The Iranian people are saying they want new leadership. And it’s not too hard to understand why so many merchants, university students and young people in Iran are on the streets calling for political ...

Tom Nagorski is Senior Contributing Editor with The Cipher Brief. He previously served as Global Editor for Grid and as ABC News Managing Editor for International Coverage as well as Senior Broadcast ...

In 2021, a fifteen-year-old in a small Texas town started something from his bedroom. He’d dropped out of school. He spent his days online, deep into violence and gore. He found others like him and ...

Dexter Ingram has spent three decades keeping the world safer from terrorists and weapons of mass destruction. At the U.S.

Submarines, Spies, and the Struggle for Power in a Melting ArcticBy Kenneth R. Rosen / Simon & Schuster January 6, 2026Reviewed by: HEIDI VIEROWThe Reviewer: Heidi Vierow, PhD, a retired CIA ...

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

I knew the possible danger. It was a very dangerous operation. It was amazing that we had a few injured, but all are in good shape right now, but I knew there was great danger. You got off a ...

Occasionally, a speech does more than mark a leadership transition or outline institutional priorities. It captures, with unusual clarity, the nature of the moment we are living through and the ...

President Donald Trump said the U.S. is "in charge" in Venezuela after U.S. forces detained President Nicolas Maduro on ...

Former senior CIA Executive Glenn Corn examines the surprise Venezuela operation and what it could tell us about Trump's next moves in the region.  Only in The Cipher Brief.  #national security #venez ...

One of the things I loved about LEGO as a child was the ability to mix and match an endless amount of parts to create unique builds. Children (and some adults) gather around a bin of parts to create ...

Phil Waymon served 20 years in the special operations community, retiring in late 2024. His career included numerous ...