The Clear and Present Danger Trap
OPINION — When will the U.S. learn the lessons of Vietnam, Iraq, and Afghanistan? Operation Inherent Resolve has been underway since 2014, in the Iraq/Syria […] More
military
As Xi Consolidates Power, Nationalism Gains Ground
EXPERT Q&A Read also Is a US-China Face-off Over Taiwan Looming for Subscriber+Members The Cipher Brief: At the 20th CCP Congress, what stood out amid the […] More
In Ukraine, We’re Witnessing the Future of War
OPINION — Like the 1936 – 1939 Spanish Civil War, Russia’s invasion of Ukraine has created a testing ground for the next generation of tactics […] More
Change is in the Mission for U.S. Special Operations Command
OPINION — U.S. Special Operations Command (SOCOM), which has grown to become the world’s top counterterrorism force over the past 20 years, is now facing […] More
A Fresh Look at Civic Duty
OPINION — While there has been much attention paid to Russian President Vladimir Putin’s difficulty raising his 300,000 new conscripts, there’s been little public discussion […] More
Pelosi, Taiwan and U.S. Strategy in the Indo-Pacific
OPINION — A senior Pentagon official last Wednesday, described a version of U.S. strategy for the Indo-Pacific region that contrasts somewhat with the hot rhetoric […] More
What are we Getting for Record Defense Spending?
OPINION — Next year’s national defense spending — for the Defense Department, the Department of Energy [for nuclear weapons] and other security agencies — may […] More
Military Spending and the New Arms Race
OPINION — The Senate Armed Services Committee, by an overwhelming bipartisan vote of 23-to-3 last Thursday, approved a fiscal 2023 Defense Authorization Bill that – […] More
The Waves left by the Sinking of the Moskva
EXPERT ANALYSIS — While the sinking of the Russian cruiser and Black Sea flagship Moskva is unquestionably the most eye-catching episode in the conflict at […] More
U.S. Strategy for Addressing the Nuclear Deterrence and Assurance Gap
OPINION — The Biden Administration’s fiscal 2023 budget and yet-to-be-publicly-released 2022 Nuclear Posture Review (NPR) call for ending research on a low-yield, nuclear submarine-launched cruise […] More
How Layered Defense in Ukraine is Shaping Future U.S. Military Operations
OPINION — Last week, senior Pentagon officials offered some initial lessons learned from the first two months after the Russian invasion of Ukraine. At an […] More
How Iran is Winning, One Attack at a Time
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — This week, U.S. Central Command (CENTCOM) issued a statement confirming that “U.S. forces at Al Dhafra Air Base, near Abu Dhabi in the United […] More
The Human Cost of War: My Own Failure and Our Military’s Mental Health Crisis
Our military culture and expectations justifiably require unrelenting standards and there is very little space for human vulnerability, especially in SOF and those in leadership […] More
Why NATO is Practicing Nuclear Strike Missions
OPINION — Last week, aircraft and personnel from 14 NATO countries carried out the annual exercise, code-named Steadfast Noon, which involved practicing nuclear strike missions […] More
Anything for a Buck: How the DOD is Going After Corruption
OPINION — If corruption arising from the use of U.S. funds by the Afghan government and security forces was one of the reasons for U.S. […] More
Wars are not Won by Evacuations
Mark Kelton, Former Deputy Director, CIA’s Counterintelligence, National Clandestine Service Cipher Brief Expert Mark Kelton is a retired senior Central Intelligence Agency executive with 34 […] More
As the U.S. Draws Down Troops in Afghanistan, It’s Quietly Building Up in Other Places
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
The Military’s Long History of Dealing with Racism
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on […] More