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Trump’s Illegal Syrian Mission Creep
Trump’s Illegal Syrian Mission Creep Even as the Islamic State’s “caliphate” in Syria collapses, the U.S. government is keeping about 2,000 soldiers in-country despite lacking any legal right to be there, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar discusses. The other day we learned that there are four times more U.S. troops in Syria than any […]
Cherry-picking Toward War with Iran
Cherry-picking Toward War with Iran In trying to rally American hostility toward Iran, CIA Director Pompeo and other U.S. officials are engaging in the same kind of distorted intelligence that led to the catastrophic Iraq invasion, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. Although nobody knows exactly where Donald Trump intends to go with his campaign […]
How Saudi Arabia Sows Instability
How Saudi Arabia Sows Instability U.S. propaganda claims Iran causes Mideast instability, but the truth is that Saudi Arabia – from backing Islamic extremists to blockading and bombing Yemen – is the real culprit, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar explains. The anachronistic family enterprise known as the Kingdom of Saudi Arabia has long been […]
US Tries to Stir Up Trouble for Iran
US Tries to Stir Up Trouble for Iran As President Trump’s foreign policy falls deeply under the Israeli-Saudi spell, his Mideast diplomats are stirring up conflict against Iran and drawing a rebuke from Iraq, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar explains. In Iraq, as in Syria, the imminent extinguishing of the mini-state of the so-called […]
Perpetual War: Treadmill of America’s Mind
Perpetual War: Treadmill of America’s Mind Like a caged hamster on a running wheel, the American people are trapped in perpetual wars that the foreign policy elites offer no way to end, only excuses to continue, observes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. The newest issue of Foreign Affairs features the theme of “America’s Forgotten Wars,” […]
America’s Hypocrisy on Democracy
America’s Hypocrisy on Democracy U.S. politicians often lecture other nations about their flawed governance as if American democracy is the gold standard, but anti-democratic measures like gerrymandering belie that self-image, says ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. An old fear about Islamist political parties entering government is that once in power, even if they had gained […]
U.S. Troops on Russia’s Borders
U.S. Troops on Russia’s Borders 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. U.S. military deployments to Eastern Europe are being ramped up. The latest word as reported by the Wall Street Journal is that regular rotation of […]
The Power of Exaggerated Fear
The Power of Exaggerated Fear As the American middle class shrinks and citizens feel vulnerable and angry, politicians have found that exaggerating the dangers from some bogeyman – “the Muslim terrorists are out to get you!” – works wonders in distracting them from far more serious threats, as ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar describes. Journalists have noticed how much current […]
Neocons Falsify Iraq War ‘Lessons’
Neocons Falsify Iraq War ‘Lessons’ Having escaped accountability for the Iraq War disaster, U.S. neocons are urging the use of more military force in the Mideast, in line with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu’s demand to block the Iran nuclear deal. From their important perches of power, these war hawks also twist the history of their […]
Fallout from Reagan’s Afghan War
Fallout from Reagan’s Afghan War In the 1980s, President Reagan funded and armed Islamic fundamentalists to defeat a Soviet-backed secular regime in Afghanistan. Now, one of those ex-U.S. clients is throwing his support behind the brutal Islamic State, a lesson about geopolitical expediency, writes ex-CIA analyst Paul R. Pillar. In a blast from the past in […]
