The New York Times has hired one of its most virulent critics, prominent right-wing pundit William Kristol, as a columnist.

The venerable newspaper announced Saturday that it was hiring the 55-year-old writer for a weekly column on a one-year contract.

Kristol is the editor and co-founder of The Weekly Standard, a Washington political magazine with a staunchly conservative viewpoint.

He's a defender of the war in Iraq and once called the New York Times ""irredeemable."

In its announcement, the Times mentioned that Kristol had urged the federal government to prosecute the paper in 2006 for disclosing a secret government program to track international banking transactions.

Kristol is a regular commentator on Fox News and served as Vice President Dan Quayle's chief of staff during the administration of President George H.W. Bush.

Kristol is also the son of one of the founding thinkers behind American neoconservatism, Irving Kristol. 

Times' editorial page editor Andy Rosenthal defended Kristol's hiring in an interview with politico.com, criticizing liberal bloggers who have been up in arms over the move.

"The idea that The New York Times is giving voice to a guy who is a serious, respected conservative intellectual — and somehow that's a bad thing … how intolerant is that?" said Rosenthal.

The editor also pointed out the Times will often have "views on our op-ed page that are as hawkish or more so than [Kristol]."

In the current issue of The Weekly Standard, Kristol argues that U.S. Gen. David Petraeus should have been picked as Time magazine's person of the year, but "liberal elites are so invested in a narrative of defeat and disaster in Iraq that to acknowledge the prospect of victory would be too head-wrenching and heart-rending."

Kristol's column for the New York Times will debut on Jan. 7.