National Security

Obama Faces Criticism For Light Footprint Strategy Against Islamic State

8:32pm May 22, 2015

by Scott Horsley

President Obama says the U.S. is not losing the fight against the self-proclaimed Islamic State in Iraq, but his strategy has come under criticism after the fall of Ramadi.

Queue Listen Now

Week In Politics: U.S. Policy On Islamic State, 2016 Presidential Race

8:32pm May 22, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with regular political commentators E.J. Dionne of the Washington Post and Brookings Institution and Ramesh Ponnuru of the National Review about U.S. policy on the self-declared Islamic State and the 2016 presidential race.

Queue Listen Now

Some Clinton Emails Were Retroactively Classified

5:12pm May 22, 2015

by Krishnadev Calamur

The State Department released the first batch of 296 emails from the former secretary of state's private email account. Some were classified at the request of the FBI after the fact.

Congressional Stalemate Threatens To Kill Phone Data Program

7:32am May 22, 2015

by David Welna

Congress continues to debate the USA Patriot Act. A key provision allowing the bulk collection of Americans' phone records expires at the end of the month.

Queue Listen Now

Bulk Collection Debate Highlights Need To Revise Patriot Act

7:07pm May 21, 2015

NPR's Audie Cornish interviews Kim Zetter, a senior staff reporter at Wired magazine, who says the debate in Congress over the NSA's bulk collection program shows the Patriot Act needs to be revised.

Queue Listen Now

In an image from Senate video, presidential candidate Sen. Rand Paul speaks on the floor of the U.S. Senate Wednesday afternoon at the start of an almost 11-hour speech opposing renewal of the Patriot Act.

Sen. Rand Paul Stages 'Filibuster' To Protest Patriot Act

1:04pm May 21, 2015

by Scott Neuman

The Kentucky senator and presidential candidate opposes the collection of bulk telephone data and other surveillance measures that the government says are needed to combat terrorism.

Fall Of Ramadi Highlights 'Fundamental Failure' Of U.S. Strategy In Iraq

7:17pm May 20, 2015

NPR's Robert Siegel speaks with David Ignatius, columnist for the Washington Post, about how the U.S. miscalculated the vulnerability of Ramadi, Iraq, to takeover by the self-declared Islamic State.

Queue Listen Now

Al-Qaida leader Osama bin Laden, seen in Afghanistan in this undated photo, was killed in 2011 during a U.S. raid on his compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

U.S. Releases Documents Seized From Osama Bin Laden's Compound

2:28pm May 20, 2015

by Brian Naylor

Newly declassified materials include books, magazines and letters found during the 2011 raid on the al-Qaida leader's compound in Abbottabad, Pakistan.

The National Security Agency campus in Fort Meade, Md.

National

As Congress Haggles Over Patriot Act, We Answer 6 Basic Questions

8:18pm May 19, 2015

by Eyder Peralta

If you haven't been paying attention, here's a primer on the changes Congress is considering making to U.S. surveillance practices.

Fall Of Ramadi Sparks New Criticism Over U.S. Strategy In Iraq

7:06pm May 19, 2015

by Tom Bowman

The fall of Ramadi, Iraq, to self-declared Islamic State militants has highlighted possible shortcomings in the U.S. strategy to fight the Islamic State.

Queue Listen Now