The Core of Putin’s Weakness
OPINION — In 2017, I wrote a short piece for Foreign Policy asking if Putin was more a product of his KGB background and personal […] More
Archive for the ‘Russia’ Category
Energy’s Impact on Europe’s Moral Imperative
French President Emmanuel Macron is joining other European leaders in support of an EU Russian oil embargo according to French officials. French Finance Minister Bruno […] More
Putting Europe’s Energy Problem into Perspective
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
Rise of the New Hacker Army but Where’s the Battle?
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
The Cruelty of Half Measures in Ukraine
Doug Wise, Former Deputy Director, Defense Intelligence Agency Douglas H. Wise served as Deputy Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency from August 2014 until August […] More
This is NATO’s Casablanca Moment
OPINION — In the 1942 Hollywood classic Casablanca, Ingrid Bergman, playing Ilsa Lund famously says, “Play it, Sam.” A little under a year later, the […] More
Soviet Espionage Under the Cover of Diplomacy
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Immediately after Russia’s invasion of Ukraine last month, the US government expelled 13 Russian diplomats working at the United Nations. It did […] More
The Cornered Putin Problem
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
How Russians Can Bring an End to Putin’s Chekist State
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
With His only Option being Escalation, this is How Putin’s War Must End
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
How Putin is Drawing the World into its Most Dangerous Time in History
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — Putin has been sucked into the conquest and occupation of a hostile Ukraine; the very circumstance he has sought to avoid over […] More
China and the Global Power Play in Ukraine
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
Ukraine and an Assessment of how a Bad Situation Could Get Much Worse
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
Could This be Putin’s Big Tango?
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
The US is Engaging in a Strategy to Share Intelligence on Russia More Broadly. Is it Worth the Risk?
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
The Outlier: What if Putin’s Real Target isn’t Ukraine?
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — We have a long history of misreading Russian intentions. The classic example was the judgement by the British Joint Intelligence Committee (JIC) […] More
Putin’s Risky Options in Ukraine
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — It is still more probable than not that Russian President Vladimir Putin will employ military force in the coming weeks. He is […] More
Anticipating Russia’s Next Move in Ukraine
“The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for former intelligence officers; no media outlet is even a close second to The Cipher Brief […] More
Dynamics in the Middle East are Shifting, but in which Direction?
The dynamics of the Middle East are changing. From a protracted pandemic to a rise in Chinese interest and influence in the region and a […] More
The Value of a Well-Placed Spy in Moscow
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — I hope CIA has an agent like Dmitry Polyakov operating in Moscow right now. A Major General in Soviet Military Intelligence (the […] More
Havana and the Global Hunt for U.S. Officers
EXPERT OPINION — More than 200 U.S. officers have been hunted around the globe and targeted by an adversary using a mysterious weapon that causes […] 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
Behind the Headlines: Russia in Myanmar, Peru’s New President and what Enjin means for the United Nations Global Compact
Behind the Headlines brings you expert perspectives on today’s headlines by telling you more than what happened, but also what it means. You can also […] More
After Geneva: US – Russia Strategy Moving Forward
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — On 16 June, US President Joe Biden and Russian President Vladimir Putin met for just under four hours in Geneva. This was […] More