Economic sanctions have notched some successes, like freeing Nelson Mandela and ending South Africa’s apartheid, but other sanctions have lost sight of practical reforms and become destructive ends in themselves, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar notes about Iran.
The neocons are working overtime to overturn President Obama’s agreement with Iran to constrain but not eliminate its nuclear program. They are even referencing Munich in what ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar says is some very bad history.
The U.S. list of “terrorist” states has long been a sick joke, most notably by including Cuba (for domestic political reasons) and excluding Saudi Arabia (for financial reasons). Now, the list is undercutting policy goals, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul R.…
The unpredictable Afghan leader Hamid Karzai has issued new demands for the U.S. to meet if it wants to keep a smaller military force in Afghanistan after 2014, creating a possible route for the U.S. to finally end its longest…
The neocons are back at their battle stations doing all they can in Official Washington to destroy a possible agreement to curtail Iran’s nuclear program, since a deal would make a new Mideast war less likely, as ex-CIA analyst Paul…
The American Republic is facing a crisis of political immobility caused by Tea Party extremism overcoming the traditions of compromise that date back to the Founding. History has troubling lessons for such moments, but there are signs of hope, says ex-CIA…
Israel’s Capitol Hill lobbying clout is whipping into line members of Congress, like Sen. Mark Kirk, who are taking the Israeli-Saudi side in the Iranian-nuclear dispute over the diplomatic position of their own government, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
Veterans Day, which replaced the World War I-era Armistice Day, has become another chance to glorify America’s wars and the soldiers sent to fight them. But another reality is that the number of vets is in decline, notes ex-CIA analyst…
Israel’s leadership and America’s neocons are shifting into overdrive to block a plan that would put the brakes on Iran’s nuclear program, seeking confrontation, not conciliation, notes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar.
The term “scandal” used to mean something, a serious abuse of power or some truly outrageous conduct Watergate, Iran-Contra, lying a nation into war but the word has grown almost meaningless, just one more partisan insult, as ex-CIA analyst Paul…