advanced nuclear […] More
How Will America’s Next-Generation ICBM Improve Nuclear Deterrence?
The only remaining U.S. ICBM, the Minuteman III, entered service in 1970. While upgrades have extended the life of the Minuteman III program, the missiles […] More
Will Iranian President Rouhani’s Second Term Be Different?
May was a huge success for Iranian president Hassan Rouhani. He was re-elected with a landslide majority (57 percent) in the presidential elections, defeating his […] More
G20 Summit a Mixed Bag for Trump
Leaders of the world’s 20 most powerful economies met for the Group of 20 summit in Hamburg, Germany, last week to discuss a wide range […] More
Did Trump and Putin Hear it Differently?
After U.S. President Donald Trump’s lengthy meeting with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G20 in Hamburg, Germany, U.S. Secretary of State […] More
President Trump is Done Complaining to the Russians
In his readout of the two hour and 15 minute meeting between U.S. President Donald Trump and Russian President Vladimir Putin, U.S. Secretary of State […] More
Trump and Putin: Can the U.S. Forgive and Forget?
After weeks of anticipation, U.S. President Donald Trump finally met face-to-face with Russian President Vladimir Putin on the sidelines of the G-20 Summit in Hamburg, […] More
Cipher Brief Expert View: Cyberattacks on Power Plants a Warning
Reports of intrusions into industrial control systems (ICS) broke late last week – this time in several U.S. power plants, including the Wolf Creek nuclear […] More
Network Take: No Surprises from the Trump and Putin Meeting
President Donald Trump immediately brought up the issue of Russian meddling in the 2016 U.S. election during his first face-to-face meeting with Russian President Vladimir […] More