Spencer Ackerman

Contributing Editor

Spencer Ackerman is a contributing editor at the Daily Beast. From 2017 to 2021, he was senior national security correspondent for The Daily Beast. He is the author of forthcoming REIGN OF TERROR: How The 9/11 Era Destabilized America and Produced Trump. The former U.S. national security editor for the Guardian, Ackerman was part of the Pulitzer Prize-winning team reporting on Edward Snowden's surveillance revelations.

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‘fundamental mistakes’

McChrystal: ‘Impossible to Argue’ War on Terror Was Worth It

In his new book, “Reign of Terror,” Spencer Ackerman lays out how Trump understood the nativist power of the 9/11 era better than the elites who built a war around it.

Spencer Ackerman

KNOWN KNOWNS

Donald Rumsfeld, Killer of 400,000 People, Dies Peacefully

Do not mourn the defense secretary. Mourn his victims. There were nearly too many to tally, but his Pentagon refused to count anyway.

Spencer Ackerman

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FOREVER PRISONERS

The Afghan War Is Over—but Not for These Gitmo Prisoners

Asadullah Haroon took Biden to court on Monday to win his freedom after 14 years. The prospects are far less promising for Mohammad Fahim, whom the CIA tortured.

Spencer Ackerman

FORGOTTEN MAN

U.S. Captured, Tortured and Cleared Him. He’s Still in GITMO

Abu Zubaydah was a human guinea pig for the CIA’s post-9/11 torture. Almost 20 years later, as the U.S. moves on, he’s still trying to get out of Guantanamo.

Spencer Ackerman

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BACK DOOR

FBI Hunted for Domestic Terrorists Without a Warrant

A secret court warned the FBI in 2018 about warrantless searches. But the bureau still went looking for “racially motivated violent extremists” in NSA troves without a court order.

Spencer Ackerman

Spencer Ackerman

McChrystal: ‘Impossible to Argue’ War on Terror Was Worth It

Donald Rumsfeld, Killer of 400,000 People, Dies Peacefully

The Afghan War Is Over—but Not for These Gitmo Prisoners

U.S. Captured, Tortured and Cleared Him. He’s Still in GITMO

FBI Hunted for Domestic Terrorists Without a Warrant

U.S. Military: We’ll Still Bomb Post-Pullout Afghanistan

U.S. Intel Walks Back Claim Russians Put Bounties on Troops

The Promise and the Tragedy of Biden’s Afghanistan Speech

U.S. Intel: Prospects for Afghan Peace Are ‘Low’

Biden Official Is Toeing the Saudi Line, Activists Say