When Anthropologists Become Counter-Insurgents

[seemslikeadream]

http://www.counterpunch.org/gonzalez09272007.html



Pledging to Boycott the "War on Terror"
When Anthropologists Become Counter-Insurgents
By ROBERTO J. GONZÁLEZ and DAVID H. PRICE

When anthropologists work overseas, they typically arrive with an array of equipment including notebooks, trowels, tape recorders, and cameras. But in the new context of the Bush Administration's "war on terror," a growing number of anthropologists are arriving in foreign countries wearing camouflage, body armor, and guns.

As General Petraeus and his staff push to enact new strategies in Iraq, the value of culture is taking on a greater role in military and intelligence circles, as new military doctrines increasingly rely on the means, methods and knowledge of anthropology to provide the basis of counterinsurgency practices. The Department of Defense, intelligence agencies, and military contractors are aggressively recruiting anthropologists for work related to counter-insurgency operations. These institutions seek to incorporate cultural knowledge and ethnographic intelligence in direct support of US-led interventions in the Middle East and Central Asia.

The Pentagon is increasingly relying on the deployment of "Human Terrain System" (HTS) teams in Afghanistan and Iraq to gather and disseminate information on cultures living in the theatre of war. Some of these teams are assigned to US brigade or regimental combat units, which include "cultural analysts" and "regional studies analysts." According to CACI International (one of three companies currently contracting HTS personnel for the Pentagon), "the HTS project is designed to improve the gathering, understanding, operational application, and sharing of local population knowledge" among combat teams. Required experience includes an MA or Ph.D. in cultural anthropology, sociology, or related social science fields, and applicants must obtain a secret security clearance to be eligible for employment.

In this environment it is not surprising that the Science Applications International Corporation-one of the top 10 US defense contractors-has begun describing anthropology as a "counter-insurgency related field" in its job advertisements. Prior to joining HTS teams, some social scientists attend military training camps. Recently, Marcus Griffin, an anthropology professor preparing to deploy to Iraq boasted on his blog that "I cut my hair in a high and tight style and look like a drill sergeant...I shot very well with the M9 and M4 last week at the range... Shooting well is important if you are a soldier regardless of whether or not your job requires you to carry a weapon." The lines separating researchers, subjects, protectors, protected and target are easily confused in such settings, and the concerns of research ethics are easily set aside for more immediate concerns.

[rodeodance]

1. ---the concerns of research ethics are easily set aside for more immediate concerns. ------

[neweurope]

2. Well... trying to be good Germans...

I find it sickening that an anthropologist helps the Bushistas kill. But then I also don't think that your "brave soldiers" are innocent.

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Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[PDenton]

3. I disagree

My brother and I said years ago the main problem with the military situation in Iraq was a total lack of cultural understanding. If anything, the military should have done this from the start.

One thing I don't think the average American military brass or civilian leadership understands is how grave a wound the attack of the Imam Husayn shrine was. It helped to re-open an ancient sectarian wound. The fact there was no reconciliation attempts centered around this attack on one of the most holy Shi'a shrines helps portray the Americans as disinterested in the concerns of the Shi'a and stability in Iraq.

[neweurope]

7. Read the next answer

"Pledge of Non-participation in Counter-insurgency"

---------------------

Remember Fallujah

Bush to The Hague!

[seemslikeadream]

4. Pledge of Non-participation in Counter-insurgency

http://concerned.anthropologists.googlepages.com/home

Pledge of Non-participation in Counter-insurgency


We, the undersigned, believe that anthropologists should not engage in research and other activities that contribute to counter-insurgency operations in Iraq or in related theaters in the “war on terror.” Furthermore, we believe that anthropologists should refrain from directly assisting the US military in combat, be it through torture, interrogation, or tactical advice.

US military and intelligence agencies and military contractors have identified “cultural knowledge,” “ethnographic intelligence,” and “human terrain mapping” as essential to US-led military intervention in Iraq and other parts of the Middle East. Consequently, these agencies have mounted a drive to recruit professional anthropologists as employees and consultants. While often presented by its proponents as work that builds a more secure world, protects US soldiers on the battlefield, or promotes cross-cultural understanding, at base it contributes instead to a brutal war of occupation which has entailed massive casualties. By so doing, such work breaches relations of openness and trust with the people anthropologists work with around the world and, directly or indirectly, enables the occupation of one country by another. In addition, much of this work is covert. Anthropological support for such an enterprise is at odds with the humane ideals of our discipline as well as professional standards.

We are not all necessarily opposed to other forms of anthropological consulting for the state, or for the military, especially when such cooperation contributes to generally accepted humanitarian objectives. A variety of views exist among us, and the ethical issues are complex. Some feel that anthropologists can effectively brief diplomats or work with peacekeeping forces without compromising professional values. However, work that is covert, work that breaches relations of openness and trust with studied populations, and work that enables the occupation of one country by another violates professional standards.

Consequently, we pledge not to undertake research or other activities in support of counter-insurgency work in Iraq or in related theaters in the “war on terror,” and we appeal to colleagues everywhere to make the same commitment.

[Jed Dilligan]

5. cross-posting to Anthro group

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topics&forum=397

[Jed Dilligan]

6. And talk about reactive methodology

The observer effect is bad enough without weapons and armor!

Are we back to the days of Diaz del Castillo?

[lovuian]

8. all the sciences seem to be infiltrated

its quite the thing to be an expert for the US

[Swamp Rat]

9. The Chrysanthemum and the Sword

Ruth Benedict