Award-winning war reporter coming to Cd'A

For most of her career, work has literally been a war zone for Martha Raddatz.

She’s been embedded in conflicts since the 1990s, reporting on the war in Bosnia, Iraq and Afghanistan. Like other war correspondents, Raddatz — now ABC’s chief global affairs correspondent — risks her life to bring us the news we consume while safe and snug at home.

Raddatz has covered national security, foreign policy and politics for decades, also reporting from the White House, State Department, and Pentagon. She was the only television reporter allowed to fly in an F-15 combat mission over Afghanistan.

In 2011 she reported exclusive details on the raid that killed Bin Laden, and was on the last major convoy out of Iraq. From U.S. battleship decks she covered airstrikes against ISIS in Syria and Iraq.

Imagine the behind-the-scenes stories she will tell the typically full room at the Idaho Humanities Council’s 15th Annual North Idaho Distinguished Humanities Lecture on Thursday, Oct. 11 at The Coeur d’Alene Resort. IHC lecturers are always thought-provoking, impressive, and just plain good speakers. It’s my favorite event of the year.

Raddatz has won more than a few prestigious awards for her journalistic efforts, including five Emmys (one for 9/11) and a White House Correspondents’ Association award for excellence in Presidential news coverage. Raddatz is also the bestselling author of “The Long Road Home,” a highly acclaimed book set in Iraq and described by the The Washington Post as “a masterpiece of literary non-fiction that rivals any war-related classic.”

The event includes dinner and a silent auction which begins at 6 p.m. Tickets are $65 and available at Idahohumanities.org or 888-345-5346.

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Sholeh Patrick is a columnist for the Hagadone News Network. Contact her at Sholeh@cdapress.com.