W . Patrick Lang Walter Patrick " Pat " Lang , Jr . ( born May 31 , 1940 ) is a commentator on the Middle East , a retired US Army officer and private intelligence analyst , and an author . After leaving uniformed military service as a Colonel , he held high - level posts in military intelligence as a civilian . He led intelligence analysis of the Middle East and South Asia for the Defense Department and world - wide HUMINT activities in a high - level equivalent to the rank of a lieutenant general . Background . Lang graduated from the Virginia Military Institute with a BA in English and from the University of Utah with an Master of Arts in Middle East Studies . He is a member of Phi Kappa Phi . Lang is a member of the Equestrian Order of the Holy Sepulchre , a Roman Catholic chivalric order , in which he holds the rank of Knight Commander . Personal life . He is married to the former Marguerite Lessard . They reside in Alexandria , Virginia . His uncle is John H . Lang , who served in both World Wars and during the interwar period , with Canadian and U . S . military forces . He received military honors for his actions and bravery from the United Kingdom , United States and Japan . Military service . While serving in the US Army , Lang graduated from the U . S . Army War College , the U . S . Army Command and General Staff College and the Armed Forces Staff College . He is a decorated veteran of several of the United States ' overseas conflicts . During the Vietnam War , he served in the Special Forces and Military Intelligence . He was trained and educated as a specialist in the Middle East and served in that region for many years . He was the first professor of Arabic at the United States Military Academy , where he was twice selected as best classroom teacher of the year . At the Defense Intelligence Agency , he was the Defense Intelligence Officer ( DIO ) for the Middle East , South Asia and counter - terrorism , and later , the first Director of the Defense Humint Service . At the DIA , he was a member of the Defense Senior Executive Service . He participated in the drafting of National Intelligence Estimate s . From 1992 to 1994 , all the U . S . military attachés worldwide reported to him . During that period , he also briefed President George H . W . Bush at the White House , as he had during Operation Desert Storm . He was also the head of intelligence analysis for the Middle East for seven or eight years at that institution . He was the head of all the Middle East and South Asia analysis in DIA for counter - terrorism for seven years . For his service in the DIA , Lang received the Presidential Rank Award of Distinguished Executive . Post - retirement activities . After leaving government service , he joined Veteran Intelligence Professionals for Sanity , but left that group over policy differences . For a period prior to and during the Iraq War , he registered under the U . S . Department of Justice ' s Foreign Agents Registration Act , for his work on behalf of a Lebanese politician and industrialist . He promoted the peace process , vocational training for the building trades , English and French - language instruction , and extending microcredit . He registered on advice of counsel and has since deregistered . Continuing his work on the peace process , he participated in work of the Harry Frank Guggenheim Foundation . As an example : " Imagining the Next War " . The foundation sponsors individuals for " scholarly research on violence , aggression , and dominance . " In 2006 , Lang was appointed to the foundation ' s board of directors . Lang edits a personal blog " Sic Semper Tyrannis " on the subjects of intelligence gathering and analysis , military affairs , and war and peace . Selected writings . Since his retirement from the US Army , Lang has published many articles on intelligence , special operations and the Islamic World . Lang has written and discussed the Israel - Hezbollah July 2006 War , in which he described the Hezbollah defense as a defensive belt which he called the " Tabouleh Line " . In an interview with Helena Cobban , he said : Iraq and the Middle East . In 2006 , Lang said that he thought an American attack on Iran would have deadly repercussions on U . S . occupation troops in Iraq . He noted that " troops all over central and northern Iraq are supplied with fuel , food , and ammunition by truck convoy from a supply base hundreds of miles away in Kuwait . All but a small amount of our soldiers ' supplies come into the country over roads that pass through the Shiite - dominated south of Iraq . " Iraqi Shiia could easily interdict these supplies , not easily replaced by air , once hostilities start . Conflict with Iran . Lang interprets " the U . S . has no plans to bomb Iran " to mean that intensive planning is at an advanced stage but no final decision has been made to push the button . He says the forces are largely in place . The bombing could be carried out by naval air from the aircraft carriers in place , missiles from the screening ships of the carrier groups , and Air Force assets . He says there is dissent in the U . S . administration at high levels whether to bomb Iran , and it is possible for high level resignations to occur even in the uniformed services . He says the concentration of forces has a dual purpose , to prod Iran toward serious negotiations and to be there as a resort if negotiations fail . Legacy and honors . Joint Service Commendation Medal Senior Parachutist Badge Special Forces Tab Books . Fiction :