John Sipher

Whether President-elect Donald Trump will keep in place the Obama administration sanctions against Russia for its interference in the U.S. election remains to be seen.   […] More

New presidents often think they can redefine relations with Russia. But will Washington ever get along with Moscow if the Kremlin does not share Western […] More

Naiveté is never a good way to approach foreign policy challenges.  However, it seems that every new Presidential Administration has a tendency to place hope […] More

If Hillary Clinton wins tonight, it will likely be a relief to the Washington foreign policy establishment, our Allies, and probably even our adversaries.  If […] More

It’s often hard to discern when a tipping point arrives in any international crisis.  For those of us working the Balkan beat in the 1990s, […] More

Brad Thor’s latest thriller Foreign Agent is the fifteenth in his Scot Harvath series, and finds former Navy SEAL Harvath fighting both ISIS and evil […] More

A potential Trump Presidency provides both opportunities and challenges for Russia and President Vladimir Putin. Putin’s strategic goals are to weaken the U.S., diminish U.S. […] More

FBI Director James Comey’s 5 July statement on the investigation into Hillary Clinton’s private e-mail server was exactly what we would expect from a professional […] More

After the San Bernardino terrorist attack there were the usual cries “to do something” to better protect the nation. We will surely again hear similar […] More

Across the Central Intelligence Agency lobby from the iconic stars memorializing officers killed in the line of duty is a less well-known memorial.  It is […] More

January’s ISIS inspired attack in Jakarta raises serious concerns that the ISIS brand might be spreading to the world’s largest Muslim country.  Indonesia is the […] More

For years, I slept fitfully after a “friend” told me that it wasn’t the noisy mosquitos buzzing in my ears at night that were a […] More

As a father of three boys, one of my favorite shows is “Malcolm in the Middle,” a 2000-2006 sitcom about a dysfunctional family of six.  […] More

The recent ISIS attacks in Beirut, Sinai, Paris, and now San Bernardino, and subsequent discussion about Syrian refugees highlight the seriousness of the potential threats […] More

Last month, our Network weighed in on the situation in Syria, making the case for increased American involvement in the conflict. One of our contributors, […] More

Do you want an opinion from someone who doesn’t have any relevant information?  Probably not.  However, many journalists and self described experts don’t seem deterred […] More

We all know that James Bond is the classic example of what a perfect spy should be, at least once upon a time.  But let’s […] More

For years, when I was asked to describe the intensity of the relationship between a CIA handler and his/her foreign sources, I would often refer […] More