On five trips to Iraq, Rukmini Callimachi and a team of other New York Times journalists scoured files and other papers left behind by the Islamic State, which help explain how the so-called Caliphate had been able to stay in power there for a number of years. The impression left behind? That ISIS’s penchant for […]
terrorism
Posted inArts & Culture, Crime, Current Events, Nonfiction, Quotes
How Angry Racists Plotted to Kill Somali Refugees in Kansas
A small town welcomed hundreds of Somali refugees. A militia splinter group wanted them dead.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Boko Haram Strapped Suicide Bombs to Them. Somehow These Teenage Girls Survived.
The New York Times interviewed 18 teen girls — all of whom were kidnapped by Boko Haram in Nigeria to become suicide bombers for their cause. Unwilling to hurt and kill innocents, these girls — some as young as 13 years old — bravely defied the militants and sought help from citizens and soldiers alike […]
Posted inNonfiction
Raising Brown Boys in Post-9/11 America
Sorayya Khan recalls racist threats to her young sons after the 2001 attacks, and worries about them as young men living in ‘Trumpistan.’
Posted inEditor's Pick
How a Journalist Uncovered the True Identity of Jihadi John
Souad Mekhennet’s thrilling tale of late-night rendezvous, burner phones, and secret codes — and her quest to reveal the man in black. Excerpted from I Was Told to Come Alone: My Journey Behind the Lines of Jihad.
Posted inEssays & Criticism, Nonfiction, Story
Pulse Nightclub Was My Home
On the anniversary of the Pulse nightclub massacre in Orlando, Edgar Gomez reflects on what a safe haven the club was for him and others — maybe even shooter Omar Mateen.
Posted inEditor's Pick
Donald Trump’s Worst Deal
Davidson does some deep reporting on a sketchy deal the Trump Organization oversaw in Azerbaijan. The building of the Trump Tower Baku is linked to notoriously corrupt oligarchs and financiers of terrorism.
Posted inNonfiction, Quotes
What It's Like to Be a Suspected Terrorist
“Americans continue to shake their heads over new revelations of widespread data mining and near-universal phone tapping, while Unamericans righteously defend these tactics and call for punishment of the leakers who revealed them. Were I to be shown in accurate detail why it was necessary for me to be kept under surveillance, possibly for the […]
Posted inUncategorized
Since 2001, the bureau—often helped along by informants—has been instrumental in stopping at least 40 known terrorist plots, most of them smaller, “lone-wolf” schemes. Although it has faced some criticism for its activities and investigative techniques, the bureau’s post-9/11 record is remarkable, with no subsequent Al Qaeda attacks on U.S. soil. The person who came […]