Letta Tayler

Letta Tayler is a Senior Researcher in the Crisis and Conflict Division. She leads the division's work on terrorism and counterterrorism. Her focus includes the Islamic State and Al-Qaeda, counterterrorism policy at the United Nations, drone strikes and other targeted killings, and counterterrorism measures in countries around the world. Tayler has worked in more than three dozen countries as a human rights defender and in her previous capacity as a journalist. She has been a featured guest on The BBC, CNN, Fresh Air, Al Jazeera, and Democracy Now! As a foreign correspondent with Newsday, Tayler was one of the first Western reporters to detail prisoner abuse at Abu Ghraib and chronicled events including the US invasion of Iraq and the bombings of Tora Bora. She also served as Latin America bureau chief. Tayler is a former rock music critic. She graduated Magna Cum Laude from Barnard College and earned a Master’s in International Human Rights Law from the University of Oxford.