The Uneasy Balance between Care and Provocation
OPINION — This past March and April, US Naval Forces attached to Central Command carried out live fire exercises in the North Persian Gulf’s international […] More
Russia
We Need to Reposition to Better Address the Disinformation Threat
The Cipher Brief Threat Conference has been re-scheduled for September 13-15, 2020. This special series of national security briefings has been launched to keep our […] More
The United States is Struggling to Regain Influence in Syria
Bottom Line Up Front The United States is looking to consolidate and expand its presence in the eastern provinces of Deir al-Zour and al-Hasakah, […] More
The Wagner Group: A Russian Symphony of Profit and Politics
Bottom Line Up Front Created in 2014, the Wagner Group is a Russian private military company that maintains close ties to the Kremlin and […] More
Saudi Missteps Destabilize Global Oil Market
Bottom Line Up Front The April agreement among major oil producers to reduce global oil production has failed to stabilize world oil prices. Market […] More
Russian Imperial Movement Labeled a Specially Designated Global Terrorist Entity
On April 6, 2020, the U.S. State Department announced the designation of the Russian Imperial Movement (RIM) and three of its senior leaders pursuant […] More
Oil Price War Clouds COVID-19 Response
Bottom Line Up Front A Saudi effort to regain dominance over world oil production is weakening regional economic powers at a time of crisis […] More
COVID-19 Compounds Middle East Difficulties
Bottom Line Up Front The spread of coronavirus is compounding the well-known problems faced by Middle East governments and societies. The coronavirus crisis could […] More
Russia Exploits Coronavirus as New Opportunity to Spread Disinformation
Bottom Line Up Front It was only a matter of time before Russia looked to spread disinformation surrounding the coronavirus, a global pandemic that […] More
Author Gordon Corera talks about the Russians Among Us
Long-time BBC security correspondent Gordon Corera recently published a new book, Russians Among Us: Sleeper Cells, Ghost Stories and the Hunt for Putin’s Spies. […] More
Protests Continue to Destabilize Colombia
Bottom Line Up Front Protests in Colombia, South America’s oldest democracy, have been relatively under reported upon in the international media. The protesters are […] More
Turkey and Russia Clash in Syria as Casualties Mount
Bottom Line Up Front Dozens of Turkish soldiers were killed in an airstrike on Thursday in a development that threatens to drastically escalate the […] More
The Russian Obsession
OPINION — President Trump, this past week, has shown that he is just as serious today about undercutting the intelligence community’s January 6, 2017, conclusion […] More
Russia’s New Middle East Chessboard
On the sidelines of last weekend’s Munich Security Conference, Russian Foreign Minister Sergei Lavrov and US Secretary of State Mike Pompeo sat down to talk. […] More
How Will Investigations Into Russian Interference Move Forward?
OPINION — President Trump is actively trying to excise the criminal fallout from investigations into Moscow’s 2016 covert support for his presidential election and have […] More
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
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
Succession: Kremlin Style
Bottom Line Up Front Russian President Vladimir V. Putin is continuing his ironclad grip on power through newly introduced changes to the Russian constitution. […] More