Marines – ZERO ANTHROPOLOGY

Marjeh, Afghanistan: X-ray of McChrystal’s Bleeding Ulcer

Updated: 28 June 2010 Operation Urban Inflation One objective I cannot accomplish here is a comprehensive recap of counterinsurgency doctrine, the development and execution of Operation Moshtarak in Helmand province, Afghanistan, starting in February, and a comprehensive analysis of all of the apparent outcomes. Instead, this a selective series of vignettes. The first vignette: on […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Afghan Vignette 1: Those Cowardly Taliban

[The first in our series of very short posts featuring various imperial ironies.] There is never enough adventure in some foreign war zones. Not like in Iraq, shit, those guys were hard core. I mean, what are the chances of getting your ass blown off in a good old fashioned firefight in Afghanistan? None. The […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Bait & Switch from the Anti-Colonial Hearts & Minds

Reading like a classic scene replayed from the vast literature on colonial history, this gem: In the southern province of Helmand, U.S. Marines have been trying to secure the strategic town of Dahaneh to cut Taliban supply lines and enable the government to open a polling station there. After two days of fighting, Marines helped […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

The “Culture” Virus: The Human Terrain System spreads to Africa, Latin America, and the Caribbean

The intention of the links and extracts to follow is to show the spread of the U.S. military’s intention to build on the Human Terrain System in penetrating local cultures and intervening in local societies across the planet. Of course anthropology is singled out for “special mention,” now that in the minds of the state […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Human Terrain System spreads to Africa: “Oil and Terrorism”

Thanks to Crossed Crocodiles for posting an essay detailing the spread of the partnership between anthropology and counterinsurgency to Africa, under the U.S.’ AFRICOM. The full post is available here, extract below. This is a welcome corrective to the kind of unqualified support, and outright hype, that was featured in the last post. ••••••• Back […]