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While the U.S. Focuses on Iran, Russia and China See Strategic Gain

OPINION — Russia and China are certainly concerned about the desperate state of Iran’s regime, an invaluable transactional partner to both countries. Yet they are also working to secure more [...] More

Why Hasn’t Iran Buckled Under U.S.-Israeli Pressure?

EXPERT Q&A -- There are more questions than answers around the reported delivery of a U.S. 15-point plan presented to Iranian officials via a Pakistani interlocutor, with the intention to end the [...] More

More from Dave Pitts

Countering the Kremlin’s Five Most Effective Narratives About Ukraine

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — In the summer of 2008, as Russian tanks rolled toward the borders of Georgia, the battle had already begun—shaped decisively by [...] More
A ship crosses the Baltic Sea at sunrise

The War You Can’t See: Gray Zone Operations Are Reshaping Global Security

From the Baltic to the South China Sea, adversaries exploit ambiguity and technology to weaken Western resolve and challenge international norms. [...] More

Seizing a 21st Century Cognitive Advantage

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — In 1943, a body washed up on a beach in Huelva, Spain. It was the body of a Royal Marine officer, Major William Martin. Martin [...] More

China’s Gray War on America

OPINION — In early 2024, the American public received a stark warning from top U.S. security officials. Chinese state-sponsored hackers, known as [...] More

Resetting Ukraine Negotiations Could Prevent a Shift in Great Power Competition

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — The change in U.S. posture toward Ukraine, the expanding fracture between the U.S. and NATO, and what appears, at least for now, [...] More

Tariffs Overlook Gray Zone Threats Posed by China

OPINION — The recent tariffs against China are obviously getting a lot of attention. China is a major trading partner, so the idea of an escalating [...] More
How Can the U.S. better manage the Gray Zone?

How Can the U.S. better manage the Gray Zone?

"We have to rethink, retool, and reorient so that we are as prepared for gray zone activity as we are for traditional conflict; we’re not there yet." [...] More

Will the new Administration bring new opportunity on Afghanistan?

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — In April of 2024, I offered some thoughts in The Cipher Brief on a possible way forward in Afghanistan. That approach [...] More
What are our Adversaries trying to achieve in the Gray Zone? 

What are our Adversaries trying to achieve in the Gray Zone? 

This is part 2 of a 3-part series by Cipher Brief Expert and former Assistant Director of CIA for South and Central Asia Dave Pitts, who also serves [...] More