Comments on: Imperial Instruction: The Human Terrain System’s Academic Trainers, Part 2

By: Maximilian Forte

Maximilian Forte — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 21:14:08 +0000

Great to see you posting here John, many thanks, and in case readers do not know or remember (less likely), you were featured in a long and detailed report on HTS by David Price, just a few months ago, at:

http://zeroanthropology.net/2010/02/16/david-price-human-terrain-systems-dissenter-resigns-tells-inside-story-of-trainings-heart-of-darkness/

I was wondering if anyone would notice the Jack (John) Shroder connection with all of the recent Afghanistan mineral “discovery” news, and the connections with HTS. In the first part of this article, we hear that Shroder

“writes widely on Afghanistan’s mineral and energy resources and their considerable potential for development, the subject he addressed for the HTT seminar”.

Now, in Wired’s piece, “No, the U.S. Didn’t Just ‘Discover’ a $1T Afghan Motherlode”, we read:

“And Jack Shroder, a geologist at the University of Nebraska, told the Associated Press in 2001 that mineral deposits in Afghanistan were so rich, they could be vital in rebuilding the country. He’s collaborated with Pentagon officials since the 1970s, when he worked on mapping the country. In 2002, Shroder was approached by several American companies who hoped to start mining the area.” (http://www.wired.com/dangerroom/2010/06/no-the-military-didnt-just-discover-an-afghan-mineral-motherlode)

That Shroder has long had Afghan minerals on his mind, and that this is part of what he taught to HTS trainees, should make people wonder about the nature and intentions of the Afghan adventure, the role of HTS, and the duration of this mission.

Many thanks John.

By: John Allison

John Allison — Wed, 16 Jun 2010 18:54:25 +0000

That was an excellent drawing-together of the outlne of the HTS training as I also saw it. Especially the part on the staff of the Afghan Studies Program at the University of Nebraska, Omaha (UNO).
I was in Afghanistan at about the same time as Jack Shroder and Tom Guttierre began their long-term involvements. They are the tip of an iceberg of long-term interpenetration of the US military counter-intelligence and intelligence community with the international civilian federal employees and private employees of large corporations, both for profit and not for profit corporations.
The recent splash about all the booty that can be taken if we “succeed” in Afghanistan, the mineral resources; that is coming out of Jack Shroder, I am certain. He’s been pushing the “what’s in it for US” approach for decades.
Through the classes there, I came to understand just how intimately intertwined are all those organizationa and individuals who share the trough of “National Security” funding. I was surprised by how openly Tom and Jack spoke the truth of the fact that this entire network were essentially made up of tacitly CIA operatives or at least co-operatives.
I was surprised to learn that this network includes at least some of those USans on staff with Kabul University , those in the Fullbright Program; the USAID, the USDA, the USGS program there; as well as private individual scholars, such as my in-country host, the anthropologist (formerly of the US Airforce Academy and other formally military position) Louis Dupree, who arranged my own doctoral research fundings.
So, HTS is just one of the many feeding from that large trough; sometimes transparently sharing defense or national security budgets; other times the money travelling subterraneally to apparently innocent institutions and individuals.
I learned alot!

By: Anthro roundup: Open Anthropology reveals the academic trainers of The Human Terrain System etc | Erkan's Field Diary

Fri, 21 May 2010 14:31:33 +0000

[...] Imperial Instruction: The Human Terrain System’s Academic Trainers, Part 2 from OPEN ANTHROPOLOGY by Maximilian Forte [...]

By: Maximilian Forte

Maximilian Forte — Fri, 21 May 2010 05:31:12 +0000

“I have no intention of getting mired down in a tit-for-tat on your blog”

No, of course not: you use ethnography.com for those purposes.

Not a graduate of Concordia then. What a relief. I will correct that immediately.

Basically I do not see anything being added here, so I will leave it at that.

Keep on truckin’ dude!

By: Liam Murphy

Liam Murphy — Fri, 21 May 2010 05:21:10 +0000

I’m so glad a friend pointed this blog out to me! Fascinating — I am flattered, Max, that you devote so much e-ink to me, and I always liked that photo. Because I have no intention of getting mired down in a tit-for-tat on your blog (life is too short), this will be my only contribution.

About all of this I will say make four modest observations: 1) I am utterly unapologetic about having Mitzy speak for us at SWAA — she made the conference exciting and really brought people out to Las Vegas (my responsibility as SWAA president that year). I’d do it all again in a heartbeat; 2) you really need to bring yourself up to speed on the details of personnel working with HTS (or Stanton should…or someone) — Good Lord — it’s been going on 2 years since I’ve been connected in any respect to the program or people working there (except Mitzy, who is a friend). And, no, at this point I won’t divulge circumstances, pay details, etc., etc. I actually offered to do that at the SWAA meetings but somehow nobody asked — not even Gonzalez (not like I was hard to find). It all seems remote and rather old to me now; 3) I don’t have a degree from Concordia, although I did enjoy two years there before going on to Saint Mary’s in Halifax….a minor point, I concede, but not trivial (at least not to me…though I have very fond memories of David Howes as an instructor); and 4) as I’ve aged, I’ve come to realize that the only people I care about having credibility with are those who know me…mono-dimensional caricatures notwithstanding. No disrespect, Max, but I simply don’t care what you think of me or what I do.

Finally, a HUGE shout out to “Napkin,” you are hysterical! Should I really cringe at not having the respect of someone who calls him or herself “Napkin?” I’m practically weeping now…with laughter. Wow, I sure hope the HASC has more interesting people to speak to than me! On the plus side, a trip to DC would be lovely as long as it’s in the spring or fall.

With all my very warmest regards to you and your readers,

Liam Murphy

By: Maximilian Forte

Maximilian Forte — Fri, 21 May 2010 03:04:57 +0000

Thank you for the news Napkin (lol)…I was wondering when we would finally hear from the HASC, that was seemingly long overdue (promised for March originally, I believe).

By: Napkin Chagnon

Napkin Chagnon — Fri, 21 May 2010 02:04:30 +0000

Liam Murphy is a cry baby.

Checkout this story on how the House Armed Services Committee is pulling the rug out from the cowards at HTS: http://washingtonindependent.com/85373/house-panel-displeased-with-human-terrain-system I hope they force Liam to testify about where all my tax dollars were wasted on HTS. These people are cowards, they can’t even do their business in public and they deserve no respect from us.