A good, right-to-the-point piece by Chris Hedges on the role intellectuals play in supporting the US foreign policy agenda. The intellectual-academic class serves as a conduit between Washington and the population and, in the case of Iraq (and many others), helped sell the idea to America.
Planners at the executive level generally do what they think they can get away with. Likewise, Congress performs the same calculations; but being situated closer to the population, Capitol Hill will occasionally impose pressure on the White House and tap the breaks, as it were. In the case of Iraq, most were on board. What Washington needed - and what it got - was intellectual management to ensure public approval. It really works. And then on went the yellow-ribbon magnets (see Mar. 13 blog post).
http://www.truthdig.com/report/item/the_treason_of_the_intellectuals_20130331
