What will follow the year of ISIS’ Resurrection?
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT — Two utterly different events, in two very different parts of the world, have raised fresh concerns about a return to […] More
Terrorism
Trump Administration’s Counterterrorism Policy Should Begin at Golan Heights
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE / OPINION — We’ve seen all this before, the U.S. mission in Syria is not mission complete – it was not in 2018 […] More
2024: 10 Events That Changed The World
SPECIAL REPORT — As we look back at the major national and global security events of 2024, it’s tempting to overuse certain words: stunning; staggering; […] More
Inside Iran’s Alleged Plots to Kill Donald Trump
DEEP DIVE — For years, Iran’s Islamic Revolutionary Guard Corps (IRGC) has tried and failed at all sorts of half-baked schemes to eliminate enemies living in […] More
The Latest
Sinwar is Dead. What Does it Mean for Power Dynamics in the Region?
EXPERT Q&A – In what many Cipher Brief Experts are calling one of the most significant events in the year-long war in Gaza, the killing […] More
Top Counterterrorism Official: Gaza War Has Inspired Dozens of Terror Plots
EXCLUSIVE — The acting Director of the U.S. National Counterterrorism Center (NCTC) Brett Holmgren told The Cipher Brief’s 2024 Threat Conference Sunday that Israel’s war […] More
National Security Official Warns of ‘Persistent’ Efforts to Interfere in US Elections
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — For American law enforcement, today’s threat landscape may be as daunting, complex and dynamic as it’s ever been. The threat of terrorism […] More
Cipher Brief Experts Offer Reflections on 9/11 – and What Came After
SPECIAL REPORT — It’s been a very long ride since terrorists sent by al Qaeda leader Osama bin Laden set out on a fateful mission […] More
A Personal Perspective on 9/11 and the War that Followed
CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT PERSPECTIVE – Just before 3:00 p.m. local time just outside the Strait of Hormuz, the Safety Officer aboard the USS ENTERPRISE called […] More
Taliban 3.0: The Terrorism Threat and a Humanitarian Nightmare
BOTTOM LINE UP FRONT — The withdrawal of American forces from Afghanistan three years ago led to the fall of the U.S.-backed government in Kabul, the […] More
Three Years Later, a ‘Report Card’ for the Taliban
EXCLUSIVE INTERVIEW — Three years ago today, Taliban forces marched into Kabul, as American forces were leaving Afghanistan, and a U.S.-backed government collapsed. The moment […] More
Three Years After Taliban Return, Terrorists Find Safe Haven in Afghanistan
EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — Three years after the U.S. withdrawal from Afghanistan and the return of the Taliban to power, the country has once again become […] More
Outgoing NCTC Director Lays Out Today’s Very Real Terrorist Threat
EXPERT Q&A — Christine “Christy” Abizaid was sworn in as director of the National Counter-Terrorism Center (NCTC) in June of 2021, as the threat of […] More
DEEP DIVE: In Wake Of Trump Attack, How To Stop the Violence?
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — Almost from the moment the shots were fired in Butler, Pennsylvania Saturday, terrorism experts and ordinary Americans shared a common fear: that […] More
After Trump Assassination Attempt, a Reckoning for America
EXPERT Q&A — In the wake of the attempted assassination of former President Donald Trump at a campaign rally in Pennsylvania on Saturday, officials and […] More
Assassination Attempt on Trump Could Fuel FBI’s Biggest Fear: Terrorism
EXPERT Q&A – As the FBI investigates the reasons why 20-year-old suspect Thomas Matthew Crooks may have targeted former president Donald Trump at a campaign […] More
EXPERT INTERVIEW: Pezeshkian Celebrates a Win in Iran but What Can He Really Do?
SUBSCRIBER+EXCLUSIVE EXPERT INTERVIEW — Iran’s incoming president Masoud Pezeshkian is promising to be a leader for “all Iranians” after a weekend election victory that followed […] More
Paris Olympics Face Russian Threats
SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — With the Summer Olympic Games less than five weeks away, officials in host nation France are grappling with a slew of […] More
Olympic Dreams Bring Security Nightmares to Paris
SUBSCRIBER+ EXCLUSIVE REPORTING — The Olympic torch has landed in France, and begun its 69-day journey to Paris. It’s a milestone for the 33rd Olympiad, […] More