Official Washington’s pundit class wrings its collective hands when President Obama voices frustration with Saudi Arabia, but the Saudi “allies” have taken advantage of the relationship, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
An important distinction in politics is discerning the difference between a politician who advances principles pragmatically and one that puts career before principle, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
At the upcoming G-7 meeting in Japan, President Obama will have a chance to pay his respects to the Hiroshima victims of the first U.S. nuclear bomb, but he’ll get criticized by political enemies, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
The “bomb-bomb-bomb Iran” caucus is back at it demanding continued sanctions on Iran despite the tight constraints on its nuclear program, another scheme to kill the deal, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar explains.
The Islamic State’s recent setbacks in Iraq and Syria may portend the group’s eventual collapse, but the chaos left behind will present a challenge of a different sort, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
As the American Right continues to reject climate-change science, China is showing signs of taking the lead in developing cutting-edge technology to combat global warming, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
Official Washington’s hype about “Russian aggression” has cloaked a U.S. military buildup on Russia’s borders, possibly increasing risks of escalation and even world war, explains ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
The recent AIPAC meeting brought four of the five remaining presidential candidates – all except Bernie Sanders – to Washington to grovel at the feet of the Israel lobby, a depressing scene, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
Republicans are denouncing President Obama for not reacting to the Brussels terror attacks by dropping everything and rushing back to Washington, but ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar says overreacting can be a bigger mistake.
By jumping into wars wherever some group calls itself “Islamic State,” the U.S. government misunderstands the threat and feeds the danger of endless warfare, explains ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.