I write about U.S. national security, with a particular focus on U.S. military affairs and counterterrorism issues overseas. I have written extensively on security matters in the Middle East, South Asia, Africa and Europe.
I have been a reporter at The New York Times for 40 years — starting as a news assistant and working my way up to cover the U.S. military, counterterrorism and other national security issues for more than three decades. I have covered every conflict involving the U.S. military since the 1991 Persian Gulf war, and reported extensively from Iraq, Afghanistan, Africa and the Middle East. I have shared four Pulitzer Prizes. I got my start reporting on local education at the Tri-City Herald in Kennewick, Wash.
I am the co-author of “Counterstrike: The Untold Story of America’s Secret Campaign Against Al Qaeda.” I earned a bachelor’s degree in political science from Williams College, studied in Madrid for a year and was a journalism fellow at Stanford University. I was born in Minneapolis and reared in the San Francisco Bay Area.
Keeping my sources protected is a top priority for me, especially during sensitive or high-risk stories. I strive to be accurate and fair in my coverage, no matter what the subject. And, like all Times journalists, I follow the standards in our Ethical Journalism Handbook.
I don’t back away from difficult stories, and will give subjects a chance to comment and express their side of a story.
I do not participate in politics, nor do I make political donations. I am always careful to identify myself as a reporter for The Times in news-related conversations.
Email: erschm@nytimes.com
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A Times analysis of video from the Israeli military shows that at least eight planes it said were used in the attack on Hassan Nasrallah were armed with bunker-buster bombs.
By Aric Toler and Riley Mellen
The United States has 2,500 troops in Iraq who served as a bulwark against attacks by a resurgent Islamic State.
By Alissa J. Rubin, Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt
The United States and its allies are once again considering expanding the capabilities they provide to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
By Eve Sampson and Lara Jakes
The United Arab Emirates is expanding a covert campaign to back a winner in Sudan’s civil war. Waving the banner of the Red Crescent, it is also smuggling weapons and deploying drones.
By Declan Walsh and Christoph Koettl
An extremist group that claims allegiance to Al Qaeda said it was responsible for assaults on a military police school and an air base in the West African country of Mali.
By Elian Peltier and Ruth Maclean
The United States and its allies are once again considering expanding the capabilities they provide to Ukraine in its fight against Russia’s invasion.
By Eve Sampson and Lara Jakes
The U.S. military said those killed in a joint assault by U.S. and Iraqi forces last month included the group’s top commander in Iraq and its leading bomb maker.
By Eric Schmitt
Here is what to know about Israel’s deadly raid on a Hezbollah weapons production facility in Syria.
By Eve Sampson
The topic will be on the agenda Friday as Britain’s new prime minister, Keir Starmer, visits the White House.
By David E. Sanger, Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt
The missile production facility was destroyed in the attack, according to Western officials. Syrian state media reported that 18 people were killed in the strike.
By Helene Cooper, Eric Schmitt, Julian E. Barnes and Ronen Bergman
President Biden has refused to allow Ukraine to use long-range Western missiles on Russian military targets, but he appears to be wavering.
By Lara Jakes
After Tajiks were charged with a deadly attack in Moscow, the country has cracked down on signs of Islam. But experts say it’s not addressing the causes of terrorism.
By Valerie Hopkins and Nanna Heitmann
The number of insurgent attacks has increased, officials say, as Iraq and the United States negotiate a plan to wind down the U.S.-led military mission.
By Eric Schmitt
Hamas leaders spent years developing an underground warfare plan. Records from the battlefield show the group’s preparations, including blast doors to protect against Israeli bombs and soldiers.
By Adam Goldman, Ronen Bergman and Natan Odenheimer
In a reversal, two senior U.S. military officials say the cause of the F-16’s crash was probably not friendly fire.
By Marc Santora
The Ukrainian president gave no reason, but there are indications that friendly fire may have brought down the jet, a Western official said.
By Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Eric Schmitt
A bigger disaster may have been avoided, even as the region continues to teeter on the brink of wider war.
By Michael Crowley, Eric Schmitt and Edward Wong
A Western official said the advanced fighter crashed while defending against a Russian aerial assault. It was not clear how it was destroyed, but the loss is a blow to Ukraine, given the planes’ prominence.
By Matthew Mpoke Bigg and Eric Schmitt
The statement from the Army is the first detailed description of an altercation that took place on Monday, as Mr. Trump appeared for a wreath-laying ceremony.
By Chris Cameron, Maggie Haberman and Eric Schmitt
This was featured in live coverage.
By Victoria Kim, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad and Raja Abdulrahim
The family of a Green Beret buried there expressed concern about videos and photos taken by his grave. And a cemetery employee declined to press charges after an altercation with the Trump team, fearing retribution.
By Chris Cameron, Maggie Haberman and Eric Schmitt
Hundreds of troops entered cities in the occupied territory, targeting Palestinian militants. It was a significant escalation after months of raids that have unfolded alongside the war in Gaza.
By Aaron Boxerman, Adam Rasgon, Raja Abdulrahim and Thomas Fuller
This was featured in live coverage.
By Farnaz Fassihi, Ronen Bergman and Eric Schmitt
Despite its overwhelming firepower, Russia has been unable for weeks to push Ukrainian troops back across the border, with the failure as much the result of priorities as a lack of personnel.
By Lara Jakes and Eric Schmitt
After weeks of regional fears about a broader war, Hezbollah’s limited attack on Israel suggests that Iran, like its ally, wants to hem in the risk of escalation.
By Erika Solomon
This was featured in live coverage.
By Eric Schmitt
The escalating strikes across the Israel-Lebanon border fueled fears of a bigger conflagration, but both sides signaled that they were de-escalating, for now.
By Aaron Boxerman, Isabel Kershner and Euan Ward
American officials are sending a signal to Iran and its allies, in the form of two aircraft carrier groups and a guided-missile submarine.
By Eric Schmitt
Fighting has raged in Gaza even as the United States, Qatar and Egypt have pushed for a deal, with Israeli strikes overnight killing dozens, according to health officials in Gaza.
By Erika Solomon and Aaron Boxerman
Mediators in truce negotiations, including the C.I.A. director and President Biden’s Middle East envoy, are seeking a summit next week to keep the struggling talks alive.
By Aaron Boxerman and Raja Abdulrahim
This was featured in live coverage.
By Aaron Boxerman
American officials are not convinced that Ukraine intends to hold its position in Russia long term.
By Eric Schmitt, Helene Cooper and Julian E. Barnes
The revolt is the latest in a series of terrorist attacks in Russia claimed by Islamic militants.
By Anatoly Kurmanaev and Oleg Matsnev
Ukrainian officials were portraying the visit by Prime Minister Narendra Modi of India as a welcome show of support for their country during the war with Russia.
By Andrew E. Kramer
The bridge’s destruction is a setback for Russian supply lines as Ukraine seeks to consolidate its territorial gains in the Kursk region of western Russia.
By Constant Méheut
The offensive was developed in secret, devised to divert Russian troops away from the front lines in Ukraine and seize territory to use as a bargaining chip.
By Julian E. Barnes and Eric Schmitt
Israel has severely set back Hamas but will never be able to completely eliminate the group, U.S. officials said.
By Helene Cooper, Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt and Adam Rasgon
Russia has begun moving some troops from Ukraine to deal with a Ukrainian incursion, the U.S. and Ukraine say. But Moscow appears reluctant to withdraw units from hot spots in eastern Ukraine.
By Constant Méheut
Planned in secrecy, the incursion was a bold move to upend the war’s dynamics and put Moscow on the defensive — a gambit that could also leave Ukraine exposed.
By Kim Barker, Anton Troianovski, Andrew E. Kramer, Constant Méheut, Alina Lobzina, Eric Schmitt and Sanjana Varghese
The incursion caught Russia by surprise and signified a shift in tactics for Kyiv after more than two years of war with Russia.
By Andrew E. Kramer, Constant Méheut, Kim Barker, Anton Troianovski and Cassandra Vinograd
Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu accused Yoav Gallant of embracing an “anti-Israel narrative” in a disagreement over how to prosecute the war.
By Adam Rasgon, Isabel Kershner, Eric Schmitt and Michael Levenson
This was featured in live coverage.
By James C. McKinley Jr.
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III spoke with his Israeli counterpart, Yoav Gallant, the Pentagon said. In an unusual disclosure, it said Mr. Austin had ordered a submarine to the Middle East.
By Eric Schmitt
After several days of fighting in southwestern Russia, both sides are claiming successes. The battles are still being waged.
By Kim Barker
Israel advised people to stock up on food and water in fortified safe rooms, while Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu told soldiers that Israel is “prepared for defense, as well as offense.”
By Ronen Bergman, Aaron Boxerman, Adam Rasgon and Thomas Fuller
A suspect confessed to a plot using explosives and other weapons to kill as many attendees as possible, security officials said. The singer’s three-concert Vienna run was canceled.
By Christopher F. Schuetze
This was featured in live coverage.
By Ronen Bergman, Aaron Boxerman and Eric Schmitt
The local government in the Russian region of Kursk declared a state of emergency as military analysts reported that Ukrainian forces had advanced several miles across the border.
By Andrew E. Kramer
Three shows were called off after Austrian officials arrested two men and accused them of plotting a terrorist attack, and said that one had been focused on her upcoming stadium concerts.
By Julia Jacobs
President Biden convened his national security team and spoke with King Abdullah II of Jordan, and foreign ministers from Islamic countries plan to gather in Saudi Arabia on Wednesday.
By Vivian Nereim and Farnaz Fassihi
Relations between the two countries soured after a coup last year. Now the United States is scrambling to find new security partners.
By Eric Schmitt
A case that had mostly drifted from public consciousness in 12 years of proceedings is back in the spotlight and no closer to trial.
By Carol Rosenberg and Eric Schmitt
President Volodymyr Zelensky did not say whether the jets had already flown combat missions. A shortage of trained pilots and a limited number of jets will constrain their immediate impact.
By Constant Méheut
By Victoria Kim and Eric Schmitt
Defense Secretary Lloyd J. Austin III directed the new deployments after speaking with his Israeli counterpart.
By Eric Schmitt and Helene Cooper
The killing of Hamas’s political leader in Tehran was a humiliating security failure for the Iranian government.
By David E. Sanger and Farnaz Fassihi
President Biden had anticipated using his remaining time in office to finally bring an end to the war in Gaza. But that was Monday.
By Peter Baker
This was featured in live coverage.
By Peter Baker
Ukraine wants to deploy its first F-16 jets this summer, hoping to counter Russia’s dominance in the air. But stepped-up Russian bombing attacks on air bases complicate the effort.
By Marc Santora and Eric Schmitt
Russia’s defense minister said he needed to talk to Defense Secretary Lloyd Austin about an alleged Ukrainian operation. What happened next remains murky.
By Eric Schmitt
Israel’s counterattack on the Houthis, which set a vital Yemeni port ablaze, will do little to deter the militia, Yemeni and international experts said.
By Vivian Nereim and Shuaib Almosawa
The strike was retaliation for a drone attack launched from Yemen a day earlier, which evaded Israel’s defenses and hit a building in Tel Aviv, killing one person.
By Aaron Boxerman, Ronen Bergman, Shuaib Almosawa and Eric Schmitt
Israel has few options to retaliate for the attack in Tel Aviv, which made clear the weakness of its air defense system against unmanned aircraft and heightened concerns about the threat of Iranian-backed militias.
By Patrick Kingsley
At least one person was killed and eight others injured in a predawn attack on Friday. The Israeli military said it was investigating why it “did not identify it, attack it and intercept it.”
By Gabby Sobelman, Aaron Boxerman, Ronen Bergman, Lara Jakes and Erin Mendell
An Israeli military official said the military was still investigating where the drone was launched from.
By Gabby Sobelman, Aaron Boxerman, Adam Rasgon, Rawan Sheikh Ahmad and Erin Mendell
Mr. Biden appeared to forget the name of his Secretary of Defense, Lloyd J. Austin III, and instead refers to him as the “Black man” in an interview with BET.
By Eric Schmitt
Mohamed Deif is the leader of Hamas’s military wing in Gaza and considered the mastermind of the Oct. 7 attack on Israel.
By Ronen Bergman and Patrick Kingsley
Newly armed with deep-strike missiles, Kyiv is trying to degrade Russian abilities on the peninsula, aiming at airfields, air defenses and logistics hubs.
By Marc Santora
Weapons donations from the United States and European countries will take weeks, if not months, to reach the front lines.
By Lara Jakes and Eric Schmitt
The $230 million short-notice project has struggled to overcome rough seas and other problems since it started in May.
By Eric Schmitt
All eyes are on President Biden, but looming over the meeting is the possibility that Vladimir Putin might pull a stunt to disrupt the gathering.
By Michael Crowley, Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt and John Ismay
Russian forces continue to inflict pain, but NATO leaders gathering in Washington can say that their efforts to strengthen Ukraine are working.
By Julian E. Barnes and Eric Schmitt
President Volodymyr Zelensky said Russia launched at least 40 missiles at targets across Ukraine, including the country’s largest children’s hospital.
By Marc Santora and Brendan Hoffman
Officials said there was no specific intelligence about possible Russian attacks on American bases, but Moscow has made vague threats over Ukraine’s use of long-range weapons on its territory.
By Julian E. Barnes and John Ismay
More than 1,000 Russian soldiers in Ukraine were killed or wounded on average each day in May, according to NATO and Western military officials.
By Julian E. Barnes, Eric Schmitt and Marc Santora
The men were arrested after the F.B.I. quietly began an investigation that stretched across the country and involved scores of bureau personnel.
By Adam Goldman, Eric Schmitt and Hamed Aleaziz
Moscow has largely taken over the African operations of the paramilitary group, once led by Yevgeny Prigozhin, who was killed after leading an insurrection against Vladimir Putin.
By Elian Peltier
Plus, baseball legend Willie Mays dies at 93.
By Tracy Mumford, Eric Schmitt, Davis Land and Jessica Metzger
Officials hope a looming deadline will pressure Israel to open more land routes into the territory, which is facing extreme levels of hunger.
By Helene Cooper and Eric Schmitt
The Islamic State and Al Qaeda consider Africa ‘very fertile ground,’ said Christopher A. Wray, who is meeting with officials in Nigeria and Kenya.
By Eric Schmitt