Japan, South Korea Shaken by Pyongyang, Beijing – And Now, Washington
South Korea and Japan are attempting to maintain business as usual in their alliances with the U.S., but the Trump Administration has not made this […] More
International
Did Trump Give Erdogan License to Kill PKK Militants Inside Iraq?
Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan visited Washington last week to meet with U.S. President Donald Trump. Despite budding tensions over the Trump administration’s decision to […] More
Manchester Points to Troubling Trend of Softer Targets
With the UK threat level raised to the highest level of “critical” — meaning more attacks may be imminent — military personnel are being deployed […] More
Montenegro Needs U.S., NATO Help to Fend off Russians
The U.S. Senate last month overwhelmingly voted for Montenegro’s accession into NATO. President Donald Trump signed off on this, writing in a letter to the […] More
Will the Balkan Tinderbox Ignite, Again?
There are many differences between the Balkans and the Middle East, but they have two things in common. Both regions are former pieces of the […] More
Trump Mideast Trip Marks a Shift from Obama
President Donald Trump heads to The Vatican and Brussels on Wednesday, after wrapping up a trip to the Middle East, which started in Saudi Arabia […] More
Western Balkans in Russia’s Crosshairs
As NATO prepares to add another small Balkan country to its ranks – Montenegro is expected to join on June 5 – the region that […] More
Brennan: Possible Russian Links to Trump Campaign
Former CIA Director John Brennan for the first time publicly said he is concerned about possible ties between Russia and members of the Trump campaign. […] More
Trump Defense Budget Falls Short of Promised Build-Up
President Donald Trump has promised the U.S. military “beautiful” planes, ships, and equipment, but his $603 billion, 2018 defense budget offers only a modest build-up, […] More
Best Of: How U.S., South Korean Special Ops Would Fight in a New Korean War
The situation between the US and North Korea remains tenuous and characterized by uncertainty. North Korea’s cancellation of the upcoming summit with South Korea over […] More
Election Exposed Deep Polarization Within Iran
The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with Suzanne Maloney, Deputy Director of the Foreign Policy Program at the Brookings Institution, to discuss how the […] More
The Struggle Continues in Iran
Hassan Rouhani’s decisive victory in the Iranian presidential elections held last week reveals that after 38 years, Iranians are still struggling to resolve the conflicts […] More
Could Iran’s Elections Indicate a New Future?
Iranian voters sent a strong message to Supreme Leader Ayatollah Ali Khamenei, decisively electing incumbent President Hassan Rouhani to a second term in office. The […] More
True Defeat of ISIS Seems Unlikely in the Short Term
The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with Daniel Byman, Senior Fellow in the Center for Middle East Policy at the Brookings Institution to discuss […] More
Manchester Attack Deadliest in UK Since 2005 London Bombings
As details emerge about an explosion in Manchester, England that left at least 22 people dead and dozens injured, British Prime Minister Theresa May said […] More
Chinese Cyber-Spies Target Asian Neighbors
It has been three years since the Obama Administration publically indicted five Chinese military officials for hacking U.S. companies, a move that prompted negotiations to […] More
Pyongyang Milking a Fortuitous Window of Opportunity
There could not be a riper time than the present for North Korean provocations. Over the past six months, leadership changes took place in both […] More
Trump Should Meet with Sisi in Saudi Arabia
U.S. President Donald Trump arrives in Saudi Arabia Saturday with a packed agenda. He will conclude a $109.7 billion arms agreement with Riyadh, discuss opportunities […] More