National Security

By The Intercept

The Intercept's coverage of government surveillance and other national security-related topics

National Security
After 18 Years of War, the Taliban Have the Upper Hand in Afghanistan Peace Talks
The Intercept - Bilal SarwaryMurtaza Hussain
Last year, thousands of young Afghans marched across the country, demanding an end to fighting that has destroyed millions of lives since the Soviet …
House of Representatives Orders Donald Trump to Stop Backing Saudi-led War in Yemen, Paving the Way for Decisive Senate
The Intercept - Alex Emmons
In a stinging rebuke to the Trump administration’s cozy relationship with Saudi Arabia, the House of Representatives passed a resolution directing …
National Security
What Happened in Douma? Searching for Facts in the Fog of Syria’s Propaganda War
The Intercept - James Harkin
This much we know: To have been in the Syrian town of Douma, the final rebel military holdout in the suburbs of Damascus, on Saturday, April 7, 2018 …
Artificial Intelligence
Google Hired Gig Economy Workers to Improve Artificial Intelligence in Controversial Drone-Targeting Project
The Intercept - Lee Fang
Millions of gig economy workers around the world now earn a living on so-called crowd worker websites — work that falls under the umbrella of …
U.S. Politics
Elliott Abrams, Trump’s Pick to Bring “Democracy” to Venezuela, Has Spent His Life Crushing Democracy
The Intercept - Jon Schwarz
On December 11, 1981 in El Salvador, a Salvadoran military unit created and trained by the U.S. Army began slaughtering everyone they could find in a …
U.S. Politics
There’s a Better Battlefield for the War Against Trump’s Lies: the Courts
The Intercept - Trevor Aaronson
President Donald Trump and his administration lie to and mislead the public as a matter of course. It’s a concerning but indisputable fact. So how do …
National Security
Roger Stone Made His Name as a Dirty Trickster, But the Trump-Russia Coverup May Finally Bring Him Down
The Intercept - James Risen
The government was shut down, but Robert Mueller kept working. That became clear early Friday morning, when FBI agents arrested Roger Stone at his …
News (U.S.)
Guantanamo Prisoner Says Judge Used Pro-Government Rulings to Curry Favor With the Justice Department
The Intercept - Alex Emmons
Defense attorneys for the accused mastermind of the USS Cole bombing asked a federal appeals court on Tuesday for a fresh start to his trial, …
ISIS Fighters in Syria Are Trying to Push into Iraq, Where U.S.-Backed Forces Can’t Get Along With Militias Supported by
The Intercept - Simona Foltyn
AL QAIM, IRAQ — As the fight against the Islamic State in eastern Syria — where some of the U.S. troops President Donald Trump has promised to …
Why Doesn’t Donald Trump’s Cozy Relationship With Vladimir Putin Worry His Supporters? Jefferson Davis’s Treason Case Holds
The Intercept - James Risen
Questions about whether Donald Trump is an agent of a foreign power have intensified since the Washington Post reported that the president of the …
John Bolton Wants to Bomb Iran — and He May Get What He Wants
The Intercept - Mehdi Hasan
You underestimate John Bolton at your peril. Remember when he was passed over for the job of secretary of state because, we were told, Donald Trump …
Mike Pompeo Lied About the U.S. and the Middle East. Here’s the Truth.
The Intercept - Mehdi Hasan
“The good news is this: The age of self-inflicted American shame is over.” So said Mike Pompeo in Cairo on Thursday. Donald Trump’s hawkish secretary …
Defense Department Abruptly Stopped Releasing Key Details on Strikes in War Against ISIS
The Intercept - Trevor Aaronson
The Defense Department has quietly halted its practice of issuing detailed “strike releases,” periodic reports that provided information about …
“We Want to Survive”: Afghans Warily Anticipate Trump’s Withdrawal of 7,000 U.S. Troops
The Intercept - Bilal Sarwary
There’s been a lot of talk from politicians and world leaders about President Donald Trump’s recent announcement that the U.S. will pull about 7,000 …
See No Evil: Pentagon Issues Blanket Denial That It Knows Anything About Detainee Abuse in Yemen
The Intercept - Alex Emmons
In a previously unpublished report to Congress, the Department of Defense said that it has found no evidence of detainee abuse by U.S. allies in …
U.S. Ramps Up Bombing of ISIS in Eastern Syria Following Trump Withdrawal Announcement
The Intercept - Trevor AaronsonAli Younes
After President Donald Trump announced the withdrawal of 2,000 troops from Syria last month, the U.S. military ramped up its bombing campaign against …
The FBI’s Interrogation of Reality Winner Was Like a Play — and Has Now Been Turned Into One
The Intercept - Alisa Solomon
The experimental theater maker Tina Satter saw something familiar last winter when she clicked on a link from a journalistic story about Reality …
Seeing Is Believing: The Intercept’s 2018 Visual Journalism
The Intercept
Visual journalism, in its many forms, is a vital part of news: It can provide evidence that allows us to hold people and institutions accountable, …
The Double Games of Foes and Friends: The Intercept’s 2018 National Security Coverage
The Intercept
From government eavesdropping on private citizens to revelatory details about Russian interference in the 2016 election to Washington’s draconian …
Keep Your Eyes on the Narcissist: Donald Trump’s Latest Antics Are Driven by Fear of Robert Mueller
The Intercept - James Risen
A malicious loner paralyzed one of the world’s great cities this week. Meanwhile, a drone operator shut down a major international airport. Donald …
Left-Wing Leaders in Spain Condemn the War in Yemen, but Keep Up Arms Sales to Saudi Arabia
The Intercept - Zach Campbell
In September, the defense minister of Spain abruptly canceled the sale of 400 laser-guided bombs to Saudi Arabia. The minister, Margarita Robles, …
Despite Assurances From Trump, the U.S. Battle Against ISIS in Eastern Syria Is Far From Over
The Intercept - Ali YounesTrevor AaronsonMurtaza Hussain
Despite assurances from President Donald Trump that the Islamic State is no more, the U.S.-led battle to oust the militant group from its last Syrian …
Pentagon Says 35 Killed in Trump’s First Yemen Raid — More Than Twice as Many as Previously Reported
The Intercept - Alex Emmons
On January 30, 2017, then-White House press secretary Sean Spicer announced that the Pentagon had conducted a “very successful” special operations …
Israel Tampered With Video of Strike That Killed Two Palestinian Boys, Investigators Say
The Intercept - Robert Mackey
A painstaking reconstruction of a series of Israeli airstrikes that killed two Palestinian boys on the roof of a building in Gaza City this summer …
Sen. Tom Cotton Is Trying to Cripple a Bill to End U.S. Support for the War in Yemen
The Intercept - Alex Emmons
With the Senate set to vote on a resolution that could end U.S. support for the Saudi-led bombing campaign in Yemen, hawkish Republican Sen. Tom …
Is There Anything Trump, Cohen, and Manafort Didn’t Lie About?
The Intercept - James Risen
The latest batch of documents from two different court cases made public late Friday by Special Counsel Robert Mueller includes potentially …
How George H.W. Bush Rode a Fake National Security Scandal to the Top of the CIA
The Intercept - James Risen
On December 15, 1975, a Senate committee opened hearings on whether George H.W. Bush should be confirmed as director of the Central Intelligence …
Homeland Security Will Let Computers Predict Who Might Be a Terrorist on Your Plane — Just Don’t Ask How It Works
The Intercept - Sam Biddle
You’re rarely allowed to know exactly what’s keeping you safe. When you fly, you’re subject to secret rules, secret watchlists, hidden cameras, and …
U.S. Military Says It Has a “Light Footprint” in Africa. These Documents Show a Vast Network of Bases.
The Intercept - Nick Turse
The U.S. military has long insisted that it maintains a “light footprint” in Africa, and there have been reports of proposed drawdowns in special …