General Austin's New Mission Begins

by Walter Pincus

Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics from nuclear weapons to politics.  In 2002, he...

We Need An Insurrection Investigation

by Walter Pincus

Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics from nuclear weapons to politics.  In 2002, he...

The Fallout from a Contentious Confirmation Battle

by Walter Pincus

Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics from nuclear weapons to politics.  In 2002, he...

Biden's Nuclear Challenges

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — President-elect Joe Biden’s campaign slogan, “Diplomacy is back,” will get an instant test after January 20, when his incoming team has just 16 days to find a way to extend the...

A Bill, the President and China

by Walter Pincus

Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics from nuclear weapons to politics.  In 2002, he...

In a Future Military, You Must Spend to Deter

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — President-elect Joe Biden and Defense Secretary-designee ret-Gen. Lloyd Austin will inherit a Defense Department already in transition, shifting to China as the future major threat,...

Biden's Best JCPOA Bid

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — Was the November 27, assassination of Mohsen Fakhrizadeh – Iran’s top nuclear scientist – the beginning or the end of attempts to sabotage President-elect Joe Biden’s...

A Border Wall Mess

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — “There will not be another foot of [Trump’s border] wall constructed on my administration, No. 1,” President-elect Joe Biden pledged on August 4, during an interview on...

The Challenging Vaccine Distribution Mission

by Walter Pincus

OPINION — Last Wednesday, Dr. Anthony Fauci used the metaphor, “the cavalry is on the way,” referring to two COVID-19 vaccines that are expected to be approved for initial distribution next...

The Times that Try Men's Souls

by Walter Pincus

OPINION – The military has become the U.S. institution in which the public has the most confidence, as measured by the latest Gallup Poll, which gave the military 72 percent followed by the Supreme...