Paul Pillar

Paul Pillar is a renowned author in the intelligence-gathering and international security field, having served for an impressive 28 years with the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA). During his time with the CIA, Pillar was Chief Analyst for the Near East and South Asia, as well as National Intelligence Officer for the same region. He is most famous for his book, “Intelligence and U.S. Foreign Policy: Iraq, 9/11, and Misguided Reform”, which takes an in-depth look at the failure of the Bush-administration’s intelligence-gathering in the run up to the Iraq War, and how this has had an impact on the global security landscape.

Pillar’s career has seen him serve in many key roles, including Republican Majority Staff Director for the Senate Intelligence Committee, as a guest scholar at the Brookings Institution, and he has lectured at both the National War College and Georgetown University. He was awarded the CIA’s Intelligence Star in 2003 and the National Intelligence Distinguished Service Medal in 2005. He is widely respected for his knowledge and publications on intelligence matters.

Paul Pillar was born in 1951, in Chicago, Illinois. He graduated from Indiana University in 1971, and studied for a Masters in International Affairs from Columbia University, which he completed two years later. He then joined the United States Foreign Service, and served in the Near East and South-Asia region for nine years. During this period, he was instrumental in the United States’ participation in the Egyptian-Israeli Peace Treaty of 1978.

Pillar took a notable sabbatical to study for a PhD with the Department of Politics and International Relations at the University of Oxford in 1981-82, where he had a stated focus on international conflict resolution and the diplomacy of the United States in the Middle East. This experience was to shape the rest of his career, almost like a calling.

On returning to the United States, prior to joining the CIA, Pillar worked with the Senate Committee on Foreign Relations as Republican Majority Staff Director of the Subcommittee on Near Eastern and South Asian Affairs. He then moved to the CIA in 1985, where he was Chief Analyst and was soon promoted to Deputy Director of East Asia and The Pacific and Deputy Director of the Center for the Study of Intelligence. In this role, he was heavily involved in intelligence gathering in North and South Korea and was particularly skilled in intelligence assessment for South Asia.

In 2000, Pillar was promoted to National Intelligence Officer for the Near East and South Asia, where he worked in the Office of the National Director of Intelligence. Prior to the start of the Iraq War in 2003, Pillar had given professional warnings of the consequences of war and the reliability of the intelligence concerning Iraq’s supposed nuclear program. He left intelligence services the same year, much to the disappointment of the intelligence community.

As a post-retirement career, directly following his intelligence services, Pillar served as Director of the Center for Peace and Security at Georgetown University in Washington, D.C. for one year, and published his most famous book in 2006. He went on to become a General Editor for the series Studies in Intelligence, and is currently a Senior Fellow at the Brookings Institution. He recently completed a review of the National Intelligence Estimate of Iran’s nuclear progam.

Pillar’s brilliance and expertise on all things related to intelligence and security, will be sorely missed by the intelligence community, but his contribution has been invaluable. His dedication to furthering the knowledge and understanding of intelligence is demonstrated by his incredible career, and will continue to have a lasting effect on the safety of the United States and the world.