ZERO ANTHROPOLOGY

ISSN 2562-9948

by Eva Bartlett

Canada Imports the White Helmets from Syria: A Dangerous, Criminal Decision

Did Canadians get to vote on whether or not to bring potential terrorists or supporters of terrorists to Canada? No. Will Canadians get a say in where these potentially dangerous men will be settled? Highly unlikely. Ninety-eight members of the White Helmets, and a few hundred of their families, were evacuated by Israel and allies […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Did the Belgian Authorities Purposely Trigger the Brussels Attacks?

Updated March 27, 2016, 3:30pm EST. Among the dense clouds of speculation from mainstream journalists and the many supposed national security experts whose expertise lies in repeating nothing (“I have been briefed, but I cannot say anything further as it would compromise sensitive intelligence sources during an ongoing investigation”) one is forced to make one’s […]

by Eva Bartlett

The Terrorism We Support in Syria: A First-hand Account of the Use of Mortars against Civilians

By Eva Bartlett In stark contrast to the sparse coverage of the brutality of ISIS and other terrorist groups in Syria over the past few years, there has recently been substantial coverage of the emergence of ISIS in Iraq and the terrorist acts that this US-backed and funded group has been committing. This surge of […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

General Carter Ham’s Case for Dismantling AFRICOM

There is enough evidence that the US Africa Command has increased resource exploitation and imperial expansion, instigated more violence, intensified regional conflicts and undermined the authority of regional organizations and the African Union. First published as: “Dismantle AFRICOM! General Carter Ham makes the case?” By Horace G. Campbell Pambazuka, 2012-12-13, Issue 610 INTRODUCTION On Saturday […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

The State Department’s “Report” on the Attack in Benghazi, Libya: The Effects of Diplomacy as Subversion

Originally published on CounterPunch on December 20, 2012. Almost immediately after the armed attack in Benghazi, Libya, on September 11, 2012, which resulted in the death of U.S. Ambassador Christopher Stevens, along with Sean Smith, Tyrone Woods, and Glen Doherty, added to the destruction and looting of the U.S. facility in Benghazi, various columnists immediately took […]

by Eliza Jane Darling

Invisible Freedoms

It is the singular affliction of whiteness to suffer the slings and arrows of righteous indignation on the rare occasion its privileges are infringed by the power structures meant to secure them. High on the list of stuff white people don’t like is surveillance, at least when its traditional contours are involuted, the lidless eye […]

by M. Jamil Hanifi

The U.S. War of Terror in Afghanistan

In the words of U. S. representative Michael Honda the U.S. war of terror in Afghanistan has become the longest and “everlasting war” in the history of the United States. The vulgar asymmetry and injustice of this so called “war” has prompted its pre-industrial victims in Afghanistan and the surrounding region and their global supporters […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

What Ahmadinejad Did Not Say at the UN, that Some People Instead Chose to Hear

First, let’s start with what should be the starting point, not someone’s preferred interpretation, not a gloss, not a twist, nor an inventive rewording or taking of words out of context–but the actual spoken statement of Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at the 65th session of the UN General Assembly on 23 September 2010, with particular attention to […]

by M. Jamil Hanifi

Anthropology and the Representation of Migrations from Afghanistan

[This is a paper that was originally published under the title of “Anthropology and the Representation of Recent Migrations from Afghanistan,” as it appeared in Rethinking Refuge and Displacement: Selected Papers on Refugees and Immigrants, Volume VIII, 2000. Arlington, VA: American Anthropological Association. Eds. E. M. Godziak and D. J. Shandy. Pp. 291-321. Given the […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Punishing Publication, Banishing Ideas: YouTube Censors Your World for the CIA

This post, while actually written on 20 April 2011, is backdated to the time that the video in question below was uploaded to YouTube. The video, “Humam al-Balawi: Slayer of CIA Terrorists in Afghanistan,” was an unacceptable challenge to some, starting with the very title. Let’s put this in some perspective first. The video was […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Torture for Democracy (1): Michael Ignatieff’s New Imperialism

It began as a “prank,” in the words of the Canadian Press this past 17 August 2009. An anonymous critic of Canadian Liberal leader sent a mass mailing, using a BBC address, to the parliamentary press gallery. In each envelope a was a colour copy of a damning piece about Michael Ignatieff, published four years […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Torture for Democracy (2): Video Post

To not clutter up the main post, Torture for Democracy (1), the relevant supporting videos are placed here.

by Maximilian C. Forte

(Re)Imperializing Anthropology and Decolonizing Knowledge Production

I presented the paper below, “(Re)Imperializing Anthropology and Decolonizing Knowledge Production,” at the 8th Annual Critical Race and Anti-colonial Studies Conference of Researchers and Academics of Colour for Equality (R.A.C.E.), held at Ryerson University in Toronto, 14-16 November, 2008. Almost a year has passed since I promised to post it here, and I suspect that […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

M. Jamil Hanifi: Questions for Military Anthropology

The following post was submitted by Dr. M. Jamil Hanifi: I am sympathetic with Dr. Brian Selmeski’s guidelines for participation in the Military Anthropology Network. Anthropology is a way of thinking, an attitude, an outlook, and a demeanor least effected by the mere presence of anthropology courses on one’s college transcript. It is chiefly produced […]

by Maximilian C. Forte

Glimpses of What the Mainstream Media Might Have Told Us About Afghanistan

Recently a debate broke out across blogs, think tanks, counterinsurgency advocates, and academics, concerning what is apparently the near total absence of any debate, any questioning, any discussion about why the U.S. (and by implication the rest of us in NATO) should remain in Afghanistan, even less so about why Afghanistan should have been invaded […]