Eric Schmitt

The New York Times

Eric Schmitt is terrorism correspondent for the New York Times.

Eric Schmitt appears in the following:

America's Growing Role in the Yemeni Civil War

Monday, May 07, 2018

Despite efforts by the United States to limit its involvement in the war in Yemen, reporting by The New York Times reveals that there are American troops on the ground in Saudi Arabia.

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Eyes Turn to Navy SEALs After Green Beret's Mysterious Death

Wednesday, November 15, 2017

Last month, a media firestorm erupted after four Green Berets were killed in Niger. Now, the death of another Green Beret, this time in the country of Mali, is raising several red flags.

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ISIS Chief Creates Plan to Ensure Group's Survival

Tuesday, July 21, 2015

Abu Bakr al-Baghdadi, leader of the self-proclaimed Islamic State, has established a line of succession in case he is killed. 

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U.S. to Position Heavy Weaponry in Eastern Europe

Monday, June 15, 2015

According to some reports, the shipments will include enough hardware to support as many as 5,000 U.S. troops.

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Instability in Yemen Creates Conditions Ripe for Extremism

Tuesday, March 24, 2015

The New York Times' Eric Schmitt discusses the United States' struggle to combat what has become a hotbed of disparate terrorist cells in Yemen.

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ISIS Makes Swift Advance on Turkish Border Town

Wednesday, October 08, 2014

Turkey has said their forces will not get more deeply involved in the conflict—a position that's frustrating many in Washington.

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Examining The Inner Workings of ISIS

Friday, August 29, 2014

Newly seized documents reveal the organizational structure of ISIS—where its leaders come from, and how they became involved with the insurgent group. 

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Boston Marathon Bombing: Many Unanswered Questions

Wednesday, April 17, 2013

The explosions at the Boston Marathon finish line left three dead and many more injured. Two days after the tragedy, there are still many unanswered questions. Todd Zwillich and Calli...

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Tonight's Debate Will Likely Feature Consulate Attack in Libya

Monday, October 22, 2012

Republican presidential candidate Mitt Romney has used the consulate attack in Libya question President Obama's experience and action in terms of foreign policy. Eric Schmitt, terrori...

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Setbacks in Libya

Monday, September 24, 2012

Unrest in the Middle East has been a political and foreign policy setback for President Obama. Eric Schmitt, who covers terrorism and national security for The New York Times, explains.

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CIA Secretly Steering Arms to Syrian Rebels, New Report Claims

Thursday, June 21, 2012

News reports claim that British and US leaders are prepared to offer Syrian President Bashar al-Assad clemency if he agrees to help push for a UN-sponsored conference on political tra...

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Role of the CIA in Yemen

Friday, September 30, 2011

We continue our coverage of the death of Anwar Al-Awlaki, the U.S.-born cleric killed early this morning in northern Yemen. It is still not clear whether the operation was carried out by Yemeni forces or American intelligence but the CIA has had the greenlight to target the leading terrorist figure. Joining us is Eric Schmitt, terrorism correspondent for our partner The New York Times and co-author, along with The Times' Thom Shanker of the book "Counterstrike: the Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda".

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America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

Eric Schmitt, terrorism correspondent, and Thom Shanker, Pentagon correspondent, both of The New York Times, talk about the Pentagon's revolutionary new strategy to fight al Qaeda, and how it’s shaping the United States’ efforts to fight terrorism in the Middle East and at home. In Counter Strike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda, Schmitt and Shanker tell why the strategy to defeat al Qaeda through force wasn’t working, and how successful new counterterrorism strategies are being developed and adopted.

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Eric Schmitt on 'The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against al-Qaeda'

Wednesday, August 17, 2011

In their new book, "Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America's Secret Campaign Against al-Qaeda," New York Times reporters Eric Schmitt and Thom Shanker provide an inside look at what goes on behind the scenes of U.S. counter-intelligence, and how national security efforts against terrorism have evolved in the almost ten years since 9/11.

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US Defers $800 Million of Military Aid to Pakistan

Monday, July 11, 2011

The United States is suspending as much as $800 million of military aid to Pakistan, in a bid to change the behavior of one of America’s most crucial — and controversial — partners. The move is an effort to admonish the country for expelling U.S. military trainers, and show disapproval for terrorist activities, such as the slaying in May of Pakistani journalist Saleem Shahzad, whose death has recently been linked to Pakistan's powerful spy agency. 

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Pakistan Intelligence Agency May Have Ordered Journalist Killing

Tuesday, July 05, 2011

Relations between the U.S. and Pakistan have been severely strained since the U.S. raid that killed Osama bin Laden took place on Pakistani soil two months ago. But a story in The New York Times spells further trouble ahead. Back in May, news broke of the disappearance and subsequent murder of Saleem Shahzad — a Pakistani journalist who frequently wrote about the presence of militants in the armed forces there. But Obama officials believe there is new evidence to suggest the agency had itself ordered the killing. 

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With Troop Drawdown, A More Clandestine War on Al-Qaida

Thursday, June 30, 2011

A week after President Obama announced the time line for withdrawing troops from Afghanistan, his top counter-terrorism adviser, John Brennan, says the US war on al-Qaida is far from over. Immediately following the death of Osama bin Laden, Brennan said in an interview on NBC's Today Show that the US would continue to "pummel the rest of Al Qaida." Now that goal is being laid out in the form of official strategy, with the U.S. vowing to focus more on clandestine operations and attacks to take out key leaders of the terrorism network.

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Tensions Worsen Between US and Pakistan

Wednesday, June 15, 2011

Pakistan arrested a number of the country's CIA operatives, who had helped the U.S. find and kill Osama bin Laden. After bin Laden's death, Pakistan's military has been mired in a crisis of confidence, and has distanced itself from working with U.S. intelligence in order to combat militant groups in Pakistan. The effect that this fallout with Pakistan may have on the drone program has many U.S. officials worried.

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State Department Flags Pakistani Human Rights Abuses

Thursday, December 30, 2010

According to a recent report from the State Department, Pakistani security forces are illegally rounding up political activists and unarmed fighters. In the last decade, thousands of people have been held without charges, tortured and killed, the report says. Many of those detained are members of the Baluchistan separatist group, which has battled the Pakistani government for independence for decades. The State Department report marks a new push by the Obama administration to urge Pakistan to address human rights abuses.

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Leaked Memos Paint New Picture of War in Afghanistan

Monday, July 26, 2010

For geographic, political and strategic reasons, Pakistan has been a key player in the war against the Taliban in Afghanistan. However, new military documents leaked by Wikileaks.org and published by The New York Times have raised the question: just whose side is Pakistan's intelligence agency on?

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