Spencer Ackerman

A new investigation shows just how lucrative the big business of immigration detention is for private prisons.

A look into the latest revelation that Michael Flynn was paid to advise a for-profit company on building nuclear reactors in the Middle East during the presidential transition. 

The Daily Beast's Spencer Ackerman discusses how the President is consumed with Trump-Russia investigation news instead of potential further military action in Syria.

Millions were surprised to learn on Wednesday that, with help from the NSA, the British surveillance agency Government Communications Headquarters captured and stored the webcam image...

Like the definition of 'weapons of mass destruction,' the definitions of 'terrorism' and 'terrorist' are being challenged, extended and twisted in the Boston bombing case and others.

Omar Hammami's was born and raised in a small town near Mobile, Alalbama, but now lives in Somalia where in 2006 he joined an Islamist guerrilla army group called al Shebab. His relat...

Spencer Ackerman, writer for Wired magazine's national security blog, Danger Room, reviews what we know and don't know about the attack on the US diplomatic mission in Benghazi and the scandal involving former CIA director Petraeus.

 

In all the news surrounding General David Petraeus’s resignation, there’s a central question about military culture itself. As Petraeus implemented his counter-insurgency strategy in ...

After an internal review spanning many months, the FBI announced Wednesday that it has purged hundreds of training documents containing Islamophobic material.  The bureau stated that instructional materials were destroyed that contained "factual errors," stereotyped Arabs, were in “poor taste,"or lacked accurate information. The FBI is now in the process of reviewing and updating its training material and policies. 

Within hours of the news that Osama Bin Laden had been killed and buried at sea, the Internet lit up with commentary, speculation, and the beginnings of conspiracy theories. The more conspiracy minded wondered: How do we know it wasn't a double? And how do we know that the real Osama is not still alive — or on the other hand, hasn't been dead for years?

Today, troops from the 101st Airborne Division's 4th Brigade Combat team will leave for Afghanistan from Fort Campbell in Kentucky. It's been a tough couple of months for the 101st. They've lost 41 troops in Afghanistan since March.

Spencer Ackerman, who covers security issues for the The Washington Independent, talks about the letter from seven Democrats on the House Intelligence Committee accusing "top CIA officials" of misleading Congress.

President Obama announced his nominee for top American commander in Afghanistan, General Stanley McChrystal, a few weeks ago. Confirmation hearings began today. Some critics are urgin...

The intelligence community is reacting with surprise at the choice of Leon Panetta as Obama's choice for CIA director. Spencer Ackerman, senior reporter for the Washington Independent, surveys the response.