“Mother of All Bombs” Kills 36 ISIS Fighters in Afghanistan
Afghan defense officials announced Friday that 36 ISIS fighters were killed by a U.S. air strike on a tunnel and cave complex, with the possibility […] More
Afghanistan
The Long-Goodbye to Afghanistan – Should It Get Longer?
Earlier this week, the Pentagon announced that ISIS’ leader in Afghanistan, Sheikh Abdul Hasib, was killed in an April 27 joint-operation carried out by Afghan […] More
“We Must Win in Afghanistan:” Terror Groups Exploiting Stalemate
In an exclusive interview with The Cipher Brief, Hamdullah Mohib, the Afghan Ambassador to the U.S., emphasized the progress that the Afghan government, led by […] More
Committed to the Afghan Mission
The Cipher Brief spoke with Representative Will Hurd, R-Tex., about what more the U.S. can do to improve security and the economy in Afghanistan. Hurd […] More
The Never Ending Story: The Morass of Afghanistan and Pakistan
The new administration must surely be thinking about the challenges of Afghanistan and Pakistan and what to do. The region has bedeviled outsiders for generations. […] More
Top Cmdr Calls for More Troops in Afghanistan, Warns About Russia
The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan wants several thousand more troops from the U.S. and its allies to help break the “stalemate” in the 15 […] More
Trump Administration Faces Daunting Challenges in Afghanistan
One of the most daunting foreign policy tasks facing the Trump Administration is determining America’s path forward in Afghanistan. From the time he launched his […] More
The Path Ahead for Reconstruction in Afghanistan
The Cipher Brief sat down with John Sopko, Special Inspector General for Afghanistan Reconstruction, to discuss how the U.S. reconstruction effort should proceed in Afghanistan. […] More
A Sustainable Security Strategy for Afghanistan
The Afghanistan and Pakistan region is home to 20 UN and U.S. designated terrorist organizations, including al Qaeda, the Islamic State (ISIS), and the Haqqani network. This […] More
The International Criminal Court, Under Pressure, Turns Eyes on U.S.
The United States is not a member of the International Criminal Court (ICC). Yet Americans could still be indicted by the Court for alleged crimes […] More
Mass Withdrawals from the ICC Unlikely
A number of countries are pushing back against the International Criminal Court (ICC). South Africa notified the UN-Secretary General in October that it is withdrawing […] More
The ICC Lacks Legitimacy
The International Criminal Court (ICC) has, in many ways, had a strong year. Two new preliminary investigations have been opened, in Burundi and the Gabonese […] More
Afghanistan: The U.S. Must Settle In for the Long Haul
The Cipher Brief sat down with former U.S. Ambassador to Afghanistan Ronald Neumann to discuss some of the challenges that the incoming Trump Administration will […] More
Nudging Afghanistan in the Right Direction
With the Trump Administration set to take office next month, The Cipher Brief spoke with Robert Grenier, former CIA Chief of Station in Pakistan and […] More
Developing and Sticking With a Clear Strategy in Afghanistan
President-elect Donald Trump has repeatedly said that fighting Islamic extremism is one of his administration’s top priorities. Determining the path forward in Afghanistan, where the […] More
Combatting Haqqani Network is Key to Afghan Strategy
The Taliban is mounting an increasingly deadly insurgency across Afghanistan, including a breakthrough into Lashkar Gah, the capital of Afghanistan’s southern Helmand Province, earlier this […] More
Deadly and Effective
The Cipher Brief sat down with Bruce Riedel, Director of the Intelligence Project at the Brookings Institution to discuss the current threat posed by the […] More
Pakistan's Influence and Control
The Haqqani network’s continued presence in Pakistan, as well as recent Taliban advances in Afghanistan, have resulted in a “steady deterioration in U.S.-Pakistan relations over […] More