BOOK REVIEW: TRUST ME: A GUIDE TO SECRETS: WHO GETS THEM AND WHY WE HAVE SUCH A MIXED TRACK RECORD WITH THEMBy Lindy Kyzer / Post Hill PressReviewed by: Linda WeissgoldThe Reviewer: Cipher Brief [...] More

When the Chekists Took Up the Pen

BOOK REVIEW: KGB Literati: Spy Fiction and State Security in the Soviet UnionBy Filip Kovacevic / University of Toronto PressReviewed by: Bill HarlowThe Reviewer Bill Harlow served as chief spokesman [...] More

Destroying Boats, Killing Crews, Escalating Risks: The Venezuela Gambit

Destroying Boats, Killing Crews, Escalating Risks: The Venezuela Gambit

OPINION — “Does the Coast Guard have legal authority to destroy a boat or to kill the crew with lethal force if there has not been a [...] More

25 November, 2025

Walter Pincus

25 November, 2025

Ethan Masucol

Americas Latin America Walter Pincus Fine Print

The Delhi Blast and Pakistan’s Proxy War: Why Another Clash Looks Likely

The Delhi Blast and Pakistan’s Proxy War: Why Another Clash Looks Likely

OPINION — South Asia has once again returned to the global spotlight after a suicide bombing struck the heart of India’s capital on November 10. The [...] More

25 November, 2025

Siddhant Kishore

25 November, 2025

Ethan Masucol

Alternative Perspectives Asia

Do Oil Sanctions Still Work?

DEEP DIVE — On October 22, 2025, in his boldest move yet to force Vladimir Putin back to the negotiating table, President Trump unleashed sweeping [...] More

24 November, 2025

Hollie McKay

24 November, 2025

Ethan Masucol

Russia Europe

The Human Algorithm: Why Disinformation Outruns Truth and What It Means for Our Future

The Human Algorithm: Why Disinformation Outruns Truth and What It Means for Our Future

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — In recent years, the national conversation about disinformation has often focused on bot networks, foreign operatives, and [...] More

24 November, 2025

Jennifer Ewbank

24 November, 2025

Ethan Masucol

I Was Cheney's CIA Briefer: This is the Dick Cheney I Knew

I Was Cheney's CIA Briefer: This is the Dick Cheney I Knew

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — About a week before being interviewed by Richard Bruce Cheney about whether I would be the right person to serve as his national [...] More

20 November, 2025

Matt Berrett

20 November, 2025

Ethan Masucol

Iraq Middle East

How Myanmar’s Generals Crushed Democracy — And What Comes Next

How Myanmar’s Generals Crushed Democracy — And What Comes Next

OPINION — After decades of military rule in Myanmar, free and fair general elections were permitted in 2015 and the National League for Democracy and [...] More

20 November, 2025

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani

20 November, 2025

Ethan Masucol

Ambassador Joseph DeTrani Asia

A file picture taken 12 July 2007 shows the headquarters (aka Lubianka) of the Federal Security Service (FSB), the former KGB in Moscow.

Russia’s Intelligence Services After the War

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Russia’s intelligence services (RIS) have failed spectacularly in Ukraine: in planning, execution, and analysis, yet they will [...] More

20 November, 2025

Sean Wiswesser

20 November, 2025

Ethan Masucol

Russia Europe Intelligence

The Downside to Mission Focus: Why the Intelligence Community Should Not Forget to Look Inward

The Downside to Mission Focus: Why the Intelligence Community Should Not Forget to Look Inward

OPINION — Not long ago, I was talking to an old friend and China analyst about the need for Intelligence Community (IC) analysts to spend [...] More

19 November, 2025

Josh Kerbel

19 November, 2025

Ethan Masucol

Intelligence Alternative Perspectives

The Two-Front Nuclear Challenge: Iran, North Korea, and a New Era of U.S. Deterrence

DEEP DIVE — While Washington is focused on Iran’s accelerating uranium-enrichment program and increasingly aggressive regional posture, an equally [...] More

19 November, 2025

Hollie McKay

19 November, 2025

Ethan Masucol

Iran North Korea Nuclear Middle East Asia

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