A Note to the IC Workforce on the Whistleblower
OPINION — It is common for the leadership of the Intelligence Community to send notes to the workforce. The leaderships’ thoughts on all sorts of […] More
Intelligence
A View of Trump’s America from the Birthplace of Democracy
OPINION — Traveling in Greece on personal business during late October, it was remarkable to hear from a variety of Greeks, their unvarnished views of […] More
Southern Thailand’s Forgotten Conflict
Bottom Line Up Front Last week 15 people were killed and five others wounded in an insurgent attack on a checkpoint in southern Thailand, […] More
Hundreds of Protesters Killed in Iraq by Security Forces Since October
Bottom Line Up Front Since the protests began in October, security forces have killed more than 319 and injured as many as 15,000 civilians. […] More
A List of Questions for Impeachment Investigators
OPINION — President Trump had showed a change of attitude toward Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky and his new Ukrainian government before last July 25, when […] More
Spyware for Sale
Bottom Line Up Front In 2019, it is easier than ever for nation-states or wealthy individuals to pay virtual mercenaries to conduct a range […] More
Russian Disinformation in an African Context
Bottom Line Up Front Russia has extended its global disinformation campaign to Africa, where it seeks to promote pro-Russian and anti-Western attitudes through propaganda. […] More
Iran Defends Status Quo in Iraq and Lebanon
Bottom Line Up Front Iran is working with key allies in Iraq and Lebanon to forestall political change in the face of significant protests […] More
Lebanon’s Arab Spring
The Cipher Brief’s Expert Take column highlights the thinking of our experts based on their areas of expertise. Emile Nakhleh is a former member of […] More
Social Media Platforms and Political Ads
Bottom Line Up Front Last week, Twitter announced it would no longer accept political ads. Meanwhile, Facebook officials have lamented that it would be […] More
What Alexander Hamilton Taught Us About Impeachment
OPINION — More than 231 years ago, Alexander Hamilton foresaw the controversy around today’s impeachment inquiry into President Trump when he published Federalist Paper 65 on […] More
What Are Protests in the Middle East Signaling?
Protesters came out in support of Lebanese President Michel Aoun on Sunday but they were followed by anti-government protesters who have been calling for a […] More
The Islamic State Names Its New Caliph
Bottom Line Up Front Following the recent death of Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, the so-called Islamic State announced its new leader, Abu Ibrahim al-Hashemi al-Qurayshi. […] More
No Longer Worried About ISIS? Think Again.
The killings of ISIS leader Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi and his possible deputy by U.S. special operations forces are major losses for the extremists, ones that are likely […] More
A JCPOA on Life Support
The Joint Comprehensive Plan of Action (JCPOA) with Iran is on life support. Despite the pledges of allegiance to its implementation, Iran is now likely […] More
The Cipher Brief’s OSINT Trend Line Report
The Cipher Brief’s NEW Open Source Collection Report (OSINT) uses open source data to track trends around the world that impact national and global security. […] More
U.S. Leadership is Needed to Stop Terrorism
The nation and the world welcomed President Donald Trump’s Oct. 27 announcement that ISIS leader Bakr al-Baghdadi was killed by the U.S. military at his […] More
Allegations of Intimidation and Torture Stalk Sisi’s Egypt
Bottom Line Up Front Egyptian President Abdel Fatah al-Sisi continues his crackdown on any dissent, real or imagined. Since anti-corruption demonstrations began in late […] More