Afghanistan

Negotiations have wrapped up between the U.S. and the Taliban, with both sides citing ‘progress’ but nothing groundbreaking in terms of a settlement.  These are the longest talks of their kind since the conflict began in 2001. In the aftermath of the negotiations, a diplomatic crisis is growing between Washington ...

Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats released the Worldwide Threat Assessment on Tuesday, with Intelligence Community leaders briefing Senators on the biggest threats facing the U.S. While The Cipher Brief will cover all aspects of the broader threat matrix that includes China, Russia and North Korea, this week we are ...

OPINION -- On December 31, The New York Times published a piece that claimed Afghan forces “trained and equipped by CIA agents or contractors” were conducting “torture and killings with near impunity.” The piece opens with the description of one such raid where an alleged CIA-trained strike force burst into ...

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 having to request a second bailout from the International Monetary Fund. Pakistan has repeatedly turned to China and Saudi Arabia for financial assistance, while the ...

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 comes as the Afghan Taliban stretches its lethal reach across Afghanistan with violent campaigns that have been building in intensity since earlier this year.  Recent ...