Journalists have a different method for sharing the words. They tend to fact check, verify, and speak from a personal perspective. That is not to say their own frame of reference will not shape the outcome of the story—like all of us they are human. Today though I have the chance to share some time with Todd Bensman. His extensive qualifications include an M.A. in Security Studies from the Naval … [Read more...] about At the Border with Todd Bensman, an in-depth interview
Terrorism & Homeland Security
The Live Drop Podcast: A Discussion of America’s Covert Border War Book
Episode notes Back in April 2021, Todd Bensman talked with me about the nexus between immigration and national security in his book America’s Covert Border War: the Untold Story of the Nation’s Battle to Prevent Jihadist Infiltration. Todd is an award-winning journalist who transitioned to a career as a national security intelligence professional for the Texas Department of Public … [Read more...] about The Live Drop Podcast: A Discussion of America’s Covert Border War Book
Homeland Security Today Commemoration Series: State of Border Counterterrorism, Challenges Threaten Security Successes
By Todd Bensman, special to Homeland Security Today 9/11 Commemoration Series, September 15, 2021 On January 19, 2018, a citizen of Afghanistan and former interpreter for the U.S. military named Wasiq Ullah crossed the Texas border from Mexico. He had spent $16,000 to be smuggled through several countries – most likely to South America or Cuba and then overland north through Central America – … [Read more...] about Homeland Security Today Commemoration Series: State of Border Counterterrorism, Challenges Threaten Security Successes
For The Investigative Project on Terrorism: Selective Media Memory: The Carefully Excised “WHY” of the 9/11 Attacks
American media won’t speak its name – “Islamist terrorism’ – but the historic 9/11 Commission Report does and always will “But the enemy is not just ‘terrorism,’ some generic evil. This vagueness blurs the strategy. The catastrophic threat at this moment in history is more specific. It is the threat posed by Islamist terrorism – especially the al Qaeda network, its affiliates, and its … [Read more...] about For The Investigative Project on Terrorism: Selective Media Memory: The Carefully Excised “WHY” of the 9/11 Attacks
The National Interest magazine: Joe Biden Just Condemned America to More Chinese Espionage — and Worse
By Todd Bensman as originally published July 19, 2021 by The National Interest For nearly two years now, the FBI has nabbed dozens of Chinese Communist Party spies who, while posing as graduate students and research scholars at top academic institutions, siphoned out America’s most cutting edge national defense material for untold years. The spies, many secretly members of China’s … [Read more...] about The National Interest magazine: Joe Biden Just Condemned America to More Chinese Espionage — and Worse
Minnesota Military Linguist Ensnared in Honeypot “Abandoned Her Country” for Hizballah
by Todd BensmanSpecial to IPT NewsApril 20, 2021 When Defense Department Arabic linguist Mariam Taha Thompson's love affair abruptly ended with her arrest last year, her own hurt feelings paled in comparison to other damage it wrought. The Rochester, Minn. widow's romance placed the lives of real American soldiers and intelligence informants in harm's way, disrupted U.S. military operations, … [Read more...] about Minnesota Military Linguist Ensnared in Honeypot “Abandoned Her Country” for Hizballah
CBP Removes Press Release About Migrants on the U.S. Terror Watch List Who Crossed the Southern Border
A broader public understanding of just how often terrorist suspects like these Yemenis cross has become especially pertinent as the government's border management systems teeter under historic, sharply escalating numbers of largely Spanish-speaking peoples making illegal entry. So what can be truthfully said of this contentious threat issue? By Todd Bensman, special to the Investigative Project … [Read more...] about CBP Removes Press Release About Migrants on the U.S. Terror Watch List Who Crossed the Southern Border
Spooks on the Rio: US Spy Agencies’ Little Known Homeland Security Role
CIA, DIA, FBI, satellites, military play major parts in US-based globe-spanning network A border security effort that is barely known to the American public, policy-makers and elected leaders: For more than 15 years, agencies of the U.S. intelligence community have been deeply involved in securing the southern border from terrorist infiltration. By Todd Bensman as originally published … [Read more...] about Spooks on the Rio: US Spy Agencies’ Little Known Homeland Security Role
Book Review in The Federalist
By Kyle Shideler, director and senior analyst for homeland security and counterterrorism at the Center for Security Policy as published April 1, 2021 in The Federalist. During the 2016 election, one of the major issues the media refused to discuss was the extent to which foreign-born nationals might play a role in jihadist terror attacks on U.S. soil. This was during the height of the debate … [Read more...] about Book Review in The Federalist
The Afrasiabi Affair: Media Outlets Silent About Publishing Alleged Covert Iranian Agent
By Todd Bensman as originally published March 16, 2021 by the Investigative Project on Terrorism More than six weeks have elapsed since a major American journalism scandal broke with the federal arrest of U.S. newspaper editorialist and frequent cable news commentator Kaveh Afrasiabi, who long sold himself as a neutral expert on Iran. The initial Department of Justice media … [Read more...] about The Afrasiabi Affair: Media Outlets Silent About Publishing Alleged Covert Iranian Agent