Fixing DOD’s Acquisition Problem
Robin Dreeke is a US Naval Academy graduate and veteran Marine Corps Officer. He spent twenty-one years as an FBI Special Agent specializing in counterintelligence […] More
Opinion
How Reorienting Middle East Policy can work in a New Era
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
What Follows a ‘Sayonara’ Foreign Policy
Cipher Brief Expert and former Acting CIA Director John McLaughlin is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International […] More
The Battle over Bounties and the Bottom Line
OPINION — On 27 June, The New York Times reported Russia was offering bounties to the Taliban to kill American soldiers. The paper cited anonymous […] More
The Unconventional Case for Body Cameras
James Van de Velde, Ph.D., is an Adjunct Faculty Member at Johns Hopkins University. He can be reached at [email protected] OPINION — High technology has […] More
Equal Justice and National Security
Brigham Bechtel is a former CIA Chief of Station. He now works for Coverent and serves at Navigators Global as a Senior Strategist -Security, Defense, […] More
Lessons From Bahrain’s Response to COVID-19
Daniel Hoffman is a former Chief of Station with the Central Intelligence Agency. His combined 30 years of distinguished government service included tours of duty […] More
Who is Kim Yo-jong?
The sister of North Korean leader Kim Jong-Un made headlines over the weekend as she threatened military action against South Korea, and deemed the inter-Korean liaison […] More
Please, Take your Knee off our Necks so we can Breathe
Lieutenant General Vincent Stewart (Ret.) (Vince) is the Founder and CEO of Stewart Global Solutions, LLC, an international consulting organization. He retired from the U.S. […] More
An Apolitical Military is Essential to Maintaining Balance Among US Institutions
OPINION — Today, American institutions are front and center as we simultaneously confront the triple threat of an active pandemic, civil unrest spurred by racial […] More
The Right Collaboration on 5G is Critical
OPINION — During a roundtable at the State Department last week, Attorney General William Barr emphasized how “our national security and the flourishing of our […] More
National Security Lessons on the Climate
“Lessons adopted” is a much more important concept than “lessons learned.” Lessons adopted requires the learning of lessons, but it also requires a more important […] More
Bahrain and the Politics of COVID-19
Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. He is currently […] More
In a Weird Way, My Career at CIA Prepared My Family for this Pandemic
Marc Polymeropoulos served 26 years at CIA, retiring from the Senior Intelligence Service in 2019. He served overseas in the Middle East and South Asia, […] More
The Case for an Intelligence Community Innovation Unit
OPINION — In the face of a world-altering pandemic, we must take this opportunity to create space for innovation within the Intelligence Community. I left […] More
Don’t Bet on China to Fill the Post-Pandemic Leadership Void
Cipher Brief Expert John McLaughlin is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He served as Deputy Director […] More
Apple and Google Contact Tracing App is a Start not a Fix
Stewart Baker is a partner in the law firm of Steptoe & Johnson in Washington, D.C. From 2005 to 2009, he was the first Assistant […] More
Could a Power Grab by MbS Unravel Al Saud 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