Mapping Afghanistan’s Many Terrorist Groups
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE – The on-going bloody terrorist violence against Shia mosques in Afghan cities like Kunduz, Kandahar, and elsewhere have highlighted the murky issue of […] More
Cipher Brief Expert View
Reflections on Ending an Endless War
Cipher Brief Expert Robert Cardillo served as the sixth Director of the National Geospatial-Intelligence Agency (NGA). Prior to that assignment, Mr. Cardillo served as the […] More
Applying What We Learned from Iraq in Afghanistan
Cipher Brief Expert Vice Admiral Kevin Donegan, USN (ret), served as Commander of the U.S. Navy’s Fifth Fleet and Commander of the 32 Nation Combined Maritime […] More
Why We’re Much Safer from Terrorism Now than We Were After 9/11
Cipher Brief Expert Mike Leiter served in several senior national security positions in the federal government, to include as the Director of the National Counterterrorism […] More
What We Need to Know About the Taliban and Its Sharia Rule
Cipher Brief Expert Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. […] More
‘This Doesn’t Need to be Defeat. But at the Moment, it Damn Well Feels Like It’
Cipher Brief Expert Nick Fishwick CMG retired in 2012 after nearly thirty years in the British Foreign Service. He did postings in Lagos, Istanbul and […] More
Why Was there so little Resistance when Afghanistan Collapsed?
Cipher Brief Expert John E. McLaughlin served as Acting Director of Central Intelligence from July to September 2004 and as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence […] More
This is a Dunkirk Moment and Our Decisions Created It
Cipher Brief Expert General David Petraeus (US Army, Ret) served over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating his career with six consecutive commands, five […] More
Remembering a True Leader through CIA Crisis and Controversy
Cipher Brief Expert General Michael V. Hayden (Ret.) is a retired four-star General in the United States Air Force; he was the Director of the […] More
Decision Time on JCPOA
Cipher Brief Expert Gary Grappo is a former U.S. ambassador who held senior positions including Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in […] More
Arms Control for Cyber
Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph R. DeTrani was the former special envoy for negotiations with North Korea from 2003-2006 and was the former director of […] More
Afghanistan’s Dark End Game
Cipher Brief Expert John E. McLaughlin is the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He served as […] More
Anticipating the Fall of Kabul’s Government
Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey served for over 27 years in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is now Visiting Professor of War Studies […] More
A Few Alternate Paths to Resuming Negotiations with North Korea
Cipher Brief Ambassador Joseph DeTrani is former Special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea and the U.S. Representative to the Korea Energy Development […] More
National Security and the Orthodoxy of Tribes
Carmen Medina is a former CIA Deputy Director of Intelligence. A 32-year veteran of the Intelligence Community, she is also the author of Rebels at […] More
Where the US-ROK Summit May Lead
Cipher Brief Expert Joseph R. DeTrani served as the special envoy for negotiations with North Korea from 2003-2006 and is the former director of the […] More
Intelligence on Afghanistan: A Difficult but not Impossible Task
Lieutenant General Robert P. Ashley, Jr. is former Director of the Defense Intelligence Agency, where we reported directly to the Under Secretary of Defense for […] More
The Good, the Bad and the Ugly Reality of Afghanistan
Cipher Brief Expert John McLaughlin served as Acting CIA Director from July to September 2004 and as Deputy Director from October 2000 to July 2004. […] More