National Security

How To Inoculate Angry Teens Against Islamic Extremism

9:25am September 23, 2014

Maajid Nawaz used to be a recruiter for an extreme Islamist group in the United Kingdom. NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Nawaz about how the recruiting process works, and how it can be thwarted.

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Why Did Congress Kick The Can On Funding Islamic State Mission?

5:58pm September 22, 2014

by David Welna

The president got approval for his plan to train and equip Syrian opposition fighters, but lawmakers didn't approve funds to pay for it or the broader air campaign.

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At a cybersecurity conference in Tel Aviv on Sept. 14, Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused the 43 Unit 8200 refusniks of "baseless slander" which "should be condemned."

Snowden Reveal Makes Israeli Spies' Protest An American Issue

11:56am September 22, 2014

by NPR Staff

Forty-three veterans of Unit 8200, Israel's secretive surveillance organization, say they were directed to spy indiscriminately on Palestinians. Were they using intelligence gathered by the NSA?

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U.S. Launches Media Campaign To Counter ISIS Videos

11:43am September 21, 2014

The Islamic State is posting graphic violent images on social media to recruit fighters. NPR's Wade Goodwyn speaks with the State Department's Alberto Fernandez about the U.S.'s aggressive response.

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Analyst: U.S. Needs To 'Deconflict' Syria To Defeat ISIS

11:16am September 20, 2014

How does the U.S. destroy the self-declared Islamic State without aiding the Syrian regime? NPR's Scott Simon speaks with Christopher Harmer of the Institute for the Study of War about options.

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American Joshua Fattal was released in 2011 from Iran after the Sultan of Oman paid more than $400,000 in ransom. He now says the U.S. should bail its citizens out abroad.

Should The U.S. Pay Ransom For ISIS Hostages?

6:08pm September 19, 2014

by Brian Naylor

Videotaped murders by Islamic State have sparked outrage around the world. But while some European countries have paid ransom to retrieve victims taken by ISIS, Britain and the U.S. have not.

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A remote camera screen grab provided by the French army shows two Rafale jet fighters flying over Iraq on Friday. French President Francois Hollande announced that the fighters had carried out their first airstrikes in northern Iraq.

French Jets Conduct First Airstrikes Against ISIS In Iraq

9:36am September 19, 2014

by Scott Neuman

President Francois Hollande says the Rafale fighters "entirely destroyed" a logistics depot. His office said more air operations against Islamic State militants would be conducted in coming days.

In a March 2014 TED talk, Ebrahim credited The Daily Show's Jon Stewart with helping him realize that "a person's race, religion or sexual orientation had nothing to do with the quality of one's character."

The Long, Scary Journey From A 'Terrorist's Son' To A Peace Activist

5:39pm September 18, 2014

Zak Ebrahim's father was convicted as a conspirator of the 1993 World Trade Center bombing. For most of his life, Ebrahim lied to people about who his father was. His new memoir tells his story.

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Apple, which unveiled iOS 8 at June's Worldwide Developers Conference, says it will be technologically unfeasible for police to extract data from its new operating system.

National

Apple: iOS 8 Prevents Cooperation With Police Unlocking Requests

5:16pm September 18, 2014

by Elise Hu

In the rollout of its new mobile operating system, Apple says it has made it technically impossible for the company to unlock phone data, even in response to a law enforcement warrant.

Islamic State Seizes Villages; Australia Says It Foiled Beheading Plot

12:14pm September 18, 2014

by Scott Neuman

The Islamist rebels also known as ISIS or ISIL reportedly captured 16 Kurdish villages in northern Syria in a major push for territory. The move has prompted fears of a massacre of civilians.