The OP should have made it clear that the NYT was quoting a book by Morell. The entire quote is as follows:

“ISIS was one of the terrorist groups that learned from Snowden, and it is clear his actions played a role in the rise of ISIS,” Mr. Morell writes in “The Great War of Our Time,” offering no elaboration.

I think the fact that the NYT editorialised with the comment "offering no elaboration" changes it entirely.