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Sean D. Naylor is the National Security Correspondent for Yahoo News. He previously covered intelligence and counterterrorism for Foreign Policy and spent more than 20 years at Army Times, embedding with troops in Somalia, Haiti, the Balkans, Afghanistan and Iraq. Sean has written on contract for The New York Times and Newsweek and has authored two bestsellers, "Not a Good Day to Die: The Untold Story of Operation Anaconda" and "Relentless Strike: The Secret History of Joint Special Operations Command."
Yahoo NewsKidnapping, assassination and a London shoot-out: Inside the CIA's secret war plans against WikiLeaks
In 2017, as Julian Assange began his fifth year holed up in Ecuador’s embassy in London, the CIA plotted to kidnap the WikiLeaks founder, spurring heated debate among Trump administration officials over the legality and practicality of such an operation.
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How a brutal assault led a woman to one of the CIA's most valuable Russian spies
Lisa Sales believes the CIA helped her former tenant move to the United States, and is protecting him because he’s the son of one of the agency’s most valuable assets of the past two decades.
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Taliban violence gives U.S. pause about meeting treaty deadline to remove troops from Afghanistan
The Afghan president and U.S. officials have suggested that the heightened levels of Taliban violence might force U.S. troops to remain in Afghanistan beyond the May 1 deadline spelled out in the treaty the U.S. signed with the militant Islamic group last year.
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Mattis: Trump 'fomented' Jan. 6 Capitol assault ?
Speaking during an online event, Mattis walked through a list of national security threats such as North Korea, Russia, China and international terrorism, but then turned his attention to the U.S..
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Biden's foreign policy challenges, from Iran's nuclear program to Russian hacking
These are the issues the Biden administration will be dealing with on the foreign policy front.
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Even after Capitol assault, Biden team undecided on domestic terrorism law
President-elect Joe Biden's team is reconsidering a domestic terrorism law out of concern that future administrations or law enforcement might abuse it.
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Capitol Police, now under fire, have a history of secrecy
The assault and occupation of the U.S. Capitol by pro-Trump rioters has shone a harsh light on the catastrophic failings of a security force that makes a habit of hiding from publicity.?
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New terrorism guide shows FBI still classifying Black 'extremists' as domestic terrorism threat
More than three years after the FBI came under fire for claiming “Black identity extremists” were a domestic terrorism threat, the bureau has issued a new terrorism guide that employs almost identical terminology, according to a copy of the document obtained by Yahoo News.
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How Biden will deal with the Pentagon's generals
During his 34-year tenure on the Senate Foreign Relations Committee, which he twice chaired, Biden took a keen interest in military issues, frequently visiting U.S. forces deployed overseas.
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Biden will face uphill battle confirming retired Gen. Lloyd Austin as Pentagon chief
If confirmed by the Senate, Austin would become the first Black defense secretary. This would put Austin, who retired in 2016, in the same position in which President Trump’s first nominee for defense secretary, retired Marine Gen. James Mattis, found himself.
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Trump official denies new Iran sanctions are meant to tie Biden's hands
The U.S. special representative for Iran said that new sanctions on Tehran’s government put in place by the Trump administration did not represent an effort by the outgoing president to box in President-elect Joe Biden when it comes to Iran policy.
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Trump loyalist pushed out of White House now leading a shake-up at the Pentagon
A controversial former White House official is helping the Trump administration use its waning days to carry out a contentious reorganization that gives the Pentagon’s civilian leadership greater control over U.S. Special Operations Command.
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Trump's decision to pull troops from Afghanistan could put Biden in 'a strategic corner'
While the drawdown of U.S. troops in Afghanistan that the Trump administration announced Tuesday gives President-elect Joe Biden something close to what he advocated for as vice president, it may paint him into a corner as an incoming president, military experts say.
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Trump's national security adviser: It 'obviously' looks as if Biden won
Robert O’Brien dismissed concerns that delaying the transition might endanger national security.
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Pentagon chief fired via Trump tweet
Defense Secretary Mark Esper on Monday became the latest Trump administration official to be fired by presidential tweet.
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Trump's baseless election attacks undermining U.S. image abroad
President Trump’s recent statements casting doubt on the validity of the election results have done lasting damage to the United States’ international reputation and its moral authority to lecture other countries on how to conduct free and fair elections, experts say.
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For transgender people in the military, much hinges on presidential election
Joe Biden has been vague about his plans for the military if he wins the election, but one specific promise he has made is to roll back the Trump administration policy that effectively bars transgender service members from serving openly in accord with their gender identity.
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Trump's national security adviser pushes back at top general, says troops won't be home by Christmas
O’Brien’s comments Friday were not the first time he has said the United States would draw down its forces in Afghanistan to 2,500 by January.
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Trump's promise to withdraw from Afghanistan 'by Christmas' reflects foreign policy disarray
President Trump's tweet on bringing home troops from Afghanistan contradicted a statement by his own national security adviser from just a few hours earlier.
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McMaster trashes Trump's Afghan peace plan
President Trump’s former national security adviser launched a blistering attack on the Trump administration’s Afghanistan peace negotiations Wednesday, accusing the administration of making “a tremendous mistake."