Network Take: What did Trump Nail or Fail in 100 Days?
As the Trump Administration marks 100 days in office, there have been shuffles in the National Security Council, a strike in Syria, tough talk on […] More
national security
Network Take: Trump Shakes Up the NSC, Removes Bannon
President Donald Trump reorganized his National Security Council (NSC) on Wednesday. In a surprise move, chief strategist Stephen Bannon has been removed from the council, […] More
IC Integration: Stronger Together
The diversity and scope of national security challenges facing the U.S. continues to grow, asking ever more of an Intelligence Community (IC) that must stretch […] More
DNI Nominee Vows to Work with Lawmakers on Russian Probe
President Donald Trump’s pick for Director of National Intelligence Dan Coats said on Tuesday that the U.S. needs to look at Russian actions “with eyes […] More
Trump’s NSC: A Bureaucratic Balancing Act
The appointment of Lieutenant General H.R. McMaster as National Security Advisor was not the Trump Administration’s first shake-up on the National Security Council, and it […] More
Empowering the New National Security Advisor
General Michael Flynn’s resignation and the selection of H.R. McMaster as the new National Security Advisor has brought the roles and responsibilities of this position […] More
Cyber Under the Next NSC
Rumors about a planned Trump Administration cybersecurity executive order offer signs of hope that many of the cyber policy lessons learned, often the hard way, […] More
Former Colleagues Say New National Security Advisor is “Type A” Individual
Strong-willed and innovative, at times even iconoclastic, are the words being used to describe President Donald Trump’s choice for National Security Advisor, Lieutenant General H.R. […] More
What Mattis Needs to Do As Defense Secretary
The arcane art of measuring the health of civil-military relations is experiencing a renaissance. Although it is welcomed by those who practice it, the reasons […] More
Rethinking Civil-Military Relations
Compared to most of his proposed cabinet, President Donald Trump’s pick of retired Marine Corps General James Mattis for Secretary of Defense has been one […] More
Legal Questions Swirl Around Flynn's Fall
President Donald Trump’s former National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, resigned this week over his contacts with the Russian Ambassador to the United States and his […] More
Flynn Controversy Raises New Questions
The White House sought to present the resignation of President Donald Trump’s National Security Advisor, Michael Flynn, as a closed chapter tied to his deceiving […] More
The Tip of the Iceberg
The resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn came only three weeks into a whirlwind beginning for the Trump Administration. The Cipher Brief’s Leone Lakhani […] More
A Matter of Trust, Not Security
With the resignation of National Security Advisor Michael Flynn, there have been questions about the security implications of his conversations with the Russian Ambassador to […] More
Howard Baker’s Words and the Flynn Controversy
“What did the President know and when did he know it?” For those of us who went through Watergate, that question, first posed by Sen. […] More
McLaughlin & Petraeus Warn About ISIS, Russia
The array of complex threats facing the United States requires the country to prioritize managing alliances and building coalitions, former Acting Director of the CIA […] More
Power and the U.S. Presidency
Today, President-elect Donald J. Trump and Vice President Michael R. Pence will take the oath of office on the western steps of the Capitol building. […] More
Checks on Presidential Power Are Stronger Than You Think
Donald Trump today enters the most powerful office in the United States, and probably the world. Just how powerful, however, is an area of much […] More