A convenient guide to Paul Pillar’s commentary on Iran

It is with increasing frustration that I see Paul Pillar continually rant against those who consider Iran a dangerous country. I am stunned how frequently he writes about the topic, all without addressing the most important development in Iranian politics — the consolidation of political power behind Supreme Leader Khamenei and the Revolutionary Guards. His posts resemble each other so much that I have decided to keep a checklist. Here’s how he scores in his latest post:

• Warning that this “just like Iraq” ✔
• Blaming domestic pro-Israel voices ✔
• Assumption that war is inevitable without his preferred solutions ✔
• Hysterical accusations and word choice ✔
• Blaming Iran’s behavior on U.S. policy (a usual feature)
• Analysis of Iranian institutions, policy, culture, leadership, etc., as is relevant to the discussion
  

I eagerly wait being able to check off that last one!