Azmat Khan | |
|---|---|
.jpg) Khan in 2019 | |
| Nationality | American |
| Education | University of Michigan (BA) University of Oxford (MSt) |
| Occupation(s) | Journalist, writer, educator |
| Awards | 2022 Pulitzer Prize |
Azmat Khan is an American journalist and winner of a2022 Pulitzer Prize for international reporting.[1] She is the Patti Cadby Birch Assistant Professor at theColumbia University Graduate School of Journalism.[2] She is the inaugural Director of the Simon and June Li Center for Global Journalism.[3]
Her investigative report inThe New York Times titled "Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns Of Failure In Deadly Airstrikes"[4] was called "extraordinary" byWNYC The Takeaway and was the lead article in the Pulitzer Prize-winning coverage.[5][1]
Her work has also won twoNational Magazine Awards, twoOverseas Press Club awards, thePolk Award, and theHillman Prize.[6][7][8][9]
Khan has a B.A. degree from theUniversity of Michigan, and was aClarendon Scholar at theUniversity of Oxford where she gained aM.St. degree. She has also studied atThe American University in Cairo.[1]
In December 2021, Khan's report "Hidden Pentagon Records Reveal Patterns of Failure in Deadly Airstrikes" was published inThe New York Times describing how efforts to minimize the civilian death count fell far short of the approach promised by the US military for its use of airstrikesin the war against ISIL.[10]The Times reported that airstrikes against ISIL, as well as in the war in Afghanistan, was marked by
"flawed intelligence, poor targeting and thousands of civilian deaths."
The Times reported that efforts to minimize civilian casualties diminished afterPresident Trump assumed office in 2017, stating
"... the authority to approve strikes was pushed further down the chain of command, even as an overwhelming majority of strikes were carried out in the heat of war, and not planned far in advance."
The Times reported that the US military systematically under-reported casualties, providing a total death count of 1,417, when the actual count was significantly higher. The report states that the military made little effort to accurately determine civilian casualties after the airstrikes. The military was also reluctant to divulge information about the casualties, in spite of promises of transparency, and news media were required to make numerous requests under theFreedom of Information Act, and had to repeatedly sue the US military to produce data. This report was among those for which Khan and her colleagues were awarded the 2022Pulitzer Prize for International Reporting.[11][12][1]
As of May 2022[update] she is writing a book forRandom House investigating America's air wars.[1]
Khan traces her roots toPakistan, but was born and raised inGrand Rapids,Michigan.[13]