Saudi Arabia’s Relentless Campaign to Silence Its Critics
Bottom Line Up Front Saudi Arabia cultivated ties with Twitter employees and persuaded them to spy on various user accounts and report back to […] More
Middle East
Tom Bossert’s Plan to Hijack the Hack
Tom Bossert spends a lot of time thinking about hacking. The former Homeland Security Advisor to President Trump who also served as the country’s Chief […] More
Hundreds of Protesters Killed in Iraq by Security Forces Since October
Bottom Line Up Front Since the protests began in October, security forces have killed more than 319 and injured as many as 15,000 civilians. […] More
Iran Defends Status Quo in Iraq and Lebanon
Bottom Line Up Front Iran is working with key allies in Iraq and Lebanon to forestall political change in the face of significant protests […] More
Lebanon’s Arab Spring
The Cipher Brief’s Expert Take column highlights the thinking of our experts based on their areas of expertise. Emile Nakhleh is a former member of […] More
What Are Protests in the Middle East Signaling?
Protesters came out in support of Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Sunday but they were followed by anti-government protesters who have been calling for a […] More
The Islamic State Names Its New Caliph
Bottom Line Up Front Following the recent death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the so-called Islamic State announced its new leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi. […] More
No Longer Worried About ISIS? Think Again.
The killings of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his possible deputy by U.S. special operations forces are major losses for the extremists, ones that are likely […] More
A JCPOA on Life Support
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran is on life support. Despite the pledges of allegiance to its implementation, Iran is now likely […] More
‘All of Them’ Starts with Hariri: The Lebanese Protests Continue to Spread
Bottom Line Up Front On October 29, Lebanese Prime Minister Saad Hariri announced he and his government would resign, amid massive protests. Although the […] More
Trump and His Oil Fields
OPINION — President Trump’s sending U.S. military troops to control the oil fields in northern Syria can only be interpreted as introducing financial deal-making into […] More
Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi’s Legacy
The demise of Osama bin Laden in 2011 did not end al-Qaeda. Nor will the apparent demise of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi end the terror of […] More
Protesters Killed in Iraq as Demonstrations Intensify
Bottom Line Up Front Dozens of protesters were killed in Iraq late last week, as anti-government demonstrations continued throughout the country. Iraqis have demonstrated […] More
The Killing of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi
More details are emerging about just how U.S. commandos located and cornered ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi over the weekend as well as questions about […] More
Baghdadi May be Dead, but the So-Called Islamic State Will Live On
Bottom Line Up Front On October 26, Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed in a raid by U.S. forces in northern Syria near the Turkish […] More
The Regional Impact of al-Baghdadi’s Death
Cipher Brief Expert Norman T. Roule served for 34-years in the Central Intelligence Agency, managing numerous programs relating to Iran and the Middle East. He […] More
What ISIS Leader’s Death Could Mean for Al Qaeda
Bruce Hoffman is a professor at Georgetown University and Visiting Senior Fellow for Counterterrorism and Homeland Security at the Council on Foreign Relations. He has served […] More
Russia and Turkey Reach a Deal on Syria
Bottom Line Up Front Earlier in the week, Russian President Vladimir Putin met with Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan in Sochi, Russia, where the […] More