We Know Afghanistan’s Past but Where is it Headed?
The United States’ policy errors which led to the chaotic exit from Afghanistan were only surpassed by Pakistan’s blunder in championing the Taliban and the […] More
Archive for the ‘Afghan Taliban’ Category
What Stands Between the Taliban and Recognition
This piece was first published by RUSI in London. The views do not represent those of RUSI. EXPERT PERSPECTIVE –The international community is coming under increasing […] More
Wars are not Won by Evacuations
Mark Kelton, Former Deputy Director, CIA’s Counterintelligence, National Clandestine Service Cipher Brief Expert Mark Kelton is a retired senior Central Intelligence Agency executive with 34 […] More
The Risk of Terrorism at Home and Abroad
As information emerges about Islamic State of Khorasan, or ISIS-K – the terrorist group that claimed responsibility for last week’s suicide attack that killed 13 […] More
Putin’s Calculated Afghanistan Play
Robert Dannenberg, Former Senior CIA Officer Cipher Brief Expert Rob Dannenberg is a 24-year veteran of the CIA, where he served in several senior leadership […] More
Written in Taliban: U.S. Veterans Voice Anger Over Afghanistan
President Joe Biden admitted during his address from the White House this week that, “The scenes we’re seeing in Afghanistan, they’re gut-wrenching, particularly for our […] More
The Painful Lessons of Afghanistan
General Joseph L. Votel (Ret.) joined BENS as CEO & President in January 2020 following a 39-year military career where he commanded special operations and […] More
Afghanistan: Losers Can’t Be Choosers
Bottom Line Up Front: There are indications that the Taliban have no intention of reaching a compromise and believe they can take over Afghanistan shortly […] More
Why the Istanbul Summit May be Afghanistan’s Last Chance
Tim Willasey-Wilsey, Former Senior Member, British FOreign and Commonwealth Office Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey served for over 27 years in the British Foreign and […] More
Afghanistan: How Six Good Reasons Can Still Lead to a Bad Decision
Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey served for over 27 years in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office where his focus was on South Asia and […] More
Russian Aims in Afghanistan
Bottom Line: Russia is accused of funding Taliban contract killings of US troops in Afghanistan. US military officials made limited accusations of Russian arms support […] More
OSINT Global Trendline Report: Asia
The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Trend Line Report utilizes open source data on a quarterly basis to track trends around the world that impact national and global […] More
OSINT Global Trendline Report: COVID and the Americas
The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Trend Line Report utilizes open source data on a quarterly basis to track trends around the world that impact national and global […] More
Afghanistan’s Hard Lessons. A British Perspective.
Tim Willasey-Wilsey is a former senior British diplomat and now a Senior Visiting Fellow at King’s College London’s Department of War Studies. The probability is […] More
The US Deal with the Taliban
The United States signed a peace agreement with Taliban leaders on Saturday that is intended to end the US’ 18-year involvement in Afghanistan. The deal […] More
EXCLUSIVE: On Nobility and the CIA’s War in Afghanistan
OPINION — On December 31, The New York Times published a piece that claimed Afghan forces “trained and equipped by CIA agents or contractors” were […] More
Cipher Brief Analysis: The Pakistan Problem
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan recently returned from China without the concrete funding assurances that he was seeking in order to keep his country from […] More
The Rise of the Afghan Taliban
U.S. Secretary of State Mike Pompeo is welcoming a ceasefire offer made to the Afghan Taliban over the weekend by the Afghan government. The offer […] More