Todd Bensman

From Journalism to Counterterrorism Intelligence - and Back.

Terrorism & Homeland Security

The National Interest magazine: Joe Biden Just Condemned America to More Chinese Espionage — and Worse

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

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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

Review of America’s Covert Border War book (Townhall Media)

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A Look at America's Covert Border War By Leah Barkoukas, features editor, as originally published March 12, 2021 by TownHall While former President Trump had a knack for whipping the press into a frenzy no matter what he seemed to say, one issue he touched on in 2018 brought about a tsunami of criticism unlike most others. What had he dared bring attention to this time? He suggested, … [Read more...] about Review of America’s Covert Border War book (Townhall Media)

Homeland Security Today PERSPECTIVE: ‘Extra-Continental’ Migrants Throughout Americas on Their Way Toward Southern Border

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What differentiates some migrants from Mexicans and Central Americans – especially when they hail from a shifting 35-55 U.S. list of designated nations of national security interest like Iran, Syria, Afghanistan, Sudan, Somalia and Pakistan – is that American officials see a heightened national security risk in that they hail from areas where terrorist organizations actively recruit and … [Read more...] about Homeland Security Today PERSPECTIVE: ‘Extra-Continental’ Migrants Throughout Americas on Their Way Toward Southern Border

Overwhelmed Mexican Alien-Smuggling Cartels Use Wristband System to Bring Order to Business

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'It's the sort you'd get at a water park.' "What this means is that the cartels and the smuggling organizations have created a process because they are being so overrun with people that, even for them, it's difficult to keep up with who has paid and who hasn't. It goes to show the sheer challenge that even they are facing in trying to ensure that people don't overwhelm them." By Todd … [Read more...] about Overwhelmed Mexican Alien-Smuggling Cartels Use Wristband System to Bring Order to Business