Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

The Honors Awards
cipherbrief

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Afghanistan

The Drone War’s Real Problem Isn’t Technology — It’s Speed

OPINION — When Steve Blank and I sat down over coffee a decade ago and realized that the customer discovery process in Lean was identical to what I'd [...] More

The Latest

Afghanistan Is Becoming India and Pakistan’s Proxy Battlefield—Again

OPINION — On Oct. 15, 2025, Islamabad and Kabul announced a 48-hour ceasefire after days of shelling and cross-border clashes around Spin [...] More

Talks, Deception, and Terror: The Taliban Subsumed Under Al Qaeda’s Strategic Umbrella

OPINION — There has been an argument suggesting that the international community—particularly the United States—should engage with the Taliban to [...] More

I Sat Across the Table from China’s Spies. Here’s How They Operate in Fragile States

OPINION — In 2016, I sat across the table from China’s Director of Operations for the Ministry of State Security (MSS). Their visit to Kabul was [...] More

Russia’s Outreach to the Taliban: Strategic Calculations or Regional Security Fears?

OPINION — In recent weeks, reports of Russia considering formal engagement and recognition of the Taliban have reignited debate around international [...] More

Why Al Qaeda Refuses to Die

Why Al Qaeda Refuses to Die

DEEP DIVE — More than two decades after the 9/11 terrorist attacks, Al Qaeda is not only alive — it has adapted, expanded, and quietly embedded [...] More

From Kabul to Kyiv: Lessons the U.S. Must Heed for Peace

OPINION — Since the beginning of the war in Ukraine, I’ve found the familiar rhetoric supporting Ukraine’s right to self-defense against Russian [...] More

Afghanistan's Tale of Two Extremist Movements

OPINION — There has been considerable comparison between the Taliban and Hayat Tahrir al-Sham (HTS), as both groups originated from extremist [...] More

How Far Might a U.S.-Taliban Engagement Go?

How Far Might a U.S.-Taliban Engagement Go?

EXPERT INTERVIEWS — The Taliban government in Afghanistan enjoys no formal recognition from the rest of the world, thanks largely to a poor human [...] More

Taliban’s Internal Power Struggle: A Regime on the Brink

OPINION — A few months ago, I received an unexpected message from a well-placed source within the Taliban. That message led to a series of secured [...] More

Will the new Administration bring new opportunity on Afghanistan?

EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — In April of 2024, I offered some thoughts in The Cipher Brief on a possible way forward in Afghanistan. That approach [...] More

Cipher Brief Experts Offer Reflections on 9/11 - and What Came After

SPECIAL REPORT — It’s been a very long ride since terrorists sent by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden set out on a fateful mission to deliver terror [...] More

Taliban 3.0: The Terrorism Threat and a Humanitarian Nightmare

BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT — The withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan three years ago led to the fall of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, the [...] More