What Protests Tell Us About Democracy in Latin America
OPINION — Instability in Latin America fuels refugee flows, inflation and criminal activity, all of which affect U.S. interests. The Biden Administration’s virtual summit on […] More
The Cipher Brief
How to Avoid Cold War with China
EXPERT PERSPECTIVE — A meeting – albeit virtual – between President Joe Biden and Chinese President Xi Jinping finally happened. It was a cordial and […] More
A Dangerous Nuclear Build-Up on the Korean Peninsula
Pulitzer Prize Winning Journalist Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist at The Cipher Brief. Pincus spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on […] More
Where is the US’ Counterterrorism Doctrine Now?
Javed Ali is an associate professor of practice at the Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy. Ali brings more than 20 years of professional […] More
America Needs Accountability on Afghanistan
Cipher Brief Expert Laura E. Thomas is a former CIA case officer and Chief of Base in Afghanistan, who led sensitive CIA programs at CIA […] More
The British and 9/11
Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey is a Visiting Professor at King’s College, London and a former senior British diplomat. From 1996 to 1999 he was […] 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
Why We’re Much Safer from Terrorism Now than We Were After 9/11
Cipher Brief Expert Mike Leiter served in several senior national security positions in the federal government, to include as the Director of the National Counterterrorism […] More
What Intelligence was there on Afghanistan?
When The Washington Post reported this week that CIA Director William Burns slipped into Afghanistan on Monday to meet with Taliban leader Abdul Ghani Baradar, […] More
What 20 Years of Reconstruction Taught Us in Afghanistan
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
Artificial Intelligence in the IC: Culture is Critical
Corin Stone is a Scholar-in-Residence and Adjunct Professor at the Washington College of Law. Stone is on leave from the Office of the Director of […] More
What Should the U.S. Expect from the ‘New’ Taliban Regime?
As the U.S. works toward getting more 11,000 Americans, diplomats and Afghan allies out of the country, what kind of Taliban should the U.S. expect […] More
This is a Dunkirk Moment and Our Decisions Created It
Cipher Brief Expert General David Petraeus (US Army, Ret) served over 37 years in the U.S. military, culminating his career with six consecutive commands, five […] More
The Painful Lessons of Afghanistan
General Joseph L. Votel (Ret.) joined BENS as CEO & President in January 2020 following a 39-year military career where he commanded special operations and […] More
How Does Kabul End?
CIPHER BRIEF EXPERT PERSPECTIVE Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey served for over 27 years in the British Foreign and Commonwealth Office. He is now Visiting […] More
What we Know and Should Expect from Iran’s New President
Dr. Kenneth Dekleva served as a Regional Medical Officer/Psychiatrist (including 5 years at the U.S. Embassy Moscow, Russian Federation and 2 years at the U.S. […] More
Remembering a True Leader through CIA Crisis and Controversy
Cipher Brief Expert General Michael V. Hayden (Ret.) is a retired four-star General in the United States Air Force; he was the Director of the […] More
Decision Time on JCPOA
Cipher Brief Expert Gary Grappo is a former U.S. ambassador who held senior positions including Minister Counselor for Political Affairs at the U.S. Embassy in […] More