Tom Gjelten
Tom Gjelten reports on religion, faith, and belief for NPR News, a beat that encompasses such areas as the changing religious landscape in America, the formation of personal identity, the role of religion in politics, and conflict arising from religious differences. His reporting draws on his many years covering national and international news from posts in Washington and around the world.
In 1986, Gjelten became one of NPR's pioneer foreign correspondents, posted first in Latin America and then in Central Europe. Over the next decade, he covered social and political strife in Central and South America, the first Gulf War, the wars in the former Yugoslavia, and the transitions to democracy in Eastern Europe and the former Soviet Union.
His reporting from Sarajevo from 1992 to 1994 was the basis for his book Sarajevo Daily: A City and Its Newspaper Under Siege (HarperCollins), praised by the New York Times as "a chilling portrayal of a city's slow murder." He is also the author of Professionalism in War Reporting: A Correspondent's View (Carnegie Corporation) and a contributor to Crimes of War: What the Public Should Know (W. W. Norton).
After returning from his overseas assignments, Gjelten covered U.S. diplomacy and military affairs, first from the State Department and then from the Pentagon. He was reporting live from the Pentagon at the moment it was hit on September 11, 2001, and he was NPR's lead Pentagon reporter during the early war in Afghanistan and the invasion of Iraq. Gjelten has also reported extensively from Cuba in recent years. His 2008 book, Bacardi and the Long Fight for Cuba: The Biography of a Cause (Viking), is a unique history of modern Cuba, told through the life and times of the Bacardi rum family. The New York Times selected it as a "Notable Nonfiction Book," and the Washington Post, Kansas City Star, and San Francisco Chronicle all listed it among their "Best Books of 2008." His latest book, A Nation of Nations: A Great American Immigration Story (Simon & Schuster), published in 2015, recounts the impact on America of the 1965 Immigration Act, which officially opened the country's doors to immigrants of color. He has also contributed to The New York Times, The Wall Street Journal, The Washington Post, The Atlantic, and other outlets.
Since joining NPR in 1982 as labor and education reporter, Gjelten has won numerous awards for his work, including two Overseas Press Club Awards, a George Polk Award, and a Robert F. Kennedy Journalism Award. He is a member of the Council on Foreign Relations. A graduate of the University of Minnesota, he began his professional career as a public school teacher and freelance writer.
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President Obama has nominated his counterterrorism adviser, John Brennan, to lead the CIA. Brennan's work with the agency under George W. Bush has been controversial, and he's also drawn criticism for his lead role in the Obama administration's use of unmanned drones. -
Venezuelan officials say their president Hugo Chavez remains in a "delicate" condition in a Havana hospital following his fourth cancer surgery. If Chavez cannot be sworn in to a new presidential term on Jan. 10, a process of selecting a new president will begin. How well prepared is the U.S. government is for a post-Chavez Venezuela?
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U.S. officials wonder whether North Korea's successful rocket launch this week helped Iran — another country whose nuclear program concerns the U.S. The two countries have worked together in missile design, but it's unclear who's helping whom. -
The planet may also be racked by wars over food and water; and individuals, equipped with new lethal and disruptive technologies, will be capable of causing widespread harm. The scenarios are the work of the National Intelligence Council, comprising the 17 U.S. government intelligence agencies. -
The Gaza conflict took the focus off a possible confrontation between Israel and Iran. Israel has threatened to strike Iran over its nuclear program. Some see the Gaza fighting as a trial run, and it has been closely watched for possible military lessons. -
U.S. foreign policy and military commitments in the Middle East have long been tied to U.S. dependence on oil from the region. But imports from the Persian Gulf have actually declined sharply in recent years, which may lead to a realignment of policy priorities and an easing up of U.S. presence there. -
The investigation that forced the resignation of CIA Director David Petraeus has ensnared Gen. John Allen, the commander of U.S. forces in Afghanistan. The two cases raise questions about the relationship between top officers and their civilian boss. It can be awkward but on occasion the president must disregard the counsel of military commanders.
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Officials in Washington are still trying to make sense of the sudden resignation last week of CIA Director David Petraeus. More details are emerging about the extramarital affair that brought Petraeus down. It came to light following an FBI investigation, which was not focused originally on the CIA director but soon led to him.
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Mitt Romney has stressed ways of further increasing domestic production, while the president says better gas mileage and lowering consumption are important as well. -
For years, the U.S. Army has been using sophisticated data analysis to identify "high-value" targets and dismantle the groups that plant IEDs. With billions of dollars at stake, however, a major battle has erupted over which software the Army should use.
