Trump Draws the Line in Syria
The United States launched a missile strike on a Syrian air base early Friday morning, local time, in response to this week’s deadly chemical weapons […] More
United States
U.S. Message to Assad: The Game Has Changed
After the United States launched airstrikes against a Syrian airfield late Thursday night, The Cipher Brief reached out to Rob Richer, the former Associate Deputy […] More
U.S. Shows Allies & Opponents: We Are Willing to Use Force
U.S. President Donald Trump, in a filmed statement from his Mar-a-lago resort Thursday night – where he is currently meeting President Xi – said the […] More
Network Take: Do U.S. Airstrikes Mark Emergence of a “Trump Doctrine?”
Late on Thursday night, U.S. naval vessels stationed in the Mediterranean fired 59 Tomahawk cruise missiles at the Shayrat Syrian military air base near Homs. […] More
Climate Insecurity and the Changing Balance of Power
Since at least the 1979 Iranian revolution, intelligence and national security analysts have been working hard to identify the causal factors that lead to political […] More
U.S., Russia Must Increase Counterterrorism Cooperation
The metro bombing in St. Petersburg Monday and White House comments that the U.S. will do what it can to help Russia get to the […] More
Trump’s State Department: Everyone Take a Deep Breath
Even by the standards of the Trump Administration’s generally rocky start, the State Department has fared badly in media reporting and insider commentary. Council on […] More
IC Integration: Stronger Together
The diversity and scope of national security challenges facing the U.S. continues to grow, asking ever more of an Intelligence Community (IC) that must stretch […] More
The Battle for Raqqa – It’s Complicated
Though the battle to defeat the Islamic State in Iraq and Syria (ISIS) in Mosul is slowly reaching its denouement, the campaign to take the […] More
The Media and Global Leaders Still Missing the Mark on Trump
The elites still don’t get it. Brexit, Trump, surging right-wing nationalism on both sides of the Atlantic; and yet time after time, the media and […] More
Strategic Consequences of U.S. Withdrawal from TPP
Since negotiations concluded for the Trans-Pacific Partnership (TPP) in late 2015, observers have argued that Asian policymakers would interpret failure of the pact as a […] More
Cipher Brief Expert View: Why Electronics Ban Only In Middle East
New rules go into effect this weekend that restrict electronic items in passenger cabins on U.S.-bound flights. The measures are being taken as a security […] More
Nunes “Undermines Himself” with Surveillance Claims
House Intelligence Committee Chairman Devin Nunes on Wednesday said he had seen intelligence reports showing that communications of President Donald Trump’s transition team had been […] More
Cipher Brief Expert View: The IC’s Critical Role
We are living in a more complex world, with more state and non-state actors demanding more of our attention. When we actively contributed to the […] More
What Is the “Deep State”?
The term “Deep State” has achieved new popularity in recent weeks, but not in reference to opaque military elites in faraway countries. Today, the term […] More
Trump and Merkel Show Solidarity but Differ on Trade, Security
U.S. President Donald Trump and German Chancellor Angela Merkel met face to face for the first time Friday during Merkel’s visit to Washington. In a […] More
America Needs Smart Power, Not Just Hard Power
Amidst a busy week in national security, The Cipher Brief’s CEO and Publisher, Suzanne Kelly, spoke with Admiral James Stavridis, former Supreme Allied Commander of […] More
Changing the UN will be Difficult
From the United Kingdom’s decision to leave the European Union in 2015, to the protectionist rhetoric of U.S. President Donald Trump, the concepts of multilateralism […] More