The Impact of War

President Trump's deputy assistant Sebastian Gorka participates in a discussion during the Conservative Political Action Conference on Friday. Gorka has been the subject of criticism by others in the counterterrorism field.

Criticized By Peers, White House Counterterrorism Adviser Returns Fire

7:07pm February 24, 2017

by David Welna

Sebastian Gorka responded to critical posts on Twitter by threatening to involve White House lawyers. He is fighting questions about his credentials and his views on Islam.

Veterans Affairs Secretary-designate Dr. David Shulkin, then the undersecretary for health at the VA, testifies on Capitol Hill Feb. 1. Shulkin was confirmed on Monday.

Senate Confirms First Nonveteran To Lead VA

8:38pm February 13, 2017

by Quil Lawrence

Senators unanimously voted to confirm VA Health Undersecretary Dr. David Shulkin as full secretary of the Department of Veterans Affairs. He's a rare Trump holdover from the Obama administration.

An American soldier scanned the retina of a man in Nangarhar Province, Afghanistan in Dec. 2011. Russia cites the danger of ISIS in Nangarhar as its reason for backing the Taliban, the U.S. says.

Why Is Russia Helping Anti-U.S. Insurgents In Afghanistan?

3:35pm February 13, 2017

by Philip Ewing

Russia has begun openly supporting and covertly supplying the insurgent Taliban against the U.S.-backed Afghan government in Kabul. What are the aims behind its latest gambit?

World News

Once Documenting The Holocaust, Now She Turns To Refugees Of Syria And Iraq

7:45am February 12, 2017

Zepporah Glass is an oral historian who has documented the experiences of Holocaust refugees. She talks to NPR's Lulu Garcia-Navarro about interviewing two families of refugees from the Middle East.

Jay Zimmerman (left) and his father, Buddy, in July 2016. Buddy, who was also a veteran, passed away last September.

Veteran Teaches Therapists How To Talk About Gun Safety When Suicide's A Risk

4:39pm February 09, 2017

by April Dembosky

The VA is now training counselors in how to better understand and bring up guns and gun safety without alienating clients who are combat veterans.

Queue Listen Now

Soldiers from the 36th Infantry Division deployed to Afghanistan to help train and advise that country's military. The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan says thousands more such troops are needed there.

National

Thousands More Troops Needed To Break Afghanistan 'Stalemate,' General Warns

1:14pm February 09, 2017

by Philip Ewing

The top U.S. commander in Afghanistan warns Congress that the war there is deadlocked and he needs more troops and billions more dollars to help allies against insurgents and foreign meddling.

Detention Center Camp 6, which can house as many as 175 people, now holds 26 in Guantanamo Bay, Cuba. President Trump has promised to send more war captives to Guantanamo Bay.

Plenty Of Room At Guantanamo Bay for Trump's 'Bad Dudes'

7:26pm February 08, 2017

by David Welna

President Trump inherited 41 "law of war" captives in Guantanamo, well below the 242 there when Barack Obama took office. A visit to the prison camps finds them ready for more occupants.

Queue Listen Now

Eager to defend a counterterrorism raid that killed civilians and one U.S. Navy SEAL, the Pentagon found it was touting a decade-old video. But it insists the operation was still worth launching.

National

That 'Valuable Intel' From The Yemen Raid? It Was 10 Years Old

8:11pm February 03, 2017

by Philip Ewing

Eager to defend a counterterrorism raid that killed civilians and one U.S. sailor, the Pentagon found it was touting a decade-old video. But it insists the operation was still worth launching.

Pictures of people who were incarcerated at Manzanar War Relocation Center are displayed alongside family tags at Manzanar National Historic Site near Independence, Calif., in 2015.

There's A Long, Ignominous Trail Of Bans, Registries And Forced Relocation

9:13pm February 02, 2017

by Jorge Encinas

The travel ban imposed by the president a week ago on people from seven Muslim-majority countries is only the latest executive order through the years grounded in race, ethnicity or country of origin.

Barely a week after assuming office, President Donald Trump set off a worldwide firestorm when he decided to temporarily ban migrants from seven Muslim-majority countries and refugees from all over the world from entering the United States.

Fortress America: What We Can — And Can't — Learn From History

12:00am January 31, 2017

President Trump's executive order on refugees left travelers stranded at airports worldwide. To some, the scenes evoked images of Jewish refugees during World War II. We investigate the parallels.