Setting U.S. Relations with Saudi Arabia on a Correction Course
There was never any question that America’s relationship with the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia would become one of its most important in the region and […] More
Security/Stability
Four Big Takeaways from the Munich Security Conference
The Cipher Brief asked expert and retired four-star General David Petraeus for his big takeaways after attending last weekend’s Munich Security Conference. First, the wedge between […] More
The Quickly Spreading Global Cyber Threat
Cyber has quickly become the global threat that knows no borders, nor does it distinguish between the public and private sectors. Executives from the world’s […] More
The Trust But Verify Strategy with North Korea
OPINION — The “tremendous progress” with North Korea that President Trump has repeatedly claimed does not approach the success that Kim Jong Un has achieved, […] More
4 Terrorism Questions for former NCTC Director Nicholas Rasmussen
This week’s release of the Intelligence Community’s unclassified Worldwide Threat Assessment made clear which groups the IC believes pose the greatest terrorist threats to the […] More
The Taliban and the Trump Card
U.S. and Taliban officials have agreed to a framework for a possible deal that could see a Taliban guarantee that Afghanistan will not be used […] More
A Green Beret Congressman’s Take on Terrorism
As this month’s terror attacks in Syria and Nairobi make clear, organizations like ISIS and al-Shabab remain focused on launching attacks as a show of […] More
If the U.S. Doesn’t Get China Right, Nothing Else Will Matter
General Michael Hayden, the co-host of The Cipher Brief’s Annual Threat Conference for the past two years, has famously said that the world has been […] More
Shifting Sands of the Middle East and the Impact on the Arab World
In part two of his two-part exclusive series for The Cipher Brief, AEI Scholar Kenneth Pollack, the author of the recently-released Armies of Sand: The Past, […] More
Preventing Terrorism Starts with a Plan
The Trump Administration’s National Strategy for Counterterrorism, released this past October, has received positive reviews for its balanced focus on the challenges associated with confronting […] More
President Trump’s Syria Surprise
The 19 December announcement by President Trump to withdraw ground troops from Syria was surprising to everyone but should have come as a shock to […] More
The Urgency of Resetting Relations With China
Bottom Line Up Front: The Trump Administration is confronting China on issues that have been developing for years and have percolated to the top of […] More
Re-Evaluating Cyber Security for 2019
2018 was a rough year for customers and companies impacted by cyber breaches. Businesses from Under Armour to Facebook to Marriott were targeted by hackers, […] More
How to Support and Distance Yourself from the President’s DoD Budget
OPINION — Navy Secretary Richard V. Spencer last week joined the very public chorus of defense experts in questioning whether President Trump’s call for reducing […] More
Uzbekistan’s Shifting Foreign Policy
Bottom Line Up Front Uzbekistan’s renewed domestic and foreign policies have largely been welcomed by the international community. The geopolitical landscape of Central Asia […] More
Kremlin Subs Set Sights on Internet’s Undersea Backbone
Bottom Line: The U.S. and its NATO allies have warned that Russian submarine activity near undersea fiber optic cables means Moscow may be plotting to […] More
Cyber: “The System is Blinking Red Once Again”
At a recent private D.C. dinner, Homeland Security Secretary Kirstjen Nielsen gathered with academics and cyber experts from the private sector to talk candidly about […] More
What Scares Vladimir Putin?
The U.S. is calling for more rigorous enforcement of sanctions against Russia after Russian ships fired on and seized three Ukrainian boats on Sunday, claiming […] More