The Taliban and the Trump Card
U.S. and Taliban officials have agreed to a framework for a possible deal that could see a Taliban guarantee that Afghanistan will not be used […] More
Cipher Brief Expert View
Smarter Border Security
The Government remains shut down after President Donald Trump offered a plan over the weekend to provide temporary protection to some groups of immigrants if […] More
What A Safe Zone in Syria Would Actually Look Like
A senior Kurdish official has dismissed the idea of creating a 20-mile wide safe zone in Syria presented by Turkish President Recep Tayyip Erdogan, something […] More
One Bad Decision on Syria Doesn’t Necessarily Lead to Another
President Donald Trump now says U.S. troops will “slowly” be withdrawn from Syria after his controversial announcement in December, saying that troops would be pulled […] More
The High Cost of President Trump’s Decision-Making Style
The Administration will start the new year with a new acting Secretary of Defense after President Donald Trump accepted James Mattis’s resignation letter and moved […] More
President Trump’s Syria Surprise
The 19 December announcement by President Trump to withdraw ground troops from Syria was surprising to everyone but should have come as a shock to […] More
5 Reasons to Support a Space Force
Vice President Mike Pence put a little rocket fuel behind plans to create a new Space Force on Tuesday by announcing that President Donald Trump […] More
Iraq’s New Year Challenges
Despite years of forecasts predicting implosion, partition, revolution, Iranian absorption and other apocalyptic scenarios, there were generally more good events in 2018 than bad in […] More
Re-Evaluating Cyber Security for 2019
2018 was a rough year for customers and companies impacted by cyber breaches. Businesses from Under Armour to Facebook to Marriott were targeted by hackers, […] More
Putin’s Strategy in Ukraine Fraught with Risk
President Petro Poroshenko now says that Ukraine is ready to consider talks with Russia. The Ukrainian leader told French broadcaster, France 24, that German Chancellor […] More
What Scares Vladimir Putin?
The U.S. is calling for more rigorous enforcement of sanctions against Russia after Russian ships fired on and seized three Ukrainian boats on Sunday, claiming […] More
Resetting the Crucial U.S.-Saudi Relationship
President Donald Trump is expected to receive a full report on the killing of Washington Post Journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Tuesday. The President called a […] More
General Michael Hayden: ‘The Cyber Cavalry Ain’t Coming’
In a recent interview, The Cipher Brief sat down with former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden to talk about global threats, and in particular, […] More
We’re The Government and We’re Here to Help Protect Critical Infrastructure
Cipher Brief Editorial Note: On the heels of Cybersecurity Awareness Month in October, President Donald Trump has proclaimed November as National Critical Infrastructure Security and […] More
General Michael Hayden on Threats Foreign and Domestic – Part One
As a best-selling author and television commentator, General Michael Hayden (ret.) has been vocal about the threats he sees – both foreign and domestic. The […] More
Mattis’ Yemen Plan to Replace Combat with Compromise
U.S. Secretary of Defense James Mattis made a number of important comments Tuesday during an interview at the U.S. Institute of Peace. Speaking to former […] More
Saudi Arabia’s Bogus Claims and the Fate of Mohammad Bin Salman
Turkey’s President says he will announce details of his government’s investigation into the disappearance of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi on Tuesday. President Recep Tayyip Erdogan […] More
The Challenge of Liaison Operations in Autocratic Regimes
As Turkish officials continue to release details that draw a gruesome picture of the apparent murder of Washington Post journalist Jamal Khashoggi, the level of […] More