The Things They Carried: The War Reporter

ABC News senior foreign affairs correspondent Martha Raddatz reveals what's inside her carry-on bag.

By , a former executive editor at Foreign Policy.
629140_120419_ThingsCarried_Web_revised.jpg
629140_120419_ThingsCarried_Web_revised.jpg

Martha Raddatz isn't one to shy away from danger. As senior foreign affairs correspondent for ABC News, she has leapt out of helicopters in Afghanistan, ridden shotgun in F-15 fighter jets, and been out on night patrols in Iraq's Sadr City. "I'm kind of a lone operator," Raddatz says. "I prefer not being in a pack of 25 journalists." But it's less a desire to be a daredevil than a distinctly humanizing touch she brings to delivering the news.

Martha Raddatz isn’t one to shy away from danger. As senior foreign affairs correspondent for ABC News, she has leapt out of helicopters in Afghanistan, ridden shotgun in F-15 fighter jets, and been out on night patrols in Iraq’s Sadr City. “I’m kind of a lone operator,” Raddatz says. “I prefer not being in a pack of 25 journalists.” But it’s less a desire to be a daredevil than a distinctly humanizing touch she brings to delivering the news.

Foreign Policy caught up with Raddatz just off the plane from her latest trip to Afghanistan, where she hopscotched around the country’s south in a pair of V-22 Ospreys alongside top U.S. commander Gen. John Allen. There, with Raddatz in tow, Allen appealed for calm as violence erupted across the country following news that U.S. troops had burned Qurans at Bagram Airfield. Back in Washington on her office’s carpet — a Turkish kilim, the first one she ever bought — Raddatz shared a look at what’s inside her black Baggallini carry-on.

Ben Pauker is a former executive editor at Foreign Policy.

More from Foreign Policy

The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.
The USS Nimitz and Japan Maritime Self-Defense Force and South Korean Navy warships sail in formation during a joint naval exercise off the South Korean coast.

America Is a Heartbeat Away From a War It Could Lose

Global war is neither a theoretical contingency nor the fever dream of hawks and militarists.

A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.
A protester waves a Palestinian flag in front of the U.S. Capitol in Washington, during a demonstration calling for a ceasefire in Gaza. People sit and walk on the grass lawn in front of the protester and barricades.

The West’s Incoherent Critique of Israel’s Gaza Strategy

The reality of fighting Hamas in Gaza makes this war terrible one way or another.

Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.
Biden dressed in a dark blue suit walks with his head down past a row of alternating U.S. and Israeli flags.

Biden Owns the Israel-Palestine Conflict Now

In tying Washington to Israel’s war in Gaza, the U.S. president now shares responsibility for the broader conflict’s fate.

U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.
U.S. President Joe Biden is seen in profile as he greets Chinese President Xi Jinping with a handshake. Xi, a 70-year-old man in a dark blue suit, smiles as he takes the hand of Biden, an 80-year-old man who also wears a dark blue suit.

Taiwan’s Room to Maneuver Shrinks as Biden and Xi Meet

As the latest crisis in the straits wraps up, Taipei is on the back foot.