Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

cipherbrief

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Fine Print

The U.S. Coast Guard’s Quiet Drug War Wins Amid Trump’s Caribbean Strikes

OPINION / FINE PRINT — “The U.S. Coast Guard announced [last] Tuesday it has seized more than 100,000 pounds of cocaine in the eastern Pacific Ocean [...] More

The Latest

From Statistics to Strikes: Trump’s Expanding War on Cartels

OPINION — “In the 12-month period ending in October 2024 [Fiscal Year 2024], 84,076 Americans died from a drug overdose, according to the most recent [...] More

As Trump Expands Caribbean Strikes on Cartels, Much is Still Unclear

OPINION — “Extraordinarily violent drug trafficking cartels that the United States has designated as terrorist organizations have wrought devastating [...] More

A Test of Limits: Posse Comitatus and the National Guard

OPINION — “At the June 7, [2025] briefing, [Army North's Contingency Command Post Deputy Chief of Staff] Mr. [William] Harrington stated -- based on [...] More

Lies, Flattery, and Land-Grabs: Putin’s Tactics in Ukraine

OPINION — “The reason why I still remain pessimistic is that everything that [Russian President Vladimir] Putin says is he still wants those four [...] More

Where Senate Appropriators are Steering Defense Dollars

OPINION — “The {Senate Appropriations] Committee recommends increases for [fiscal 2026 Defense Department (DoD)] programs and initiatives that are [...] More

Charting a Path for an Unmanned U.S. Navy Fleet

OPINION — “The Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) is an affordable and flexible vessel capable of filling multiple roles within the [U.S. Navy] [...] More

Golden Dome: A Multi-Billion Dollar Space Gamble

OPINION — "I think the real technical challenge [for the Golden Dome space-based missile defense system] will be building of the space-based [...] More

Third-Country Deportations in Legal Limbo Under Trump

OPINION — “Government has assured emaSwati [the Swazi people] that the arrival [in southern Africa Wednesday in Eswatini, formerly Swaziland] of five [...] More

How the Danes See NATO, Trump and Ukraine

OPINION — “The most important part right now is that Europe would be able to buy military equipment here in the U.S. so we can donate these military [...] More

The Math Behind Trump's $1 Trillion Defense Budget

OPINION — “The President's FY ‘26 [Fiscal Year 2026] National Defense Budget requests $1.01 trillion, which is a 13 percent increase from FY '25 [...] More

What Was Trump Thinking When He Ordered the Strike on Iran?

OPINION / FINE PRINT — “I want to thank and congratulate Prime Minister Bibi Netanyahu. We worked as a team like perhaps no team has ever worked [...] More

A Closer Look at the ‘Big Beautiful Bill’ on Defense Spending

OPINION COLUMN -- “The one Big Beautiful [Reconciliation] Bill currently making its way through Congress, in combination with [fiscal 2025] base [...] More