Colum Lynch

Colum Lynch has been been reporting on foreign policy and national security for the Washington Post since June 1999. As the Post's United Nations reporter, Lynch has been involved in the paper's diplomatic coverage of a broad range of crises, including conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq, Lebanon, Sudan, and Somalia, and the nuclear standoffs with Iran and North Korea. He has also played a key part in the Post's diplomatic reporting on the Iraq war, the International Criminal Court, the spread of weapons of mass destruction, and U.S. counterterrorism strategy.

Lynch's enterprise reporting has explored the underside of international diplomacy. His investigations have uncovered a U.S. spying operation in Iraq, Dick Cheney's financial links to Saddam Hussein, and evidence of corruption, sexual misconduct, and other crimes in U.N. peacekeeping missions. Last year, Lynch disclosed classified documents that showed the Bush administration violated U.S. law by promoting an alleged Rwandan war criminal to serve as the second-highest ranking U.N. peacekeeper in Darfur.

Lynch has appeared frequently on the Lehrer News Hour, MSNBC, NPR radio, and the BBC. He has also moderated academic discussions on foreign policy, including a recent meeting on humanitarian intervention at Princeton's Woodrow Wilson School of Public and International Affairs.

Lynch received a bachelor's degree from the University of California, Berkeley, in 1985 and a master's degree from Columbia University's Graduate School of Journalism in 1987. He previously worked for the Boston Globe.

Latest Articles

The List

Everything You Need to Know About Susan Rice

The lowdown on America's maybe-next secretary of state.
The List

Back to Work

7 things the U.N. can finally get around to doing now that the U.S. election is over.
Argument

Syrian Shadow Boxing

In a year of diplomatic duels between Moscow and Washington at the United Nations over Syria, is the Obama administration actually getting what it wants?
Slide Show

Where Have All the Blue Helmets Gone?

A look at the Third World troops who fight the U.N.'s wars.
Argument

The Silence in Sudan

Why did the United Nations stop reporting atrocities in Darfur?
Feature

The League of Extraordinarily Bureaucratic Gentlemen

Can DC Comic’s new comic book series make the U.N. look cool -- or at least effective?
Argument

'It's OK, You're Allowed to Laugh.'

The incredibly awkward comedy stylings of U.N. Secretary General Ban Ki-moon.
Argument

It’s a Small World

The United Nations is celebrating a planet with seven billion people. But some projections now warn that the global population may actually start shrinking.
Argument

Lord of War

The appearance of Viktor Bout, the so-called "Merchant of Death," in a Manhattan courtroom this week represents a milestone in the long battle to stop the black market arms trade.
The List

When They Were Kings

The United Nations has long been a playground for bad boy dictators. But there are a few notables who won't be making the trek to New York for the festivities and powwows this week.