Behind the Headlines in Munich
Several Cipher Brief experts attended this year’s Munich Security Conference, which concluded last weekend. The annual event is an opportunity for Atlantic allies to share […] More
National Security
Russia’s New Middle East Chessboard
On the sidelines of last weekend’s Munich Security Conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat down to talk. […] More
Coronavirus Emergency Presents Opportunity for U.S.-China Diplomatic Cooperation
Ambassador Joseph DeTrani is former Special envoy for Six Party Talks with North Korea, as well as former CIA director of East Asia Operations. He […] More
How Will Investigations Into Russian Interference Move Forward?
OPINION — President Trump is actively trying to excise the criminal fallout from investigations into Moscow’s 2016 covert support for his presidential election and have […] More
The Real Threat of a Nuclear Arms Race
Cipher Brief Expert Ambassador Joseph R. DeTrani was the former Special Envoy for Negotiations with North Korea. The 70th anniversary of the Treaty on the Non-Proliferation of […] More
OSINT Trendline Report – Western Europe
The Cipher Brief’s Open Source Trendline Report utilizes open source data to track trends around the world that impact national and global security. We break […] More
The Worst Possible Day: US Telecommunications and Huawei – Pt. 2
Thomas Donahue is a Cipher Brief expert and former Senior Director for Cyber Operations on the U.S. National Security Council Staff. His article was originally published […] More
The Worst Possible Day: U.S. Telecommunications and Huawei
Thomas Donahue is a Cipher Brief expert and former Senior Director for Cyber Operations on the U.S. National Security Council Staff. His article was originally […] More
Congress MIA on Oversight Responsibilities
OPINION — When are members of Congress going to wake up and play their Constitutional role as an equal branch of government? Neither the Democratic […] More
The House that Putin is Building
Rob Dannenberg is a 24-year veteran of the CIA, where he served in several senior leadership positions, including chief of operations for the Counterterrorism Center, […] More
Geopolitical Conflict Underlying the War in Libya
This Academic Incubator column is part of a Cipher Brief academic partnership program that presents insights on global security-related issues from the next generation of […] More
What Made Sultan Qaboos the Best Friend Americans Never Knew
Sultan Qaboos bin Said, the ruler of Oman and the Middle East’s longest serving ruler, died on January 10 after nearly 50 years in power. […] More
Soleimani and the True Measure of Deterrence
CONVERSATION STARTER — Few would argue that the January 3 drone strike that killed Iranian General and Quds Force Commander General Qassem Soleimani was a […] More
Soleimani and the Path to a new Middle East Peace Deal
Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. Nakhleh is currently […] More
Is a New Strategy Emerging for Targeted Killings?
OPINION — Ten minutes into President Trump’s speech at his first 2020 presidential re-election campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, last Friday, he drew great cheers […] More
How I Build My Own Brief
TRUSTED SOURCE – In this day of disinformation and facts blending routinely with political opinion and being passed off as objective news, The Cipher Brief […] More
The Danger of Terrorist Retaliation
Since his death at the hands of a US drone strike in Baghdad last week, much has been said about Iranian General Qassem Soleimani and […] More
NATO’s Most Elite Operators and their Biggest Challenges
The North Atlantic Treaty Organization (NATO) was established in April 1949 with the goal of deterring Soviet expansionism and to move European nations closer to […] More