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
United States
U.S. Policy to Counter Violent Extremism is Incoherent
The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel spoke with Michael Leiter, former Director of the National Counterterrorism Center, about U.S. government efforts to counter violent extremism. Leiter […] More
Rebranding Countering Violent Extremism Programs: A Sharper Focus or Missing the Point?
U.S. counterterrorism efforts have achieved their fair share of successes – killing terrorist leaders with drone strikes and commando raids, keeping terrorist cells on the […] More
Flournoy to Trump Team: Keep Your Eye on the Ball
When President Barack Obama nominated Michele Flournoy to be Under Secretary of Defense for Policy, she became the highest-ranking woman in the Pentagon’s history. She […] More
Don’t Ignore Home-Grown Hate Groups
In February, reports emerged that the administration of President Donald Trump was considering rebranding the Obama-era Countering Violent Extremism program to “Countering Radical Islamic Extremism.” […] More
The Link Between White Supremacists and Islamic Terrorism
The process of radicalization, by which disaffected members of society are convinced to embrace violent means to pursue the goals of a terrorist ideology, has […] More
No Single Path Towards Radicalization
The Cipher Brief’s Bennett Seftel sat down with Charlie Allen, former Under Secretary for Security and Analysis at the U.S. Department of Homeland Security, to […] More
Making Iraq Great Again
It is probably not a bad thing that U.S. President Donald Trump recently dispatched Jared Kusher, his son-in-law and his Administration’s jack-of-all-issues, to Iraq. As […] More
Market Forces, Not Rhetoric, Will Drive Globalization
The United States has been the standard-bearer for free trade, multilateralism, and globalization since the end of World War II. However, as the Trump administration […] More
The Backlash Against Protectionism
Since taking office in January, President Donald Trump has backed up the protectionist – and even isolationist – rhetoric of his campaign with concrete action. […] More
A Punch in the Nose for Iran
Now that President Donald Trump has demonstrated his willingness to get tough with a regional bad actor by using a cruise missile attack to punish […] More
Stepping into the Void of Trump’s Global Retreat
The presidency of Donald Trump has had a rocky start, punctuated by embarrassing personnel shakeups, sloppy messaging, and major policy changes. However, the administration has […] More
Trump says U.S.-Russia Relations at an All-time Low
Donald Trump entered the presidency committed to improving U.S. ties with Russia, but less than three months into his term, the President says the relationship […] More
Trump says North Korea “Looking for Trouble”
President Donald Trump tweeted Tuesday that “North Korea is looking for trouble” following Pyongyang’s threat to use nuclear force against the United States. North Korea’s […] More
Despite Rhetoric, U.S. Policy on Russia Unclear
Secretary of State Rex Tillerson is in Moscow for meetings with Russian officials at a time when U.S. rhetoric toward Russia has intensified in the […] More
Trump-Xi Summit: No Real Progress Yet, but Stay Tuned
In his first summit with U.S. President Donald Trump, Chinese President Xi Jinping offered his counterpart a Chinese calligraphy scroll with the aphorism “a journey […] More
Rocky Road Ahead Likely for U.S.-China Relations
In their first summit, Trump and China’s President Xi Jinping needed to demonstrate their leadership and authority to their respective publics. President Trump needed to […] More
Trump-Xi Summit Was No Pain, No Gain
At 8:40PM EDT last Thursday, as the two were wrapping up a ceremonial dinner with their families, President Donald Trump informed President Xi Jinping that […] More