Anthropologists go to war AND Revolt of the Anthropologists

The use of social scientists in the Army’s Human Terrain Teams has sparked intense contraversy among anthropologists.  Here are some of the major articles in the debate.

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Contents

1. Recent vollies
2. Anthropologists go to war — key articles in the debate
3. The battle of the anthropologists about anthropologists role in the Long War
4. Articles by and about Ann Marlowe, the Human Terrain System, and the Afghanistan War
5. A complete archive of the online works by and about David Kilcullen

I.  Recent vollies

1. “A Gun in One Hand, A Pen in the Other“, Newsweek (12 April 2008) — “The Army is spending millions to hire ‘experts’ to analyze Iraqi society. If only they could find some.”
2. “HTS and Newsweek”, Dr. Montgomery McFate, posted at the Small Wars Journal (17 April 2008) — Her major objections are lost amidst the trivial, giving an overall impression of “ankle-biting.”

II.  Anthropologists go to war — key articles in the debate

1. “The Human Terrain of Urban Operations“, Ralph Peters, Parameters (Spring 2000) — A breakthrough work in 4GW art and theory!
2. “Present Dangers, Past Wars, Future Anthropologies“, David H. Price, Anthropology Today (February 2002)
3. “Lessons from Second World War Anthropology: Peripheral, Persuasive, and Ignored Contributions” David H. Price, Anthropology Today (June 2002)
4. “The Military Utility of Understanding Adversary Culture“, Montgomery McFate,  Joint Force Quarterly (July 2005)
5. “An Organizational Solution for DOD’s Cultural Knowledge Needs“, Montgomery McFate and Andrea Jackson, Military Review (July-August 2005)
6. “On the Uses of Cultural Knowledge“, Sheila Miyoshi Jager, Strategic Studies Institute (November 2007)

III.  The battle of the anthropologists about anthropologists role in the Long War

1. “Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones“, New York Times (5 October 2007) — a summary of the conflict
2. “We Must Fight the Militarization of Anthropology“, Roberto J. Gonzalez, Chronicle of Higher Education (2 February 2007)
3. “Towards Mercenary Anthropology? US Counterinsurgency Field Manual 3-24 and the Military-Anthropology Complex“, Roberto J. González, Anthropology Today  (June 2007)
4. “Anthropologists and War: A response to David Kilcullen“, Hugh Gusterson, Anthropology Today (August 2007)
5. “When Anthropologists Become Counter-Insurgents“, By Roberto J. Gonzalez and David H. Price, Counterpunch (28 September 2007)
6. “Pilfered Scholarship Devastates General Petraeus’s Counterinsurgency Manual“, David Price, Counterpunch (30 October 2007)
7. Reply to Price:  “Desperate People with Limited Skills“, John Nagel, SWC (1 November 2007)
8. Army’s Response to Counterpunch article by Price, Major Tom McCuin (1 November 2007)
9. Counter-reply:  “Refuting Colonel John Nagl“, David Price, Counterpunch (3 November 2007)
10. “Human Terrain: Past, Present and Future Applications“, Roberto J. González,  Anthropology Today (February 2008)
11. Excerpts of articles in Anthropology Today by the debate’s major figures (Roberto Gonzales, Montgomery Fate, and Kilcullen)
12. A complete Archive of links to debate about role of anthropologists in war (most of these are subscription-only  from Anthropology Today).

IV.  Articles by and about Ann Marlowe, the Human Terrain System, and the Afghanistan War

1. “Anthropology Goes to War“, Ann Marlowe, The Weekly Standard  (26 November 2007) — “There are some things the Army needs in Afghanistan, but more academics are not at the top of the list.”
2. “Is the Human Terrain System Worth Its Spit?“, Joshua Foust, posted at Registan.net  (18 November 2007)
3. “On Anthropology Goes to War“, Dave Dileffe, posted at the Small Wars Journal  (20 November 2007)
4. “A (Brief) Dialog With Ann Marlowe“, Joshua Foust, posted at Registan.net  (20 November 2007)
5. “Two Myths About Afghanistan“, Ann Marlowe, op-ed at the Washington Post  (11 February 2008)
6.  ”Ann Marlowe Thinks Afghanistan Is Doing Awesome“, Joshua Foust, posted at Registan.net  (11 February 2008)

V.  A complete archive of the online works by and about David Kilcullen

The Essential 4GW reading list: David Kilcullen