Riley McCabe

Associate Fellow, Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program
Riley McCabe

Riley McCabe is an associate fellow with the Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program at the Center for Strategic and International Studies (CSIS). His research focuses on military operations, irregular warfare, and terrorism and political violence. His writing has appeared in The Washington Post, Foreign Policy, Lawfare, War on the Rocks,The Washington Quarterly, and elsewhere. He previously served on the editorial board of the Irregular Warfare Initiative. McCabe is a Public Service Fellow pursuing an MA in international relations at the Johns Hopkins University School of Advanced International Studies and holds a BA in diplomacy and world affairs from Occidental College.

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Aid Cuts Make Peace Negotiations in Ukraine Less Likely

Cutting U.S. aid to Ukraine now would not hasten peace. It would encourage the Kremlin to believe what it has long hoped for—that U.S. resolve is fleeting, and that time is on Russia’s side.

Commentary by Riley McCabe — June 16, 2025

Can Ukraine Survive Without U.S. Aid?

Experts from CSIS’s Warfare, Irregular Threats, and Terrorism Program sat down for a discussion on the possible implications of a partial or complete suspension of U.S. military aid to Ukraine.

Event — June 5, 2025

Russia’s Battlefield Woes in Ukraine

Russia has performed poorly on the battlefield in Ukraine and will likely hit the 1 million casualty mark in the summer of 2025. New CSIS data details Russia's slow rate of advance, heavy losses of equipment, and significant casualties.

Brief by Seth G. Jones and Riley McCabe — June 3, 2025

Audio Briefs

Can Ukraine Fight Without U.S. Aid? Seven Questions to Ask

An audio version of “⁠Can Ukraine Fight Without U.S. Aid? Seven Questions to Ask⁠⁠⁠⁠⁠,” a new commentary by CSIS's Iselin Brady, Daniel Byman, Riley McCabe, and Alexander Palmer. This audio was generated with text-to-speech by Eleven Labs.

Podcast Episode by Iselin Brady, Daniel Byman, Riley McCabe, and Alexander Palmer — May 19, 2025

Audio Briefs

Can Ukraine Fight Without U.S. Aid? Seven Questions to Ask

A complete cutoff of U.S. aid would significantly harm Ukraine’s ability to fight Russia but would not necessarily lead to immediate defeat—and more limited cutoffs would have more limited effects on Ukraine’s battlefield performance.

Report by Iselin Brady, Daniel Byman, Riley McCabe, and Alexander Palmer — May 19, 2025

Global Terrorism Threat Assessment 2025

Terrorism remains a threat to U.S. citizens, assets, and interests despite the national security community’s decreasing focus on counterterrorism.

Report by Alexander Palmer, Riley McCabe, Daniel Byman, and Skyeler Jackson — March 28, 2025

The Escalating Attacks on Tesla Facilities

Since January 2025, a series of attacks have targeted Tesla facilities and vehicles across the United States, bringing renewed attention to a long-standing debate among policymakers, scholars, and law enforcement over what qualifies as domestic terrorism.

Critical Questions by Riley McCabe — March 20, 2025