Skip to content
Search

Latest Stories

Welcome! Log in to stay connected and make the most of your experience.

Input clean

Uncertainties of Vietnam Return in War on Terror

The U.S.-led coalition has achieved significant success this year in the battle against ISIS, first in Mosul and now in Raqqa where nearly 80 percent of the city has cleared of ISIS fighters. However, there has also been a worrying spike in civilian casualties under the Trump Administration. U.S. Central Command has acknowledged roughly 600 unintentional civilian deaths over the three-year long war against ISIS, but the independent UK-based monitor group Airwars claims that this number may be over 5,000, and they claim that nearly 60 percent of these deaths have taken place under the Trump Administration alone. The Cipher Brief’s Fritz Lodge spoke with former Secretary of the Air Force Deborah Lee James about what changes she has seen in the way that the Trump Administration plans and authorizes military strikes, what might explain the rise in civilian casualties, and how this could affect the war against ISIS.

The Cipher Brief: In April, President Donald Trump said that he has given the military “total authorization” to pursue combat operations abroad. In your mind, how has this approach differed from the Obama Administration’s strike authorization process, particularly in the coalition fight against ISIS in Iraq and Syria?

Keep reading...Show less
Access all of The Cipher Brief’s national security-focused expert insight by becoming a Cipher Brief Subscriber+ Member.

Related Articles

China Can Do More to Improve Relations with the U.S.

OPINION — Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi, at the ASEAN Summit. Rubio described the [...] More

Report for Tuesday, July 15, 2025

8:57 AM America/New_York Tuesday, July 15 [...] More

How the Danes See NATO, Trump and Ukraine

OPINION — “The most important part right now is that Europe would be able to buy military equipment here in the U.S. so we can donate these military [...] More

The China Challenge – Some Fresh, Some Familiar Insights

BOOK REVIEW: LESSONS FROM THE NEW COLD WAR: AMERICA CONFRONTS THE CHINA CHALLENGEBy Hal Brands (Editor) /Johns Hopkins University PressReviewed by: [...] More

Battered but Not Broken: Why NATO Still Fears a Weakened Russia

Battered but Not Broken: Why NATO Still Fears a Weakened Russia

CIPHER BRIEF REPORTING – President Donald Trump announced new arms shipments for Ukraine on Monday and threatened Russia with “very severe tariffs” [...] More

Report for Monday, July 14, 2025

9:03 AM America/New_York Monday, July 14 [...] More

Report for Friday, July 11, 2025

8:40 America/New York Friday, July 11 [...] More