The Man in the Kremlin is Still Smiling, So What Have We Really Learned?
Cipher Brief Expert and former CIA Deputy Director for Counterintelligence, Mark Kelton wrote for The Cipher Brief back in 2017 that, The Man in the […] More
Intelligence
Why has Pakistan not Annexed its parts of Kashmir?
Tim Willasey-Wilsey is a Visiting Senior Research Fellow at King’s College, London and a former senior British diplomat. Pakistan has decided not to annex its […] More
The Fate of Foreign Fighters
Bottom Line Up Front Since the caliphate collapsed, several European nations of captured foreign fighters and associated women and children have refused to deal […] More
In Espionage, Bigger Isn’t Always Better
Douglas London is a retired senior CIA Operations Officer and Adjunct Associate Professor at Georgetown University’s Center for Security Studies. Mr. London served 34 years […] More
Iran Escalates Repression Amid Unrest
Bottom Line Up Front The Iranian regime is using all elements of state power to suppress organized dissent, including widespread arrests and the use […] More
Better Buying is Key to Russia-China Strategy
Cipher Brief Expert Robert Eatinger is former Deputy General Counsel and Acting General Counsel of the Central Intelligence Agency and retired Captain from the Navy’s […] More
Conflict in Idlib Escalates Between Turkey and Syria While Civilians Suffer
Bottom Line Up Front The nine year-long Syrian civil war continues to rage, with most of the intense fighting taking place in northwestern Syria […] More
France Reconsiders Force Posture in the Sahel Amid Surging Violence
Bottom Line Up Front Islamic State in Greater Sahara (ISGS) is now seen by France and Sahelian countries as the greatest security threat in […] More
What Does Another Nuclear Warhead Do?
OPINION — Should we all sleep easier because at last we have a low-yield nuclear warhead sitting atop a Trident D-5 sub-launched ballistic missile (SLBM) […] More
Xi Jinping’s Coronavirus Challenge
Dr. Kenneth Dekleva served as a Regional Medical Officer/Psychiatrist, including 5 years at the U.S. Embassy Moscow, with the U.S. Dept. of State from 2002-2016. […] More
Energy Geopolitics in the Eastern Mediterranean and the Battle for Libya
Bottom Line Up Front Just last week, France agreed to send war frigates to the eastern Mediterranean, a decision welcomed by Greece and decried […] More
The Death of the Two-State Paradigm
If there was any doubt about the moribund state of the two-state paradigm in Palestine, the unveiling of the White House’s peace plan last month […] More
Diminishing Returns from Iran Sanctions
Bottom Line Up Front Virtually every sector of Iran’s civilian economy is now subject to U.S. secondary sanctions, rendering additional sanctions progressively less significant. […] More
Profile of a Private Sector Intelligence Analyst
Angela Lewis, Manager of Global Intelligence and Threat Analysis Team at The Walt Disney Company “The Cipher Brief has become the most popular outlet for […] More
The Many Faces of Chairman Kim Jung Un
At the recent December 2019 plenum, Chairman Kim, rather than giving his traditional New Year’s speech, outlined a different strategy toward the US moving forward […] More
Who is the Islamic State’s New Leader?
Bottom Line Up Front On October 26, 2019, U.S. Special Forces launched a major operation that resulted in the death of ISIS leader Abu […] More
Understanding Haftar and the Path Ahead in Libya
United Nations Secretary General Antonio Guterres said on Tuesday that the situation in Libya is a “scandal” and expressed his frustration over countries pushing for […] More
A Candid Take on the Middle East Peace Plan
Last week, The White House announced President Donald Trump’s vision for a ‘comprehensive peace agreement between Israel and the Palestinians.’ The White House refers to […] More