Intel Brief
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New Iran Nuclear Site Revealed
Bottom Line up Front Iran’s construction of a new, hardened centrifuge assembly plant further undermines the 2015 multilateral Iran nuclear agreement. Iran’s confirmation of […] More
One Year after Killing of Baghdadi, What is the State of the Islamic State?
Bottom Line Up Front One year ago today, U.S. Special Operations Forces hunted down ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, who died after detonating a […] More
ISIS Terrorists Known as ‘The Beatles’ To Face Justice in the United States
Bottom Line Up Front El Shafee Elsheikh and Alexanda Kotey, two ISIS members known as ‘The Beatles,’ will face justice in the United States […] More
Northeast Nigeria’s Growing Insecurity Threatens Humanitarian Aid Workers and Civilians
Bottom Line Up Front In the last 12 months alone, a total of 24 aid workers have been killed by non-state armed groups operating […] More
Return of the Quad: The Evolving Security Architecture of the Indo-Pacific
Bottom Line Up Front The Quadrilateral Security Dialogue, or Quad, comprising the United States, India, Japan, and Australia, has reemerged in recent years in […] More
Gulf Rift Defies Resolution
Bottom Line up Front The Trump administration is pushing to resolve the three-year old rift between Qatar and several of its Gulf neighbors before […] More
Implications of Iran Arms Ban Expiration
Bottom Line up Front The October 2020 expiration of the U.N. ban on arms transfers to and from Iran would have little material impact […] More
Syria Spiraling Downward as Economy Tumbles and Instability Spreads
Bottom Line Up Front Even as Syrian strongman Bashar al-Assad appears closer to prevailing in the country’s nearly decade-long civil war, there are new […] More
The Boogaloo Movement – From Eccentric Distraction to Domestic Terror
Bottom Line Up Front The Boogaloo Movement is comprised of an eclectic mix of individuals unified by a deep disdain for government, especially law […] More
Iran’s Shifting Posture in Syria
Bottom Line up Front Iran’s apparent drawdown of its military presence in Syria likely reflects Tehran’s calculation that the regime of President Bashar Al […] More
The Media Should Focus on the Need for Genuine Political Reform, Not Just the Violence
Bottom Line Up Front Lost within the countless stories about looting, arson, and vandalism, there is a genuine political movement gathering momentum, one which […] More
Iran and Israel Continue Their Shadow Conflict in Cyberspace
Bottom Line Up Front Israeli cyberattacks against Iran are intended to send a signal, as a means of pushing back against Iran’s actions in […] More
Spreading Violence and Growing Instability Plague Northern Mozambique
Bottom line upfront The northern Cabo Delgado region of Mozambique is experiencing a significant increase in terrorist attacks, which in turn is driving growing […] More
Russian Influence Grows in the Middle East and North Africa
Bottom Line Up Front In both Syria and Libya, Russia has relied on a combination of mercenaries, weapons sales to proxies and clients, and […] More
Examining Atomwaffen Division’s Transnational Linkages
Bottom Line Up Front Recent discussion about white supremacy extremist groups has focused on the Russian Imperial Movement, but the Atomwaffen Division (AWD) deserves […] More
Iran Space Launch Signals Growing Threat
Bottom Line up Front The April 24, 2020 launch of a satellite by Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) indicates that Iran might intend […] More
Recent Islamic State Attacks Demonstrate its Durability and Resilience
Bottom Line Up Front While much of the world has been struggling to respond to the fallout from the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic, the Islamic […] More
One Foot In, One Foot Out: The Muddled U.S. Approach to the Middle East
Bottom Line Up Front The United States recently announced plans to remove two Patriot anti-missile systems from Saudi Arabia, which could be accompanied by […] More
Instability in Iraq During Leadership Transition
Bottom Line up Front Iraq’s new government will struggle to extricate the country from its role as an arena for conflict between Iran and […] More
Will COVID-19 Usher in the Era of the Surveillance Industrial Complex?
Bottom Line Up Front In order to curb the spread of the coronavirus (COVID-19), countries around the world have been moving to implement new […] More
Instability in Southern Yemen Exposes Rift Between Riyadh and Abu Dhabi
Bottom Line Up Front In late April, Emirati-supported separatists in southern Yemen declared self-administration, demonstrating further strains in the Saudi Coalition and a growing […] More
What are the Policy Options Available for Countering Disinformation?
Bottom Line Up Front Disinformation campaigns can have wide ranging impacts, from altering elections to encouraging acts of violence. Both the public and private […] More
United States and Iran Heading Slowly Toward the Brink Again
Bottom Line up Front The COVID-19 pandemic has devastated both Iran and the United States, but has not prevented tensions between them from escalating […] More
How Will COVID-19 Impact U.S. Military Readiness?
Bottom Line Up Front COVID-19 has required the U.S. military to shift personnel and materiel to a domestic mandate to augment civilian state and […] More