{"id":183953,"date":"2023-09-01T08:49:03","date_gmt":"2023-09-01T12:49:03","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=183953"},"modified":"2023-09-01T08:53:28","modified_gmt":"2023-09-01T12:53:28","slug":"think-tank-experts-pushing-for-endless-conflict-in-ukraine-share-a-common-benefactor","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/?p=183953","title":{"rendered":"Think tank \u2018experts\u2019 pushing for endless conflict in Ukraine share a common benefactor"},"content":{"rendered":"<h2>A whopping 85% of media quotes on US military involvement come from someone paid by the defense industry<\/h2>\n<p><!--more--><\/p>\n<hr \/>\n<h3><a href=\"https:\/\/www.vtforeignpolicy.com\/2023\/08\/think-tank-experts-pushing-for-endless-conflict-in-ukraine-share-a-common-benefactor\/\"><strong>READ HERE<\/strong><\/a>: Experts with important-sounding titles linked to academic-sounding entities have been shaping hearts and minds in the press, both at home and abroad, in favor of endless conflict in Ukraine. Guess what deep-pocketed benefactor lurks beneath the surface?<\/h3>\n<h3>During the Iraq War, the Pentagon\u00a0backed\u00a0<a href=\"https:\/\/www.nytimes.com\/2008\/04\/20\/us\/20generals.html\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer follow\" data-wpel-link=\"external\">retired generals<\/a>\u00a0to make the rounds of TV and radio shows as \u2018military analysts\u2019 to promote the Bush administration\u2019s agenda in the Persian Gulf.\u00a0It was like inviting Ronald McDonald on a program to debate and discuss the merit of Big Macs. You could almost see the strings attached to the puppets, linked to the military-industrial complex that benefited from war without an off-ramp.<\/h3>\n<h3>Fast forward 20 years, and the sales tactics have drastically changed. The generals have been replaced by various experts with academic credentials, typically linked to one or more \u2018think tanks\u2019. Far from the neutral academic centers of intellectual integrity that the names suggest, these entities are little more than laundromats for discreet special interests. I should know \u2013 I used to be a director of one.<\/h3>\n<div id=\"rev-more-wrapper\">\n<h3>Every Wednesday, some of the highest-ranking figures of the Bush administration would come to our Washington, DC office to deliver their main agenda points for the week, requesting assistance in placing and promoting them to both grassroots activists sympathetic to the cause and to the general public. The experts within the think tank were hired based on political litmus tests, no doubt to ensure that their views aligned with the organization\u2019s. When they no longer do, you\u2019re either fired or you leave.<\/h3>\n<\/div>\n<hr \/>\n<p>&nbsp;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>A whopping 85% of media quotes on US military involvement come from someone paid by the defense industry<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[1],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-183953","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-uncategorized"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183953","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=183953"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/183953\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=183953"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=183953"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/stateofthenation.co\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=183953"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}