The Ukraine War Just Got Uglier and Even More Personal
EXPERT INTERVIEW — After one of the most emotional, anger-filled days ever captured on public record in the Oval Office, Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky left […] More
The Complications of Change in Gaza
EXPERT INTERVIEW – President Donald Trump shocked the system last week, when he said during a press conference with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu, that […] More
Parsing the Opportunity from Extreme Challenges in the Middle East
EXPERT INTERVIEW / PERSPECTIVE – The Middle East has changed dramatically over the past four years, creating both extraordinary challenges and opportunities for the region […] More
Welcome to the Gray Zone and the Future of Great Power Competition
This is part one of a 3-part series by Cipher Brief Expert and former Assistant Director of CIA for South and Central Asia Dave Pitts, who also […] More
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A Personal Message of Thanks from The Cipher Brief
A PERSONAL MESSAGE / OPINION — In this space that’s normally reserved for world-class reporting and analysis of global security issues, we thought we’d do […] More
A High-level Briefing on Russia for the next U.S. President
EXPERT OPINION – Dear 47th President of the United States, congratulations on your victory and thank you for your willingness to serve as the leader […] More
The U.S. is in the Midst of a Perfect ‘Cognitive Warfare’ Storm
During the 2024 Cipher Brief Threat Conference, Dave Pitts joined Brad Christian, Mike Vickers, and Ralph Goff in a discussion about Gray Zone Operations; a […] More
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
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