Trump’s Thanksgiving Message
OPINION — The media should be satisfied with President Trump’s telephoned “visit to the troops overseas” from his Mar-a-Lago resort on Thanksgiving Day, and not […] More
Global Issues
A Dramatic Escalation Between Russia and Ukraine
Bottom Line Up Front After months of increasing restrictions, Russia recently blockaded the Sea of Azov at the Kerch Strait, denying Ukrainian ships the […] More
China on Track for Peer Military Status with U.S. by 2050
According to a recent report by the National Defense Strategy Commission (NDS), the U.S. Department of Defense and the White House “have not yet articulated […] More
Terrorism Trends in Central Asia
Bottom Line Up Front Despite being well-known for producing high numbers of foreign fighters, Central Asian countries, especially Uzbekistan and Tajikistan, have been mostly […] More
The Persistence of Artificial Divisions in the Balkans
Bottom Line Up Front More than two decades after the official end of the wars in the Balkans, ethnic divisions still define the political […] More
The Art of Sidelining Intelligence
Bottom Line Up Front At some point today, the U.S. government is expected to release its assessment on the murder of U.S. resident Jamal […] More
The Staggering Cost of the Never-Ending ‘Global War on Terror’
Bottom Line Up Front By October 2019, the U.S. will have spent approximately $6 trillion in efforts related to support of the so-called ‘global […] More
Data is the New Currency of Geopolitics
Bottom Line Up Front As the extent of Russia’s manipulation of Facebook became more apparent following the 2016 U.S. Presidential election, the social media […] More
Putin’s Mad Soft Power Skills
OPINION — Russian President Vladimir Putin has managed to wage a global charm offensive, even while supporting a number of actions that have drawn world […] More
Paris and the Prospects & Perils of a Post-American Order
Bottom Line Up Front As the recent World War I centenary tribute in Paris foreshadowed, the world order may be shifting, with the contours […] More
China’s Fourth Industrial Revolution: Artificial Intelligence
China’s state news agency Xinhua, has shown the world just how far China has come in the artificial intelligence race with the introduction of a […] More
General Michael Hayden: ‘The Cyber Cavalry Ain’t Coming’
In a recent interview, The Cipher Brief sat down with former NSA and CIA director Michael Hayden to talk about global threats, and in particular, […] More
The Islamic State of Graves
Bottom Line Up Front On November 6, the United Nations stated it had found over 200 mass graves in Iraq in areas once held […] More
Cipher Brief Analysis: The Pakistan Problem
Pakistan’s Prime Minister Imran Khan recently returned from China without the concrete funding assurances that he was seeking in order to keep his country from […] More
Iran Sanctions Back in Force
Bottom Line Up Front The most significant U.S. sanctions on Iran—aimed at Tehran’s core energy and banking sectors—went back into effect on Monday November […] More
NATO’s Show of Strength on Russia’s Doorstep
As tensions heat up between Russia and the West, cold-war skills are back in play. Norway and Iceland are hosting more than 50,000 troops from […] More
General Michael Hayden on Threats Foreign and Domestic – Part One
As a best-selling author and television commentator, General Michael Hayden (ret.) has been vocal about the threats he sees – both foreign and domestic. The […] More
Increasing Tensions Between the U.S. and Russia in Ukraine
Bottom Line Up Front The armed conflict in Ukraine has received scant attention in the Western media lately, however, tensions have recently increased between […] More