ISSN 2562-9948
Perhaps it would be best if I avoided any more discussion of the work of anthropologists in counterinsurgency programs, especially when I see opening lines like this one: “To wage war, become an anthropologist.” The reason I say that is that I am not keen about either domination or resistance, about either passive or active […]
Read More…Anthropology and Global Counterinsurgency is the title of a very interesting conference that is about to take place at the University of Chicago. It will be extremely disappointing if the conference organizers and/or participants decide not to make their papers available on the Web, given both the timeliness of the conference and the fact that […]
Read More…I have been reflecting back on some of the muddy double-speak to be found in the late parts of the blog of the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association, and I mean specifically on the part of those scrambling and labouring to concoct tortured little twists of an argument in the elusive hope of redeeming […]
Read More…It struck me, while reviewing the patterns I found in postings to the AAA Executive Board’s blog on the statement condemning anthropological support for counterinsurgency, as well as the comments section of the Inside Higher Ed piece titled, “Questions, Anger and Dissent on Ethics Study” (Nov. 30, 2007), that those opposing our criticisms have found […]
Read More…“In Favour of Anthropological Support for Counterinsurgency” (Notes from AAA blog #1) http://aaanewsinfo.blogspot.com/2007/11/aaa-board-statement-on-hts.html Winning quotes: “Think about it this way, wouldn’t [it] have been nice if the U.S. military knew that an Arab’s primary source of pride and power was the home and family, and that ‘kicking in doors’ was an afront [sic] to their […]
Read More…ETHICS CONCEDE TO POLITICS Following the submission on Wednesday, November 28th, 2007, of the report of the Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with Security and Intelligence Communities, the American Anthropological Association presented a panel discussion and invited commentary from those assembled for its annual meeting. Thanks, first of all, to Antropologi.info which […]
Read More…On Wednesday, November 28th, 2007, the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association received the report of the Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with Security and Intelligence Communities. The complete report, with appendices, is 63 pages long and will be the subject of further discussion in the coming weeks on this blog. […]
Read More…I said in a recent post that we could predict responses on the AAA blog from those supporting anthropological involvement with the US military’s Human Terrain System project in its counterinsurgency wars in Iraq and Afghanistan. One cannot be at all certain that the responses have come from anthropologists: the posts in question have repeatedly appeared […]
Read More…Over on the AAA blog, one might get the sense that those anthropologists who support being embedded with US military units in Iraq and Afghanistan as part of the counterinsurgency campaigns, have developed some notion of “entitlement”–that is, that they are entitled to do this kind of work because it is the patriotic thing to […]
Read More…When I ask, which side are anthropologists supporting, I am specifically referring to those anthropologists who support involvement with Human Terrain Teams in Iraq, for example, and who condemn the statement by the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association for its opposition. I posted another comment on the blog discussion for this issue, with […]
Read More…Thanks to Lorenz Khazaleh at antropologi.info for his round up of anthropology bloggers’ reactions to the posting of the statement of the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association rejecting involvement in Human Terrain Systems as unethical (these sentences are getting longer and longer, and clumsier). To see this useful summary, with links to blogs […]
Read More…Having read through over 60 comments posted thus far on the blog of the American Anthropological Association, devoted to debate over the AAA Executive Board’s decision to condemn anthropological involvement in the Human Terrain System project as a violation of its code of ethics, I am struck by the vain scholasticism of some of the […]
Read More…This should be a source of embarrassment for the Executive Board of the American Anthropological Association, although thus far there is little indication of any. While denouncing anthropological support for counterinsurgency, as part of the Human Terrain System, the AAA has nonetheless allowed advertisements to be posted by those employing anthropologists for this very purpose. One is […]
Read More…Still speaking of comments posted in the discussion on the AAA’s new blog, I noted that one writer in particular posted the following reasonable objection, one that unveils certain facts that I myself have downplayed: Recently, I listened to McFate, the HTS [Human Terrain System] designer, present the basic structure of the HTS as well as […]
Read More…I thought it might be best to wait and see how the discussion on the AAA’s new blog unfolded before engaging in any attempt at serious commentary. However, having captured my attention since it directly spoke to my own, and related posts there, I decided to clarify some thoughts, especially as I think that certain […]
Read More…
ZERO ANTHROPOLOGY 