Articles

Why hostage rescues fail By Peter Bergen and David Sterman updated 8:03 AM EST, Tue December 9, 2014 STORY HIGHLIGHTS Raid to free American photojournalist Luke Somers resulted in his death Peter Bergen: Successful rescues usually have the benefit of surprise In the Somers case, an earlier rescue effort preempted the possibility of surprise, he says Editor’s note: Peter […]

Did torture help lead to bin Laden? By Peter Bergen updated 12:26 PM EST, Wed December 10, 2014 STORY HIGHLIGHTS Did coercive interrogation yield evidence pointing to bin Laden? Peter Bergen says the Senate torture report finds that other forms of investigation were key Coercive interrogation actually yielded incorrect information, the report says Editor’s note: […]

Pakistan’s 9/11 By Peter Bergen updated 12:40 PM EST, Tue December 16, 2014 Soldiers patrol the streets in Peshawar, Pakistan, near a school that was attacked by the Pakistani Taliban on Tuesday, December 16. Militants stormed the military-run school in northwest Pakistan, killing more than 140 people, most of them children. More than 100 people […]

Why ISIS is spreading across Muslim world By Peter Bergen and Emily Schneider updated 3:11 PM EST, Wed November 19, 2014 A Syrian Kurdish refugee child from the Kobani area holds laundry on a cold morning at a camp in Suruc, on the Turkey-Syria border, on Monday, November 17. Kobani, also known as Ayn Arab, has been under […]

Did Robert O’Neill really kill bin Laden? By Peter Bergen updated 6:24 PM EST, Tue November 4, 2014 Watch this video Navy SEAL says he’s bin Laden’s shooter STORY HIGHLIGHTS Three years after Osama bin Laden’s death, Robert O’Neill says he was the one who killed him Peter Bergen says the killing was a team […]

First line of defense against terrorism: Mom and Dad By Peter Bergen and David Sterman updated 5:03 PM EDT, Wed October 29, 2014 A Syrian refugee wraps herself in a blanket as she stands near tents in the Suruc district near Sanliurfa, Turkey, on Thursday, October 2. As many as 200,000 people have left the area surrounding the […]

What we learn from ISIS’ online magazine By Peter Bergen and Emily Schneider updated 8:28 AM EDT, Mon October 20, 2014 An explosion rocks Kobani, Syria, during a reported car-bomb attack by ISIS militants on Monday, October 20. Civil war has destabilized Syria and created an opening for the militant group, which is also advancing […]

What lures Americans to Syria fight By Peter Bergen and David Sterman updated 7:25 AM EDT, Tue October 14, 2014 A Syrian refugee wraps herself in a blanket as she stands near tents in the Suruc district near Sanliurfa, Turkey, on Thursday, October 2. As many as 200,000 people have left the area surrounding the Syrian city of […]

An Afghan miracle By Peter Bergen updated 2:12 PM EDT, Thu October 2, 2014 People inspect the site of a double car bombing in Baghdad on Wednesday, October 1. The United Nations said Wednesday that at least 1,119 Iraqis were killed in September in acts of terrorism and violence. STORY HIGHLIGHTS Amid all the bad […]

Jihadist threat not as big as you think By Peter Bergen and Emily Schneider updated 12:31 PM EDT, Fri September 26, 2014 In this photo released by the U.S. Air Force, fighter jets fly over northern Iraq as part of coalition airstrikes in Syria on Tuesday, September 23. The United States and several Arab nations have started […]