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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The Pentagon is investigating the cause of a blast that killed up to 30 civilians in Baghdad. The Pentagon says Iraqi anti-aircraft ordnance might have fallen to the ground and detonated. NPR's Tom Gjelten reports from the Pentagon.
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A Baghdad marketplace is bombed, killing as many as 30 civilians. Iraqi officials blame the deadly attack on U.S. missiles. The Pentagon says it did not target the area, and is investigating whether stray missiles or Iraqi weapons may have been the cause. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten and NPR's Anne Garrels.
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On NBC's Meet the Press, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld says some American soldiers are missing, but does not provide details. Rumsfeld warns Iraqi leaders "it is illegal" under international law to humiliate prisoners of war. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.
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Upon his return from Camp David, President Bush says it is "evident that it is going to take a while to achieve" U.S. objectives in Iraq, but he says the United States is "making progress." Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.
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An American soldier is held as a suspect in a grenade attack at Camp Pennsylvania in Kuwait that killed one U.S. soldier and wounded more than a dozen. Meanwhile, British officials say a British warplane near the Kuwait-Iraq border may have accidentally been shot down by an U.S. Patriot missile. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten and embedded reporter John Laurence.
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The Washington Post reports that U.S. intelligence officials believe Saddam Hussein was present Wednesday when a 2,000-pound "bunker-busting" bomb struck an Iraqi command center. Officials say Saddam may have been injured in the attack. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten. Mar. 21, 2003
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At a Pentagon briefing, Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld says the overnight missile strike near Baghdad hit a "senior Iraqi leadership compound." And he says there are reports the Iraqi regime may have set fire to three or four oil wells in southern Iraq. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.
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President Bush warns a war against Iraq could take longer than some predict. Initial strikes include about 40 Tomahawk cruise missiles and four precision-guided bombs. In northern Iraq, residents flee in fear of possible Iraqi retaliation by chemical weapons. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten and NPR's Ivan Watson.
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Anti-war protests are held in many U.S. and world cities. The White House says a weekend summit between President Bush and two key allies seeks a peaceful resolution to the Iraq issue. But senior administration officials tell The Washington Post it's too late for diplomacy. And U.S. bombers take out an Iraqi radar facility. Hear NPR's Tom Gjelten.
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Turks weigh the consequences of Saturday's parliamentary vote denying U.S. troops access to bases in southern Turkey. That impedes U.S. strategy, because the Pentagon assumed Turkey would stage U.S. forces preparing for a potential strike against Iraq. Hear reports from NPR's Guy Raz in Turkey and NPR's Tom Gjelten at the Pentagon.