Human Terrain Team

The Human Terrain Team (HTT) program, begun in late 2003, is a controversial, experimental counter-insurgency effort of the United States military which embeds anthropologists with combat brigades in Iraq and Afghanistan to help tacticians in the field understand local cultures.cite news
title = U.S. Military, Oblivious of Iraqi Culture, Enlists Anthropologists for Occupation
author =
publisher = Middle East Online
date = January 19, 2008
accessdate = 2008-02-11
url = http://www.alternet.org/waroniraq/74326/ ] "Academic embeds" as the social scientists on teams are known, [ [http://www.npr.org/templates/story/story.php?storyId=15124054 'Academic Embeds': Scholars Advise Troops Abroad : NPR ] ] help troops understand relevant cultural history, engage locals in a way they can appreciate, and incorporate knowledge about tribal traditions in conflict resolution. In interviews, US military officers in Afghanistan have stated that the aim of the program is to improve the performance of local government officials, persuade tribesmen to join the police, ease poverty and protect villagers from the Taliban and criminals. The deputy director is James Greer.

Development

In late 2003, US officers in Iraq complained of poor local intelligence. Cultural anthropologist Montgomery McFate was recruited by the Pentagon while working for the Navy because she advocated using social science to improve military operations and strategy. McFate helped develop a database in 2005 that provided officers with detailed information on the local population. In 2006, Colonel Steve Fondacaro (Special Operations, retired) joined the program and advocated embedding social scientists with US combat units.

Efficacy

The approach was first applied in Afghanistan in 2006 [http://www.csmonitor.com/2007/0907/p01s08-wosc.htm US Army's strategy in Afghanistan: better anthropology | csmonitor.com ] ] and has since won the praise of officers who see concrete results in improved understanding of social connections in the tribal cultures encountered during phase iv operations (operations aimed at stabilizing an area of operations in the aftermath of major combat).cite news
title = Army Enlists Anthropology in War Zones
author = David Rohde
publisher = New York Times
date = October 5, 2007
accessdate = 2008-02-12
url = http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/world/asia/05afghan.html?incamp=article_popular_4&pagewanted=all ] [http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/iraq/2007/11/30/the-pentagon-deploys-social-scientists-to-help-understand-iraqs-human-terrain.html?PageNr=3 The Culture Warriors - US News and World Report ] ] [http://www.army.mil/professionalwriting/volumes/volume4/december_2006/12_06_2.html The U.S. Army Professional Writing Collection ] ] According to Col. Martin Schweitzer, commander of the 82nd Airborne, the unit’s combat operations had been reduced by 60 percent over a period of eight months. [http://www.rfi.fr/actufr/articles/095/article_58603.asp RFI - Les anthropologues aux armées ] ]

Expansion

US Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates in September 2007 authorized a $40 million expansion of the program. Teams of anthropologists and social scientists are expected to be assigned to each of the 26 US combat brigades in Iraq and Afghanistan. As of October 2007, the number of teams in Baghdad was expanded from one to six.

Methods

Teams are composed of five members: [http://www.stripes.com/article.asp?section=104&article=54556&archive=true Stars and Stripes: Cultural advisers give U.S. teams an edge ] ] two civilians and three military personnel, according to "Stars and Stripes". Military Review defines embeds as "experienced cultural advisors" familiar with the area of operations. Embeds also work within the framework of an overall Human Terrain System (HTS) which includes a relationship mapping schema called MAP-HT.

To map relationships, teams create databases of
*local leaders
*tribes
*and political disputes
*economic issues
*social problemsas well as using mapped knowledge and cultural insights to advise brigade commanders. [http://www.usnews.com/articles/news/iraq/2007/11/30/the-pentagon-deploys-social-scientists-to-help-understand-iraqs-human-terrain.html The Culture Warriors - US News and World Report ] ] Embeds must also note and respond to the attitudes of US military culture, which values a "can do" attitude.

Notable operations

Operation Khyber

During a 15-day drive in late summer of 2007, 500 Afghan and 500 US soldiers tried to:

*clear an estimated 200 to 250 Taliban insurgents out of much of Paktia Province
*secure southeastern Afghanistan’s most important road
* halt a string of suicide attacks on US troops and local governors.

An HTT anthropologist, Tracy, identified an unusually high concentration of widows in poverty, creating pressure on their sons to join the well-paid insurgents. Citing Tracy’s advice, US officers developed a job training program for the widows. She also interpreted the beheading of a local tribal elder as as an effort to divide and weaken the Zadran, rather than mere intimidation. As a result, Afghan and US officials focused on uniting the Zadran, one of southeastern Afghanistan’s most powerful tribes, thereby hindering the Taliban's operations in the area.

Operation Maiwand

800 Afghan soldiers, 400 U.S. soldiers and 200 Afghan policemen took part in the operation, in which Afghan soldiers raided houses of suspected militants. [http://www.iht.com/articles/ap/2007/07/03/asia/AS-GEN-Afghan-Army-Operation.php Afghan army plans, executes first big operation, taking step forward in US exit strategy - International Herald Tribune ] ]

"Stars and Stripes" reported that in one Pashtun village, Kuz Khadokhel, HTT made it possible for negotiator Captain Aaron White to understand body language in the context of the culture, to identify leaders during negotiations, and to reinforce a perception of leadership by not conferring with fellow officers and by demonstrating good faith through projects facilitated by the Ghazni Provincial Reconstruction Team, including roads, a visit by the PRT’s mobile medical clinic, the construction of a deep well for irrigation, and the beginnings of a road to Afghanistan’s main Highway 1.

Controversy

The American Anthropological Association denounced HTT in October 2007, concerned it could lead to compromise of ethics, disgrace to anthropology as an academic discipline, and the endangerment of research subjects. Some academics denounce the program as “mercenary anthropology” that exploits social science for political gain, fearing HTT could cause all anthropologists to be viewed as intelligence-gatherers for the US military. Some academics draw comparisons to the Phoenix Program and Project Camelot during the Vietnam War. According to Richard Shweder, "Anthropologists feel almost polluted by contact with certain parts of the government. There's a breach-of-trust issue there that hasn't been repaired." David Matsuda, an academic embed from California, counters the reaction in the anthropology community: "I came here to save lives, to make friends out of enemies."

Ann Marlowe, an expert who has written extensively about Afghanistan, wrote a piece about HTT for the Weekly Standard in November 2007 stating that "there are some things the Army needs in Afghanistan, but more academics are not at the top of the list." [ [http://www.weeklystandard.com/Content/Public/Articles/000/000/014/368ixgbj.asp Anthropology Goes to War - The Weekly Standard] ]

The American Dialect Society named "Human Terrain Team" the most euphemistic phrase for 2007. [http://www.americandialect.org/Word-of-the-Year_2007.pdf]

Notable academic embeds

*Tracy (surname withheld)
*David Matsuda
*Robert Holbert [ [http://www.dailynebraskan.com/home/index.cfm?event=displayArticle&ustory_id=58fa3e11-f5d1-4a93-af2e-6320620a3178 Daily Nebraskan ] ]
*Lisa Verdon
*Fouad Lghzaoui
*Michael V. Bhatia (killed while serving with a HTT in Khost, Afghanistan in May 2008)

ee also

*Cultural Anthropology
*Ethnology
* [http://www.army.mil/professionalwriting/volumes/volume4/december_2006/12_06_2.html The Human Terrain System: A CORDS for the 21st Century]
*Daniel Jackson

References

External links

* [http://www.nytimes.com/2007/10/05/world/asia/05afghan.html?em&ex=1191729600&en=4993ab9a6cbbf28b&ei=5087 New York Times article on Human Terrain Teams]
* [http://www.wamu.org/programs/dr/07/10/10.php#13756 Anthropologists and War - Diane Rehm Radio Show on Human Terrain Teams - October 2007]