State of Taliban in Afghanistan Today
Taliban fighters are pushing towards Tirin Kot, the capital of Afghanistan’s southern Uruzgan province, while two other cities – Kunduz in the north and Lashkar […] More
Afghanistan
In Afghanistan, Special Operators Continue to Burn Both Ends of the Candle
Things aren’t going so well in Afghanistan these days. The Obama administration plans to reduce America’s presence there by only about half as much as […] More
Is the Islamic State on the ropes in Afghanistan?
The death of the leader of the Islamic State in Afghanistan last month was another damaging blow to the hardline group seeking to usurp authority […] More
Mounting Security Challenges in Afghanistan
With Taliban and ISIS attacks occurring in Afghanistan almost daily, questions surrounding the direction of the country’s security apparatus loom large. Despite U.S. President Barack […] More
Not All of the News is Bad
As the Taliban and ISIS continue to launch attacks across Afghanistan, U.S. and Afghan forces face the daunting task of bringing stability to one of […] More
Far From Achieving Strategic Objectives
The Cipher Brief spoke with Congressman Will Hurd of Texas about the increasing security challenges in Afghanistan. According to Hurd, U.S. objectives in Afghanistan have […] More
The U.S. is Not Walking Away from Afghanistan
U.S. President Barack Obama announced Wednesday that he will leave 8,400 U.S. troops in Afghanistan through the end of his presidency, considerably slowing the drawdown […] More
Fallout from Taliban Leader’s Death by Drone
This morning, the White House confirmed the death of Taliban leader Mullah Akhtar Muhammad Mansour, who was killed in a U.S. drone strike on Saturday […] More
The Taliban's Persistent Threat
Last week the Taliban announced the opening of its annual spring offensive. The year ahead is going to be a difficult one for the Afghan […] More
Taliban on the Offensive
One week after announcing the start of its annual “spring offensive” – dubbed “Operation Omari” after the late Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar – the Taliban carried […] More
A Real Force To Be Reckoned With
As the Taliban causes havoc on the battlefield and with terrorist attacks, The Cipher Brief asked Daniel Markey, a former State Department official and senior […] More
A Stark Reminder
The latest devastating attack by the Taliban in Kabul raises the question about the ongoing capabilities of the insurgency. Jeffrey Eggers, a former assistant to […] More
Pakistan: Friend and Foe?
If you attend a Congressional hearing on the state of U.S.-Pakistan relations, you’ll probably hear one of the lawmakers refer to Pakistan as a “frenemy,” […] More
Preparing for Change
For over six decades, the United States and Pakistan have suffered through a tormented and often tumultuous relationship, one defined at its apex by wartime […] More
The Taliban Resurgence
On May 1, 2003, U.S. President George W. Bush delivered his infamous “Mission Accomplished” speech declaring, “In the battle of Afghanistan, we destroyed the Taliban, […] More
Same Name, Different Agendas
Although the Taliban organizations in Afghanistan and Pakistan share the same name, they operate as independent organizations under separate leadership structures. Jeffery Eggers, former Special […] More
A Gloomy Prospect for Real Negotiation
A negotiated peace settlement in Afghanistan in 2016 is unlikely. Negotiations have succeeded in other insurgencies when each side determined that victory was not possible […] More
Don’t Give Up on Afghanistan
By all accounts, the security situation in Afghanistan has deteriorated sharply since U.S. and NATO troops ended combat operations in December 2014. The Taliban control […] More