U.S. Increases Investment in Hypersonic Weapons

by Walter Pincus

Congress has decided to accelerate the Trump administration’s movement into the age of hypersonic weapons. These weapons are designed to travel at Mach 6 or more, which means they fly at least six...

If I Were Questioning Brett Kavanaugh

by Walter Pincus

Brett M. Kavanaugh ought to be questioned on how a President, alleged to have violated a federal criminal law – say conspiring to violate the Federal Election Laws – could be investigated...

Boosting U.S. Hypersonic Capabilities

by Walter Pincus

This is Cipher Brief Level I Member Only content. It can be accessed via login or by signing up to become a Cipher Brief Member.  Joining this high-level, security-focused community is only...

Taking the Chill out of the Security Clearance Issue

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — Don’t believe that President Trump’s retaliatory act of revoking former-CIA Director John Brennan’s security clearance “will have a potentially chilling effect on the United...

Space Force: Help Wanted

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — Congress has to take a serious, long, hard, public look at President Trump’s June off-the-cuff idea of a Space Corps, and turn down, rather than blindly approve, the idea for a...

Nuclear Message to the World

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — President Trump’s repeated message that Russia’s possession of nuclear weapons requires him to have better relations with Vladimir Putin, should encourage China to sharply...

What the Mueller Indictment Means

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — It’s time to put Paul J. Manafort into the chronology of the Russian intelligence hacking program, as described in Special Prosecutor Robert Mueller III’s indictment of 12...

Is North Korea Boiling Down to a War of Words?

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — Secretary of State Mike Pompeo tried Sunday to use current U.S. relations with an old wartime enemy, the Communist government in Vietnam, as a prod for Kim Jong-un to move forward on...

North Korea May Be Back on Track, but Are They Ready to Make a Deal?

by Walter Pincus

The Trump administration has yet to make public its objectives for a North Korea denuclearization agreement, but Secretary of State Mike Pompeo indicated what it should contain during questioning by...

Trump’s Nuclear Posture Review: Cold War Redux?

by Walter Pincus

In various and sundry NATO countries, the United States has stationed 200-plus B-61 tactical nuclear bombs, current and older versions of which have dial-a-yield settings that allow various explosive...