The whole point of having columnists in a publication is to have them provide insights into issues that would not be available from general news coverage. That generally involves expressing an opinion. The opinions of columnists are not necessarily the official position of the publication itself -- which would be expressed in editorials by the editors themselves.

Most publications hire outside columnists -- they are actually independent contractors (freelancers) -- because they think these columnists' insights have some value. That doesn't mean these opinions always prove right in the long run.