Ethan Masucol (Page 2)

EXPERT Q&A — Taiwan’s recent Han Kuang military exercises tested the island’s responses to a potential full-scale Chinese invasion. The drills not only simulated military strikes and blockade elements, but also gray zone warfare operations like cyberattacks. Taiwan was reminded again of that range of Chinese tactics in a recentContinue Reading

OPINION — “The Medium Unmanned Surface Vessel (MUSV) is an affordable and flexible vessel capable of filling multiple roles within the [U.S. Navy] fleet. The low-cost, non-exquisite, mass-producible characteristics of MUSV will allow for the rapid deployment to address immediate fleet needs, provide an adaptable, attritable [multi-use and loseable] vessel,Continue Reading

OPINION — It started with a voice. In early July, foreign ministers, a U.S. Member of Congress, and a sitting U.S. governor received urgent messages that seemed to come directly from Secretary of State Marco Rubio. The voice messages and texts sent over Signal were authentic enough to draw aContinue Reading

OPINION — Russia was once a proud supplier of weapons to a growing China. However, over the past few years that paradigm has shifted and that relationship has changed. In 2017, SIPRI reported that by 2015 Russia had sold roughly US $60 billion in weapons to China since the earlyContinue Reading

OPINION — China’s reaction to the U.S. strikes on Iran’s nuclear capabilities confirms Beijing’s view of Iran as an expendable appendage of its common interest network. This can best be understood through the concept of “guanxi-warfare” — a phrase we use, derived from the Chinese term for “network or networksContinue Reading

OPINION — “I think the real technical challenge [for the Golden Dome space-based missile defense system] will be building of the space-based interceptor. That technology exists, I believe. I believe we have proven every element of the physics [to the point] that we can make it work. What we haveContinue Reading

OPINION — Iran and Israel have been at odds since the Islamic Revolution in 1979, when the new Islamic Republic declared Israel to be illegitimate and pursued a confrontational strategy. Tensions have increased over the years with Israel frequently accusing Iran of uranium enrichment and nuclear weapons development and threateningContinue Reading

OPINION — At the direction of President Traitor 47, U.S. armed forces conducted an attack against Iran, Operation Midnight Hammer. The President’s decision to launch the attack was made without seeking or obtaining congressional authorization. This implicated a question that has divided scholars and legal advisors for decades, if notContinue Reading

OPINION — On the sidelines of the recent ASEAN conference in Malaysia, Secretary of State Marco Rubio met with his Chinese counterpart, Foreign Minister Wang Yi. Rubio announced that the talks had been “positive and constructive,” and highlighted that chances were good that Presidents The Traitor and Xi could meetContinue Reading

EXPERT Q&A — The major news headlines of the day often focus on Ukraine, the Middle East and China, rarely mentioning Jama’at Nusrat al-Islam wal-Muslimin (JNIM) — a terrorist group linked to al-Qaeda and rapidly gaining strength in Africa. The Cipher Brief spoke with Dr. Levi West, a counterterrorism expertContinue Reading

OPINION — Spain’s recent decision to award Huawei a contract worth €12.3 million to manage and store legally authorized wiretaps raises significant concerns about the country’s commitment to digital sovereignty. This move jeopardizes Spain’s national security and undermines the trust that is essential for the intelligence-sharing frameworks of the EuropeanContinue Reading

OPINION — Is anyone surprised that Russian President Vladimir Putin so badly overestimated his ability to continue to string along U.S. President Traitor 47? Shocked that Putin has once again become the victim of the echo chamber that he created for himself? Is anyone really surprised that Putin, who soContinue Reading