What We Need to Know About the Taliban and Its Sharia Rule
Cipher Brief Expert Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. […] More
Afghanistan
What Intelligence was there on Afghanistan?
When The Washington Post reported this week that CIA Director William Burns slipped into Afghanistan on Monday to meet with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, […] More
Afghanistan’s Clear and Present Danger
Cipher Brief Expert Daniel Hoffman is a former Chief of Station with the Central Intelligence Agency. His combined 30 years of distinguished government service included […] More
The Onus of Afghanistan
James Hatch is a Special Operations Veteran, the founder of Spike’s K9 Fund, and an Undergraduate at Yale University. OPINION — I was in Bethesda […] More
What 20 Years of Reconstruction Taught Us in Afghanistan
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist at The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on […] More
‘This Doesn’t Need to be Defeat. But at the Moment, it Damn Well Feels Like It’
Cipher Brief Expert Nick Fishwick CMG retired in 2012 after nearly thirty years in the British Foreign Service. He did postings in Lagos, Istanbul and […] More
Putin’s Calculated Afghanistan Play
Robert Dannenberg, Former Senior CIA Officer Cipher Brief Expert Rob Dannenberg is a 24-year veteran of the CIA, where he served in several senior leadership […] More
Written in Taliban: U.S. Veterans Voice Anger Over Afghanistan
President Joe Biden admitted during his address from the White House this week that, “The scenes we’re seeing in Afghanistan, they’re gut-wrenching, particularly for our […] More
What Should the U.S. Expect from the ‘New’ Taliban Regime?
As the U.S. works toward getting more 11,000 Americans, diplomats and Afghan allies out of the country, what kind of Taliban should the U.S. expect […] More
Why Was there so little Resistance when Afghanistan Collapsed?
Cipher Brief Expert John E. McLaughlin served as Acting Director of Central Intelligence from July to September 2004 and as Deputy Director of Central Intelligence […] More
War is the Realm of Uncertainty
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist at The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on […] More
This is a Dunkirk Moment and Our Decisions Created It
Cipher Brief Expert General David Petraeus (US Army, Ret) served over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating his career with six consecutive commands, five […] More
The Painful Lessons of Afghanistan
General Joseph L. Votel (Ret.) joined BENS as CEO & President in January 2020 following a 39-year military career where he commanded special operations and […] More
How Does Kabul End?
CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT PERSPECTIVE Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey served for over 27 years in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is now Visiting […] More
Afghanistan’s Dark End Game
Cipher Brief Expert John E. McLaughlin is the Distinguished Practitioner in Residence at the Johns Hopkins School of Advanced International Studies (SAIS). He served as […] More
Is the US Creating Opportunity for China in Afghanistan?
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist at The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on […] More
Anticipating the Fall of Kabul’s Government
Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey served for over 27 years in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is now Visiting Professor of War Studies […] More
Afghanistan: Losers Can’t Be Choosers
Bottom Line Up Front: There are indications that the Taliban have no intention of reaching a compromise and believe they can take over Afghanistan shortly […] More