Understanding the Jihadist and Extreme-Right Mindsets
Javed Ali is a Towsley Policymaker in Residence at the University of Michigan’s Gerald R. Ford School of Public Policy and had over 20 years […] More
Trump
We Need An Insurrection Investigation
Walter Pincus is a contributing senior national security columnist for The Cipher Brief. He spent forty years at The Washington Post, writing on topics from […] More
America’s Allies Shocked by Storming of the Capitol
The Cipher Brief asked our experts to weigh in on how they saw Wednesday’s storming of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump protesters and how allies […] More
The Case for a new START and Nuclear Posture Review
OPINION – President-elect Joe Biden’s national security transition team should be developing plans for extending the New START strategic nuclear arms treaty with Russia, but […] More
The Latest
Trump’s Pre-Election Search for a National Security Win
OPINION — President Trump and his team are trying to come up with at least one last minute foreign policy success before Election Day, just […] More
What Does Trump’s Tweet Mean for Afghanistan?
Cipher Brief Expert Tim Willasey-Wilsey is Visiting Professor of War Studies at King’s College, London and is a former senior member of the British Foreign […] More
Declassification of Unverified Information becomes Election Talking Point
OPINION — Last Tuesday, Director of National Intelligence John Ratcliffe promised, or maybe threatened, “Additional declassification and public disclosure of related intelligence remains under consideration.” […] More
The Biggest Threat to US Elections
OPINION — President Trump and elements of his administration are publicly assessing that China poses a greater national security threat to the US election than […] More
Hovakimian’s Quest for Approval
OPINION – President Trump’s nominee for the top legal job in the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, Patrick Hovakimian, gave limited answers to […] More
The Real Russian Mission in Afghanistan
The House Foreign Affairs Committee is focusing on reported intelligence that Russia placed bounties on the lives of US troops in Afghanistan. The committee is […] More
Testing Trump’s Team
OPINION — US Government officials, civilian and military, alike may be facing unusual tests in the next four months: Does their loyalty rest with the […] More
US Foreign Policy and a ‘Bridge to the Unknown’
Cipher Brief Expert John McLaughlin is a distinguished practitioner in residence at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies. He served as the Deputy […] More
The US Deal with the Taliban
The United States signed a peace agreement with Taliban leaders on Saturday that is intended to end the US’ 18-year involvement in Afghanistan. The deal […] More
Behind the Headlines in Munich
Several Cipher Brief experts attended this year’s Munich Security Conference, which concluded last weekend. The annual event is an opportunity for Atlantic allies to share […] More
Soleimani and the Path to a new Middle East Peace Deal
Emile Nakhleh is a retired CIA Senior Intelligence Service Officer and founding director of the CIA’s Political Islam Strategic Analysis Program Office. Nakhleh is currently […] More
Is a New Strategy Emerging for Targeted Killings?
OPINION — Ten minutes into President Trump’s speech at his first 2020 presidential re-election campaign rally in Toledo, Ohio, last Friday, he drew great cheers […] More
Avenging the Death of Qassem Soleimani
The U.S. targeting and killing of Iranian Quds Force General Qassem Soleimani by a drone strike in Baghdad on Friday has prompted a series of […] More
A Single Solution for a Rogue Russia
Cipher Brief expert Robert Dannenberg is a 24-year veteran of the CIA, where he served in several senior leadership positions, including chief of operations for […] More
How Foreign Leaders Play President Trump
OPINION — Donald Trump as president displays weakness toward those he envies as strong foreign leaders, while he acts like a bully toward leaders he […] More