Living between war and peace: Azmat Khan on the personal toll of war reporting

America’s air campaign against terrorism in the Middle East was one
of the most precise in history, according to military officials and
media reports at the time. But award-winning investigative
journalist Azmat Khan did not believe what she read in the papers.
So, she decided to find the truth for herself. She put her body on
the line and crisscrossed war zones to figure out how America’s
wars in Iraq and Afghanistan were actually going. We discuss tricks
of the trade: how Azmat shook off Iraqi officials who were on her
tail, how she distinguished between ISIS fighters and civilians,
and how she built relationships with her sources. We meet the most
important source in her life, Basim Razzo, an Iraqi man who lost
his family in a U.S. drone strike. He was labeled, incorrectly, as
a member of ISIS. We also go to a place Azmat does not like to
visit (at least not in public): her inner life. Living between war
and peace takes a real emotional toll.