Craig Whitlock Profile Banner
Craig Whitlock Profile
Craig Whitlock

@CraigMWhitlock

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Investigative reporter for The Washington Post. #1 NYT Bestselling author of "FAT LEONARD" (2024) and "THE AFGHANISTAN PAPERS" (2021).

Washington, DC
Joined December 2012
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 month
⬇️A wild slideshow of Fat Leonard photos that the US Navy tried to keep hidden 📽️
@SimonBooks
Simon & Schuster
1 month
"Fat Leonard" by @craigmwhitlock is the full, sometimes stranger-than-fiction story of a world-class con man who blackmailed and bamboozled the US Navy for years. More:
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
New: Documents show former boss of National Security Agency received $700,000 contract from Saudi Prince MBS cybercollege after Khashoggi slaying. Pentagon had fought to keep $$ a secret. w/ @FOIANate
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
NEW: Meet the retired US generals who work as high-dollar consultants for the Saudi crown prince - and how the US govt tried to keep it a secret. A 2-year Post investigation by @FOIANate and me. 1/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Hard to overstate what a colossal embarrassment this debacle is for Justice Dept, US Marshals and a federal judge who approved Fat Leonard's dodgy home detention. How do you lose track of a 350-lb felon who has cancer and can barely walk? 1/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Marine Gen Jim Jones - Obama's natsec adviser - started working for the Crown Prince in 2017. A year later, after MBS ordered the assassination of Jamal Khashoggi, Jones EXPANDED his work for the Saudis. 2/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
NEW in our 'Foreign Servants' expose: A retired four-star general warned the Air Force that it could kiss goodbye its supply routes to Afghanistan if it didn't allow him to take a dodgy consulting gig that paid $5,000 per day. w/ @FOIANate 1/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
To obtain documents exposing this, The Post had to due the Army, the Air Force, the Navy, the Marines and the State Department under FOIA. It took >2 years. 7/7
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Retired Army Gen. Keith Alexander - the former boss of the NSA -- cut a deal with the Saudis to help build the Prince Mohammed College of Cyber Security. Amazingly, the State Department approved it two months after Khashoggi's murder. 4/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
5 months
Classic Friday night news dump from the Pentagon: the Secretary of Defense was hospitalized -- five days ago
@DanLamothe
Dan Lamothe
5 months
Pentagon: "On the evening of January 1, Secretary of Defense Lloyd J. Austin III was admitted to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center for complications following a recent elective medical procedure. He is recovering well and is expecting to resume his full duties today."
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
They were among 500+ retired U.S. military personnel who have taken jobs since 2015 working for foreign governments, most known for political repression and human-rights abuses. 6/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
11 months
He made the last flight out of Kabul -- only to be gunned down on Capitol Hill while trying to provide for his family. Heartbreaking story about the funeral of Nasratullah Ahmad Yar @SusanSvrluga
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Jones and his companies now employ 8 retired US generals and admirals in Riyadh, plus 32 other retired US military personnel. 3/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Retired 4-star Air Force Gen Chuck Wald, who worked for Jones and MBS: “We asked ourselves, are we basically turning a blind eye toward immorality? Or supporting a legitimate government?” In the end, they decided to stay. 5/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
11 months
More important digging by @GlennKesslerWP into @SenTuberville and how he has falsified his father's WW2 record. No, Charles Tuberville didn't earn 5 Bronze Stars. No, he didn't join the Army at age 16. No, he wasn't a tank commander.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
6 days
Nothing to do with Fat Leonard case, but more evidence of serious, unaddressed ethical problems in senior leadership
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
4 months
New from @FOIANate and me: Before he ran the Pentagon, Mattis secrely worked for the UAE as a military adviser on the war in Yemen, new documents obtained by a @washingtonpost #FOIA lawsuit show. 1/x Read the full report here, no paywall:
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Oh - almost forgot. When Leonard pleaded guilty to bribing scores of US Navy officers, he also promised to pay back $35 million that he defrauded from Uncle Sam. He paid $5 million up front, but still owes $30 million. So he may have gotten away with that too.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
When NCIS arrested Fat Leonard nine years ago in San Diego, the Justice Department argued against giving him bail. They predicted he would flee across the border to Tijuana and hop a flight or boat back to Malaysia. So they envisioned exactly what happened today. 3/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Terrific expose by @jocwapo on how Alex Jones has been transferring his fortune to his personal trainer, his father and his sister while Sandy Hook families try to collect $1.5 billion in damages.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Amazingly, Leonard talked the feds into secretly letting him out on bail 4 years ago. Even crazier, they let him pay for his own round-the-clock security. The Post broke that story here => 2/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
TODAY in Foreign Servants: How the United Arab Emirates outsourced much of its military to retired U.S. troops working as contractors and consultants, including retired Marine General Jim Mattis. 1/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
4 months
Mattis kept the public in the dark about his foreign consulting, omitting it from ethics disclosure forms. He reported it confidentially to the Senate Armed Services Cmte, though multiple senators say they were never told. Gift link here:
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 months
An investigative expose of the biggest corruption scandal in US military history - guaranteed to make you howl, scream, laugh and snort your coffee. Coming 5/14
@SimonBooks
Simon & Schuster
2 months
"Fat Leonard: How One Man Bribed, Bilked, and Seduced the U.S. Navy" by @CraigMWhitlock Preorder now via @BNBuzz and save 25% when you join the B&N Rewards program. B&N Premium members get 35% off. More:
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Using FOIA, it took us six years to pry loose documents about the case. The Air Force kept insisting it couldn't find any records - until The Post sued in federal court. Then 400 pages suddenly appeared. 2/2
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
Dutch Foreign Ministry publishes withering assessment of NATO mission in Afghanistan between 2015-2021. Allies knew the war was going terribly but persisted with "a collective wishful thinking" they could turn things around.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Leonard is nothing if not clever. He could easily be on a flight over the Pacific now, if he hasn't already landed back in Malaysia, where US extradition would be difficult. 4/4
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 month
"White House officials warned the Modi government this month that The Post was close to publishing an investigation that would reveal new details about the case. It did so without notifying the Post." Free link:
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
The pizza seller of Bakhmut - $1 oblong pies from a microwave sustain soldiers and stray animals. Only snack stand left in the demolished city. Great profile by ⁦ @Tmgneff ⁩ and Natalie Yermak.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Incredibly excited to announce that my book on the Fat Leonard scandal is coming to fruition and will publish next year. Many more revelations to come. Big thanks to my agent @FletcherChristy @fletcherco
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
4 months
A spokesman for Mattis said he worked for the UAE for free. But documents obtained by @washingtonpost show that Mattis wrote, in his own hand, "I will be compensated," including $100K for giving a single speech in Abu Dhabi. Gift link here:
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
Leaking classified info in the olden days: Ellsberg's 13-year-old son, Robert, helped run the Xerox machine and his pre-teen daughter, Mary, snipped the words "top secret" off the documents. Ellsberg obit via @harrisondsmith and Patricia Sullivan.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
23 days
Today is publication day for "Fat Leonard" a whale of a tale that is almost too wild to be true. I chased the story for more than a decade...🧵
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
6 months
Really impressive deep-dive here on Ukraine's stalemate. CIA was pessimistic from the start that the counteroffensive would work, but gung-ho US military derided the spooks as a bunch of "Eeyores." Same dynamic played out in Afghanistan for 20 years.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Longest war in US history followed by what will surely be the longest bureaucratic logrolling ever to dodge accountability. via @glubold
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
14 days
For-profit companies raking in millions by helping vets apply for disability benefits, despite laws forbidding firms from cashing in. Outstanding reporting by @Reinlwapo No paywall
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
A Post investigation 22 years ago (!) documented how this Prince George's police officer had been repeatedly investigated for lying, excessive force, shooting an unarmed man and the death of a prisoner. Yet he remained on the force til now. @DavidSFallis
@jas_hilton
Jasmine Hilton
1 year
Former Pr. George’s County police lieutenant Edward Scott Finn was sentenced to 16 months in federal prison this week. He had pleaded guilty to failing to report more than $1.3 million in income from his private security business.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Not a good sign when US Marshals tweet out they can’t find Fat Leonard - and get his first and last names mixed up
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
10 months
Amazed Dostum, worst of the Afghan warlords, is still alive given all his drinking, torturing and backstabbing. US military saved his life by medevacing him to Germany in 2004 when he was dying of liver disease from too much booze.
@RollingStone
Rolling Stone
10 months
Afghanistan’s most notorious and elusive warlord has dodged assassin's bullets and survived poisoning. He speaks to Rolling Stone from exile, plotting his revenge against the Taliban and addressing the charge that he ordered brutal crimes.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
This is absolutely bananas - Fat Leonard on the lam
@andrewpdyer
@AndrewDyer.bsky.social
2 years
The scandal that never ends: "Fat Leonard" cut his ankle monitor and dissappeared Sunday, just weeks before he was to be sentenced in Navy bribery scandal via @gregmoran , @kristinadavis
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Nice scoop by @John_Hudson on US intelligence report about systematic meddling by the UAE in American politics. Washington belatedly taking notice - evidence has been piling up for a while.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
The Pentagon and State Department kept it all quiet. The Post had to sue to get the documents for Mattis - and 280 other retired US troops working as contractors or consultants in the UAE. 3/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
They've helped turn the UAE armed forces into the most powerful military in the Arab world. But they've also enabled the UAE to intervene in civil wars in Yemen and Libya, to disastrous effect. Nobody in Congress is paying attention. 6/6
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
A bottomless cesspool of misinformation
@mateagold
Matea Gold
2 years
Elon Musk, right-wing figures push misinformation about Pelosi attack by @isaacstanbecker
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
Leave it to the Dutch Ministry of Foreign Affairs to publish a tough, honest, unsparing and public assessment of what went wrong in Afghanistan. The Pentagon and State Department would never do this.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 month
The "Fat Leonard" blockbuster out soon!
@SimonBooks
Simon & Schuster
1 month
No. 1 'New York Times' bestselling author @CraigMWhitlock takes readers into one of the biggest public corruption scandals in American history, revealing how a charming naval contractor bribed and blackmailed his way through the US Navy. More:
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Another retired US military officer working for the UAE is Steve Toumajan, who was a lieutenant colonel in the US Army. Today, he's "General Steve" - a two-star general in Abu Dhabi. 4/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 month
NEW: Besides all the bribery and corruption, the Fat Leonard scandal was a counterintelligence disaster. Ten Navy officers admitted leaking military secrets to the Malaysian con man, who turned out to be a master of espionage. Free link
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
8 days
Meanwhile, 3 Navy officers who admitted selling military secrets to Fat Leonard received no prison time at all because of DOJ misconduct.
@andrewpdyer
@AndrewDyer.bsky.social
8 days
NEW: Sailor sentenced to 18 years for selling military secrets
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
After Mattis retired from the Marine Corps, he worked (unpaid, he says) as a military advisor to the UAE. Then, after he resigned as US Secretary of Defense, he went back to Abu Dhabi again. 2/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
3 months
Youngkin and Leonsis are banking on hordes of people to pay $731 a night to stay at a hotel near National Airport and $75 to park underground for a few hours.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Pretty sure Venezuelan jail won’t be as cushy for Leonard as the million-dollar house he was living in while under house arrest in San Diego
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
10 years
How many girlfriends does the average French president have at any given time? http://t.co/XcA4ZbJvFA
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
11 years
Special Ops contractor compiles dossier on Minnesota journalist, reports him to FBI. Military psy-ops on home front? http://t.co/XFaoKSsHzD
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Hundreds of other retired US troops work in Abu Dhabi as aircraft mechanics, instructor pilots, drone operators, missile defense experts, artillery trainers, radar specialists, cybersecurity advisors - you name it. And they get paid $$$$. 5/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
11 years
One Secret Service agent got blitzed and passed out in a Thai brothel. Missed his flight to protect Obama in SKorea. http://t.co/KRgVEIEnXu
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
RIP Robert Toth, fearless LATimes correspondent who infuriated the Kremlin and was arrested by the KGB. Also my father-in-law. Will miss him very much. 1/
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
"The Defense Department pledged to carry out its own review of what happened, but has not released the findings."
@DanLamothe
Dan Lamothe
1 year
NEW: GOP’s looming Afghanistan probe worries Biden aides w/ @yabutaleb7
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 month
Very excited that after spending almost 20 years in a barn, my '66 VW Beetle is getting the full restoration treatment from Cookers V-Dubs in western Maryland.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
27 days
Two Good Samaritans furiously gave CPR to a man they found facedown and bleeding on a DC sidewalk. They kept going when the 911 call center put them on hold. Only later did they learn they had saved the life of the Marines' top general. Via @DanLamothe
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
11 years
Marion Barry got six months in the slammer for cocaine possession. Trey Radel gets probation, no arrest even. http://t.co/cAf89heHDd
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
10 years
US military boots now on the ground for ops in Chad, Niger, Mali, Djibouti, Somalia, CAR, SSudan, Uganda, Congo, Kenya, Ethiopia.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
UAE not denying this story
@John_Hudson
John Hudson
1 year
SCOOP: American spies detected new construction at a suspected Chinese military facility in the United Arab Emirates in December — 1 year after the oil-rich ally announced it was halting the project due to U.S. concerns, per leaked docs
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
6 days
More details on today's arrest of the former vice chief of naval operations on federal bribery charges. Admiral Burke's attorney tells @hsu_spencer that the timing of the charges is "odd" given Justice Dept's bungling of Fat Leonard-related prosecutions.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
Starbucks loved Lexi Rizzo, a 25-year-old Buffalo barista, until she dared to organize a union. Then the company tried to crush her. Gripping narrative by @GregJaffe
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
Dutch report also finds "no evidence that the self-reliance or professionalism of the Afghan armed forces and police improved structurally" during those 6 years, despite frequent public assurances of "progress" by NATO commanders.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
"His tongue waggles, he talks fast," said a farmer whose puppies were allegedly stolen by George Santos. "Smooth talker is how I'm going to describe it." More on the Amish dognappings. via @jocwapo @emmersbrown @shaynajacobs
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
10 years
Military drones, back from the wars, crashing in U.S. airspace: going haywire over cities and populated areas. http://t.co/Xjeqg7xKmX
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
11 months
"We don’t invade poor countries to make them rich. We don’t invade authoritarian countries to make them democratic. We invade violent countries to make them peaceful and we clearly failed in Afghanistan," Dobbins said in the Afghanistan Papers.
@MSharif1990
Sharif Hassan
11 months
James Dobbins, U.S. diplomat in global hot spots, dies at 81
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
10 years
We dug up records on nearly 200 military drone disasters since 9/11. Check out our interactive crash database: http://t.co/96CPqJD8NT
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
"The US...wanted to show positive results for reasons related to domestic politics. They had invested over two trillion dollars in Afghanistan, and wanted to show it was not in vain."
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
10 years
Pentagon confirms that al-Shabab leader Ahmed Godane killed in Monday's airstrike in Somalia
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
Contrary to official narratives about bin Laden and al-Zawahiri hiding in caves, both were living in houses in big cities. Really curious to know when Z moved to Kabul and his whereabouts for past decade.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 month
Impressive and dogged reporting
@JimLaPorta
Jim LaPorta
1 month
A story I’ve been working on since Sept. 2023. Military documents contradict Republican Rep. Troy Nehls' military record claims
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
@EmmaMAshford At least the generals are finally admitting the US failed in Afghanistan - instead of gaslighting everybody with the "we're making progress" talking points
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
10 years
NEW: Airliners reported close calls with rogue drones over LAX, LaGuardia, Atlanta - all just last month. http://t.co/mx0kfsDjoV
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
10 years
Another married Army general busted for having three affairs, assaulting one of his mistresses. #FOIA http://t.co/SaFJKY7ZyF
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
1 year
You know it's a big scandal when four Amish-country farmers speak to @washingtonpost on condition of anonymity
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
This profile of Cowboys owner Jerry Jones, his upbringing in segregated Little Rock and his record of never hiring a Black coach is something to behold. By Hall of Famers David Maraniss and Sally Jenkins.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
11 years
Aaron Alexis had history of shootings, anger management; discharged from Navy for "pattern of misconduct." Yet hired as defense contractor.
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
RIP Frank Daniels Jr., cuss-happy publisher who turned Raleigh @newsobserver into a crusading, Pulitzer-winning paper. 1/x
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
2 years
More details on what a cluster Fat Leonard’s escape is. Feds knew for years he was under lax security, with AWOL guards. Judge kept embarrassing details under seal til recently. Via ⁦ @kristinadavis ⁩ ⁦ @gregmoran
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
3 months
...to watch the Wizards
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
6 days
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@CraigMWhitlock
Craig Whitlock
10 years
Exclusive: Pentagon opening yet another drone base in Africa, this one smack in the middle of the Sahara. http://t.co/GWKPhzj0P8
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