Annie Jacobsen writes about aviation security and homeland security for a variety of newspapers, magazines, and blogs. She is the author of the book Terror in The Skies, Why 9/11 Could Happen Again.
Annie Jacobsen uncovers the latest embarrassment at TSA: top officials breaking federal rules by running a private consulting firm while they work for the government.
Thousands of foreign students are in U.S. flight schools illegally. Annie Jacobsen exclusively reveals an internal memo on the Transportation Security Administration's failure to enforce the law.
Over the course of its six-year life, the Transportation Security Administration has hired 110,000 employees, and 67,000 of them have quit or been fired. Frightening odds for the first-line of defense against terrorists, writes Annie Jacobsen.
Pakistan President Pervez Musharraf clearly doesn't like being asked about terrorists who "escape" his police force's custody. This does not inspire Annie Jacobsen's confidence.
The UK's Sunday Times recently broke the story of an FBI whistleblower kept from speaking publicly about a State Department official suspected of selling nuclear secrets. Annie Jacobsen digs a bit deeper into this shadowy tale and wonders why American media outlets have greeted the revelations with stunning silence.
A recent Los Angeles Times editorial claimed that one-fifth of Americans live on $7 a day -- barely enough for a trip to Starbucks. Annie Jacobsen searches for the truth behind this dubious statistic and finds a tangle of shoddy analysis along the way.
Five crop-duster planes have crashed on the terror-plagued island of Mindanao in a short period of time. Annie Jacobsen says that while it may feel like Mindanao is half a world away, the island's plantations are linked to the international food supply chain. Is it time to start worrying about what's being sprayed on your bananas?
A retired federal agent claims the film American Gangster defames "honest and courageous public servants" and is threatening a lawsuit. The problem, writes Annie Jacobsen, is that the plaintiff isn't exactly a saint.
If the FBI wants the support of the American people when it comes to fighting terror in the skies, it needs to treat them with respect. Annie Jacobsen has the harrowing tale of what happened when a Good Samaritan was transformed into a terror suspect. Required reading for Thanksgiving travelers.
Six Arabs and a lawsuit. Sound like the title of a sitcom? Don't laugh. Racial profiling lawsuits could mean big money for plaintiffs and lawyers and scary flights for the rest of us, warns Annie Jacobsen, reporting on two recent troubling incidents.