The report errs in not recognizing that a piece of information can be useful and even critical to reaching an analytic conclusion, even if there also are other pieces of information that were at least as useful.

Paul Pillar

Categorized in : US News

Bombing the heck out of( Islamic State's capital) Raqqa is not go... by Paul Pillar

Bombing the heck out of( Islamic State's capital) Raqqa is not going to stop this stuff.

We're still faced with the basic question: Is the number of bad guys who are taken out of commission by drone strikes greater or less than the number of people who are inspired to turn to violent acts.

One cannot expect U.S. consular officers to conduct the equivalent of an FBI background investigation on every visa application; the sheer volume of applications they must review would preclude doing so.

I expect administration thinking at this stage is still that he i... by Paul Pillar

I expect administration thinking at this stage is still that he is the only horse to back.

I worry that this plan may be another instance of the all-too-common pattern, among senior managers in both governmental and private sector organizations, to try to leave a personal mark by reorganizing the place.