How Does the CIA Recruit Russian Spies?
CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING — As any good intelligence officer will tell you, recruiting spies is a tough business. Not only do you have to identify […] More
America’s National Security Wake-Up Call
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – A recent report issued by the Congressionally-mandated Commission on the National Defense Strategy paints a bleak picture of future U.S. national security […] More
Spoilers that could Ignite ‘Tinder Box’ in the Middle East
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – Since the killing of Hamas political leader Ismail Haniyeh in Tehran nearly two weeks ago, world leaders are urging calm while waiting […] More
Dealing with ‘Axis of Authoritarians’ Requires Greater U.S. Policy Risk
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT — Individually, China, Russia, Iran and North Korea consistently rank high on the U.S. list of global threats but national and […] More
The Latest
National Security Lessons from Crowdstrike’s Global Disaster
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE ANALYSIS – As the world gets back online after a global outage that impacted some 8.5 million individual devices around the world, national security […] More
Outgoing NCTC Director Lays Out Today’s Very Real Terrorist Threat
EXPERT Q&A — Christine “Christy” Abizaid was sworn in as director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) in June of 2021, as the threat of […] More
Assassination Attempt on Trump Could Fuel FBI’s Biggest Fear: Terrorism
EXPERT Q&A – As the FBI investigates the reasons why 20-year-old suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks may have targeted former president Donald Trump at a campaign […] More
EXPERT INTERVIEW: Pezeshkian Celebrates a Win in Iran but What Can He Really Do?
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE EXPERT INTERVIEW — Iran’s incoming president Masoud Pezeshkian is promising to be a leader for “all Iranians” after a weekend election victory that followed […] More
What the Death of Iran’s President Could Mean for Tehran and the Region
EXCLUSIVE SUBSCRIBER+EXPERT INTERVIEW – Iran’s state media said Monday that President Ebrahim Raisi had died in a helicopter crash that also took the lives of […] More
Is Afghanistan A Lost Cause for America? Observations from One of the Last Americans Out
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — More than two years after its withdrawal from Afghanistan, the U.S. still does not have a clear way forward in the […] More
A Former Senior CIA Officer’s Notebook on Ukraine
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — During the first week of April, The Cipher Brief traveled with a delegation of national security and military experts led by […] More
Russia Planning Renewed Offensive in Ukraine while Washington Stalls on Aid
A DISPATCH FROM KYIV WITH GENERAL DAVID PETRAEUS (RET.) – Moscow is mobilizing more troops to bolster it’s frontline in Ukraine while stepping up remote-guided […] More
Ignore the Threat of Russian Intelligence Operations at Your Own Peril
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — The Russian Intelligence Services are getting a lot of attention in the U.S. media these days. It makes sense. […] More
Houthi Red Sea Attacks and the Impact on the Global Order
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW – For months, Yemen’s Houthis have been launching repeated missile and drone attacks againstcommercial and military ships in the southern Red Sea and […] More
What is Putin’s Role in the Terrorist Attack in Russia?
OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — On the night of March 22, four masked individuals armed with automatic weapons entered the Crocus City Hall in the […] More
The Tragedy in Moscow Isn’t Over Yet, says CIA’s former Chief of Central Eurasia Division
OPINION / EXPERT PERSPECTIVE – The death toll from last week’s terrorist attack inside a concert hall in a suburban Moscow neighborhood is now at […] More
Ground Truth: The Disconnect, Context and Challenges of Israel’s War against Hamas
You may fly over a land forever; you may bomb it, atomize it, and wipe it clean of life – but if you desire to […] More
Republicans Offer Kyiv Reassurance on Aid Package. Do they Know Something We Don’t?
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — Four years ago, former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo visited Kyiv to reassure president Volodymyr Zelensky that the U.S. would stand by […] More
An Apocalypse in the Making: Hunting Down Hamas Leaders in Rafah
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING – The United Nations is warning of a “slaughter” if Israel launches a ground assault in Gaza’s southernmost city as Israeli Prime Minister […] More