Tag: Terrorism
The Takeaway
Presidential Leadership and the Origins of the "Kill List"
Wednesday, May 30, 2012
The "Kill List": It's the President's shifting roster of names of high-profile targets. If you're a suspected terrorist, it could be the last list your name appears on before the US government ends your life. The Obama administration appears to be the first presidential administration to keep such a list. What does the president's hands-on role in monitoring this list says about his leadership style?
The Takeaway
Pakistani Who Helped CIA Hunt Bin Laden Sentenced For Treason
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Pakistani doctor Shakil Afridi, who helped the CIA hunt down Osama Bin Laden, was convicted of treason yesterday by a tribal court in northwestern Pakistan. He has been sentenced to 33 years in prison. Hassan Abbas, a former Pakistani government official, and P.J. Crowley, former Department of State spokesperson, discuss how the sentencing is sure to add new strains to an already troubled U.S.-Pakistan relationship.
The Takeaway
State Department Targets Al Qaeda Website in Yemen
Thursday, May 24, 2012
Last night in Florida, Secretary of State Hillary Clinton said U.S. specialists hacked into websites run by Al Qaeda’s affiliate in Yemen. The hackers were able to change online ads that boasted about killing Americans into advertisements that underscored the deaths of Muslim civilians in Al Qaeda terror attacks. We're joined by Jamie Doran, a producer for Frontline who worked on the new documentary "Al Qaeda in Yemen."
The Takeaway
The Future of Yemen
Tuesday, May 22, 2012
At least 96 people were killed in the capital city of Yemen yesterday, after a suicide bomber disguised as a Yemeni soldier blew himself up during a military parade rehearsal near the presidential palace in Sana. The bombing was the country's most devastating terrorism attack in years, and the Al Qaeda affiliate that operates within the state has claimed responsibility for the mass killings. Yemen expert Charles Schmitz discusses the country's future.
The Takeaway
Lockerbie Bomber Dies at 60
Monday, May 21, 2012
Abdelbaset al-Megrahi, the only person convicted in the 1988 Lockerbie bombing which killed 270 people, including 189 Americans, died yesterday in Libya, at the age of 60. His death comes nearly three years after Scotland released him from prison on humanitarian grounds, and eleven years his conviction for planting a bomb on Pan Am Flight 103 in December 1988. John Ashton is Megrahi’s biographer and the author of "Megrahi: You Are My Jury," and Eileen Monetti's 20-year-old son Rick was returning from an academic semester abroad on Pan Am 103.
The Brian Lehrer Show
KSM Terror Trial
Thursday, May 10, 2012
Karen Greenberg, director of the Center on National Security at Fordham Law School, discusses the start of the Guantanamo terror trial and the revelation that a top Al-Qaeda operative was a CIA double-agent.
The Takeaway
Double-Agent Thwarted Al Qaeda Suicide Bombing Plot
Wednesday, May 09, 2012
There’s a new twist in the developing story of a thwarted terrorist plot orchestrated by Al Qaeda in Yemen. The would-be suicide bomber tasked with blowing up a United States-bound airliner was actually a double agent. Scott Shane, national security correspondent for The New York Times, explains.
The Takeaway
Foiled Terrorist Plot Reveals Disturbing New Garment Bomb
Tuesday, May 08, 2012
The headlines this morning are all about underwear bombs but the man behind this terrorist device, Ibrahim al Asiri, the bomb maker for al-Qaeda in the Arabian Peninsula, may be the bigger story. The FBI in Washington is picking apart a bomb it says was central to a foiled al-Qaeda plot to blow up an airliner bound for the United States. The garment bomb triggered by chemicals alone, no metal parts, and was found in Yemen where Ibrahim Al Asiri and al-Qaeda in the Arabian peninsula are based. Joining us now is Tom Finn, correspondent for Reuters based in Sana, Yemen.
The Takeaway
'Manhunt' Examines the Decade-Long Search for Bin Laden
Thursday, May 03, 2012
Just over 15 years ago, Peter Arnett and Peter Bergen traveled to an isolated mud hut in the mountains of Eastern Afghanistan to interview the most notorious terrorist of all time, Osama bin Laden. Bergen, who produced the interview for CNN, has marked the anniversary with a new book that examines the ten-year search for the world’s most wanted man. Peter Bergen is the author of "Manhunt: The Ten-Year Search for Bin Laden, from Nine-Eleven to Abbottabad."
The Takeaway
Terrorism Conviction in New York Subway Plot
Wednesday, May 02, 2012
Adis Medunjanin, a 28-year-old man a naturalized citizen born in Bosnia, was convicted of a host of terrorism charges connected to an plotting suicide attacks in the New York subways. Bob Hennelly, contributing editor for politics and investigations for Takeaway co-producer WNYC has been following the trial.
The Brian Lehrer Show
Brooklyn Terror Trial
Tuesday, May 01, 2012
Bob Hennelly, WNYC's contributing editor for politics and investigations, talks about the trial of Adis Medunjanin, accused of plotting to bomb the subway.
The Takeaway
Bin Laden's Death, One Year Later
Monday, April 30, 2012
Tomorrow will mark the one-year anniversary of the Navy SEAL raid on Osama bin Laden's complex in Abbottabad, Pakistan. In the immediate aftermath of the al Qaeda leader's death, many wondered how the organization would be affected. Gideon Rose, the editor of Foreign Affairs, illustrates how the group has changed.
The Leonard Lopate Show
Making the Case Against Extraordinary Rendition
Monday, April 30, 2012
James Goldston, head of the Open Society Justice Initiative, talks about arguing a landmark court case in front of The European Court of Human Rights in May. Khaled El-Masry, a German citizen, alleges that he was abducted in Macedonia in 2004, flown to Afghanistan, interrogated there and then later released in Albania. It’s the first case to be heard about alleged abuses arising from the CIA’s policy of extraordinary rendition.
WNYC News
In High-Profile Cases, Tapping Terror Experts for Testimony Becomes De Rigueur
Monday, April 30, 2012
As the trial of the accused subway bomber drew to a close last week, federal prosecutors tapped a growing stable of pricey terrorism experts to help them drive their argument home.
The Takeaway
Khalid Sheikh Mohammad: His Pursuit, His Detainment, and His Upcoming Trial
Monday, March 26, 2012
On March 1, 2003, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad was arrested in Rawalpindi, Pakistan, by members of Pakistan's Inter-Services Intelligence agency and the CIA. It marked the end of one of the lengthiest terrorist manhunts in history. Josh Meyer, chief terrorism reporter for the Los Angeles Times, co-wrote "The Hunt for KSM: Inside the Pursuit and Takedown of the Real 9/11 Mastermind, Khalid Sheikh Mohammad" with Terry McDermott. He discusses the pursuit, detainment, and trial of the man he calls "the ghost of our times."
The Takeaway
Ties Between US Troops and Afghan Citizens Worsening
Friday, March 23, 2012
From the aftermath of the attack in Kandahar which resulted in 16 civilian deaths, the BBC's David Loyn reports that Afghan citizens appear fed up with a decade of war. The worsening ties between U.S. troops and Afghans have been exacerbated in 2012 by the U.S. troops burning of the Koran and the March 11 shooting.
The Takeaway
Eric Holder: US Can Target Citizens Overseas
Tuesday, March 06, 2012
Attorney General Eric Holder outlined the United States’ legal defense of using lethal force against U.S. citizens overseas if that citizen is posing a terrorist threat. Holder’s speech, delivered Monday afternoon at Northwestern University, argued in part that the U.S. Constitution’s definition of due process defends the use of lethal force, even without the written consent of the president.
Until now, no legal defense was given for the U.S. mission in Yemen which killed al-Qaeda’s leading figure Anwar al-Awlaki. Al-Awlaki, who was born in the US, was the radical cleric who successfully took al-Qaeda’s message to YouTube.
The Takeaway
The Secret History of FBI Counterintelligence
Thursday, February 16, 2012
Since its founding, the Federal Bureau of Investigation has grappled with how to balance personal liberty and national security. The bureau grew exponentially in the years following World War I, as the country became increasingly terrified by the communist threat. The fear of communism often served as a guide for J. Edgar Hoover, the man who built the FBI and ran the Bureau for more than 40 years.
The Takeaway
Attacks on Israeli Embassy Personnel
Monday, February 13, 2012
Today in India an explosion tore through an Israeli diplomat's car on the streets of New Delhi, Israeli officials said. The driver and a diplomat's wife were injured. The explosion took place close to the Israeli embassy. Meanwhile in Tiblisi, Georgia Israel's Foreign Ministry said an attempted car bombing in Georgia was thwarted.
The Brian Lehrer Show
Justice and the Enemy
Thursday, February 02, 2012
William Shawcross, journalist and author of, Justice and the Enemy: Nuremberg, 9/11, and the Trial of Khalid Sheikh Mohammed, talks about his new book.