Todd Bensman

From Journalism to the White House

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From Panama and Costa Rica: Video and Reports from Terror Travel Threat Investigation

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President Donald Trump's claims that Middle Eastern migrants were traveling Central American routes to the U.S. border, among them some Islamic terrorists, spawned a confused national debate that never quite moved past disputes over just the basic facts. Such as: Can, have, and do migrants from countries of terrorism concern, where Islamic terrorist groups operate, actually travel through Latin … [Read more...] about From Panama and Costa Rica: Video and Reports from Terror Travel Threat Investigation

Iran’s Push into Nicaragua

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For Hearst Newspapers MONKEY POINT, NICARAGUA -- The second military helicopter in as many days hovered over the jungle and then landed to a most unwelcome reception from several dozen angry Rama Indian and Creole villagers. Rupert Allen Clear Duncan, a leader of some 400 Creole who live along the shoreline,confronted the foreigners, who were dressed in suits and military uniforms that … [Read more...] about Iran’s Push into Nicaragua

The Quiet American

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By Todd Bensman, Special for D Magazine, March 2007 GamalAbdel-Hafiz was once one of the most valuable counter-terrorism assets the FBI had. He turned up the names of half the Al Qaida conspirators who planned the USS Cole bombing in 2001. He was the agent who, with a single skillfully executed interrogation in Bahrain, broke open the Lackawanna Six case in 2002, which President Bush touted … [Read more...] about The Quiet American

Breaching America Series

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Since 9/11, authorities have apprehended thousands of “special interest aliens” from Islamic countries crossing U.S. borders. If authentic war refugees could use the underground railroad, why not equally determined terrorists? For Hearst News, Bensman retraced the steps of an Iraqi war refugee who swam the Rio Grande on April 29, 2006. Bensman traveled to Syria, Jordan; Guatemala, Mexico, and the … [Read more...] about Breaching America Series

The Siege of Sarajevo: Inside the longest and most destructive city siege since World War II

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On background: My first trip into the besieged city of Sarajevo began with a hairy ride on a bus in December 1992 with a group of Italian pacifists. We started out from the Bosnian town of Kiseljak just 30 miles away in Croat-controlled territory. The two Serb front lines around the city (one facing the Croats and another facing the interior of Sarajevo with a supply corridor in-between) … [Read more...] about The Siege of Sarajevo: Inside the longest and most destructive city siege since World War II