The Cipher Brief

Pakistan Reflects on Nuclear Achievement in Run Up to Election 0
- Blog
- June 4, 2018
June 4, 2018 | Bennett Seftel Photo: iStock/India-Pakistan Wagah Border Closing Ceremony Bottom Line: Pakistani citizens are heading to the polls next month in a public display of democracy and choice. Yet, with Pakistan’s military continuing to play a leading role in the country’s political affairs, it seems that the upcoming elections will once again
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China Pulls Pakistan Further into its Economic Orbit 0
- Blog
- April 23, 2018
April 22, 2018 | Bennett Seftel Bottom Line: China’s “One Belt, One Road” economic strategy, aimed at developing regional trades routes connecting East Asia, South Asia, Central Asia and Europe, has expanded into Pakistan where Chinese companies have launched numerous projects to build up Pakistan’s infrastructure and energy sector as part of the China-Pakistan Economic
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Pakistan’s Military: The Fire Brigade and the Arsonist?0
- Blog
- December 14, 2017
December 14, 2017 | Bennett Seftel Photo: John Moore/Getty Tensions that mounted during a deadly, Islamist protest in Pakistan last month were resolved not by the country’s civilian government, but by leaders of its military and intelligence agency. The incident was another reminder of who really holds the reins in a tumultuous nation that the
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Tentative Deal May See Myanmar’s Rohingya Go Home—But To What?0
- Blog
- November 28, 2017
November 27, 2017 | Brian Garrett-Glaser Photo: Kevin Frayer/Getty Are Bangladesh and Myanmar poised to make progress to address the refugee crisis involving hundreds of thousands of ethnic Rohingya? Maybe. The two countries signed an agreement to repatriate hundreds of thousands of Rohingya who have fled their homes in Myanmar’s Rakhine State after the latest
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General Michael Hayden’s take on the Trump Afghanistan strategy.0
- Blog
- November 24, 2017
General Michael Hayden Former Director, CIA and NSA Earlier this week, the U.S. commander in Afghanistan, General John Nicholson, laid out a two-year plan to take back substantial territory in Afghanistan and drive the Taliban toward the negotiating table. In a Monday video conference from Kabul, Nicholson said that the strategy outlined by U.S.
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Best Of: The Devil’s Puzzle: Defining International and Domestic Terrorism 0
- Blog
- November 24, 2017
November 24, 2017 | Bennett Seftel and Fritz Lodge Photo: Kena Betancur/Getty The car ramming attack that occurred in New York City on Oct. 31 killed eight people and reignited debate over what constitutes domestic and international terrorism. Terrorism has remained at the forefront of American national security concerns ever since the September 11 attacks.
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Tillerson: Myanmar Guilty of “Ethnic Cleansing”0
- Blog
- November 23, 2017
November 22, 2017 | K. M. Michelle Photo: Kevin Frayer/Getty The Newsletter Get exclusive analysis delivered to your inbox daily. Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said Myanmar is guilty of “ethnic cleansing” in its crackdown on minority Muslim Rohingya, driving more than half a million refugees to neighboring Bangladesh. Although previously restrained in his description
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Afghans Wary of Trump’s Pledge to Challenge Terrorists & Islamabad 0
- Blog
- November 6, 2017
November 5, 2017 | Ali M. Latifi Photo: Salwar Kameez/iStock.com The Newsletter Jalalabad, AFGHANISTAN – When Donald Trump announced his administration’s strategy for Afghanistan, it was welcomed by Kabul’s leaders and other Afghan urban centers. Influential figures in politics, business, security and the media saw it as much-needed change from President Barack Obama’s stopwatch approach
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Tillerson Woos India to Offset China 0
- Blog
- October 19, 2017
October 19, 2017 | Kaitlin Lavinder Photo: Win McNamee/Getty Secretary of State Rex Tillerson signaled the Trump administration will be leaning on India to offset China’s regional influence, hailing deeper defense cooperation with New Delhi in remarks Wednesday. “Our defense ties are growing,” Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a speech at the Center
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In Afghanistan, Keep Your Eye on the Exit 0
- Blog
- August 25, 2017
August 25, 2017 | Ambassador Richard Boucher The President’s announcement of his strategy for Afghanistan opens a new era for the 16-year war, yet most of the rhetoric and strategy matches that of two previous administrations. He identified broad goals such as “winning” against terrorists and building a capable Afghan government not necessarily one made
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Washington Runs Serious Risk in Coercing Islamabad 0
- Blog
- August 23, 2017
August 23, 2017August 23, 2017 | Daniel Markey U.S. President Donald Trump’s call for Pakistan to stop harboring terrorists, or else – outlined in a speech on U.S. strategy for Afghanistan and South Asia on Monday night – risks enflaming tensions in the region. Trump also called on Monday for more cooperation with India, and
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