May 7, 2010

John Stanton, Zero Anthropology, HTS

John Stanton has another new post about the HTS program over at Zero Anthropology. If you are looking for some long term coverage of the whole HTS issue, Stanton is a good place to start. Here is an excerpt from his latest:
Critics of HTS such as the observers/sources for this series of articles on HTS, Dr. Max Forte, Dr. David Price, Dr. Hugh Gusterson, Dr. Alberto Gonzalez, Dr. Robert Albro, and the American Anthropological Association have made the point over and again that HTS is ethically challenged at the management level and does, in fact, operate as an intelligence support program. For stating their views they have been pilloried by McFarland, Fondacaro and Carlough (McFate) and their supporters in and out of the military (sources report that the officer currently conducting the AR 15-6 is being “bad mouthed” by some in HTS management). Even the venerable Ben Connable who authored “All Our Eggs in One Broken Basket” in TRADOC’s Military Review was criticized for expressing the view that the effort was cannibalizing military funding and in-house capabilities.
Read the rest here.

2 comments:

Maximilian C. Forte said...

Thanks Ryan.

Interesting that you quoted that particular passage, given how timely it is.

Until this week, I had never before seen one anthropology blogger rabidly attack another, using some of the most vulgar and undignified language one would never expect to hear, over the issue of being anti-war and against the militarism that supports it.

Can you imagine, that we live in a society where saying "war is bad" and that anthropologists should not support the use of violence against other peoples (especially not study them to support that violence), gets you treated as if you were some form of leprotic child rapist?

If that isn't proof of the pathology of militarism, the narrowing of limited liberal tolerance, the reduction of democracy, and the increased regimentation of political orientations, then what is? This is a malady that cannot be generalized, or made synonymous with anything else: it is specific and particular to militarism and the context of the "war on terror."

Ryan Anderson said...

Ya, it's timely on several levels.

That post by Dawson was ridiculous bullshit. I can understand if he disagrees or has his views on the matter--fine. But what he wrote was nonsense. And it was just way over the line.

If he had something to say, why not come out and make a clear, well argued case? Why not provide some alternative ideas? Nope.

There wasn't even an attempt to provide any kind of well thought out argument--just a pure rant. Fine again. But he's the one arguing about state of cultural anthropology??? Pretty ironic, considering the level of "analysis" he provided.