Comments on: I Hope That The Human Terrain Teams Read The Deceivers by John Masters: An Anthropological Novel http://www.ethnography.com/2010/01/i-hope-that-the-human-terrain-teams-read-the-deceivers-by-john-masters-an-anthropological-novel/ A group blog on a wide variety of topics realted to anthropology Fri, 30 Dec 2011 16:34:11 +0000 hourly 1 http://wordpress.org/?v=3.2.1 By: mark http://www.ethnography.com/2010/01/i-hope-that-the-human-terrain-teams-read-the-deceivers-by-john-masters-an-anthropological-novel/comment-page-1/#comment-4906 mark Mon, 22 Feb 2010 22:20:50 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/?p=490#comment-4906 Hi Jon- I was just talking about the FAOs with someone the other day. During my 9 months in Iraq I never met a single one. They were rare as hen's teeth as the saying goes. I met some people that should have been in the line to be a FAO though. The problem is as you say, it is a LOT of training and expertise to build up for what is going to ultimately be a transitory job (like so many in the military). All that expertise is then lost.. Hi Jon-

I was just talking about the FAOs with someone the other day. During my 9 months in Iraq I never met a single one. They were rare as hen’s teeth as the saying goes. I met some people that should have been in the line to be a FAO though. The problem is as you say, it is a LOT of training and expertise to build up for what is going to ultimately be a transitory job (like so many in the military). All that expertise is then lost..

]]> By: Tony http://www.ethnography.com/2010/01/i-hope-that-the-human-terrain-teams-read-the-deceivers-by-john-masters-an-anthropological-novel/comment-page-1/#comment-4708 Tony Mon, 08 Feb 2010 20:32:10 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/?p=490#comment-4708 Yeah, the bureaucracies of the United States (e.g. State and Defense) are really not set up to be effective empire administrators, like the British Colonial Service was. This creates staffing problems for when the US invades other countries and tries to administer them. But in the post-imperial era is probably not such a bad thing. Yeah, the bureaucracies of the United States (e.g. State and Defense) are really not set up to be effective empire administrators, like the British Colonial Service was. This creates staffing problems for when the US invades other countries and tries to administer them. But in the post-imperial era is probably not such a bad thing.

]]> By: jon w http://www.ethnography.com/2010/01/i-hope-that-the-human-terrain-teams-read-the-deceivers-by-john-masters-an-anthropological-novel/comment-page-1/#comment-4615 jon w Sun, 07 Feb 2010 07:17:42 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/?p=490#comment-4615 ha ha. you may know about the foreign area officer program... the army and other branches train folks and they spend extensive time in a region. then at about 45 years old they can't get promoted anymore and retire. imagine the expertise accumulated if you kept these guys around another two decades, and what they could impart to the young guys. I guess this all falls under "preaching to the choir." those who are listening already know. those who need to know arent listening. ha ha. you may know about the foreign area officer program… the army and other branches train folks and they spend extensive time in a region. then at about 45 years old they can’t get promoted anymore and retire. imagine the expertise accumulated if you kept these guys around another two decades, and what they could impart to the young guys. I guess this all falls under “preaching to the choir.” those who are listening already know. those who need to know arent listening.

]]> By: Tony http://www.ethnography.com/2010/01/i-hope-that-the-human-terrain-teams-read-the-deceivers-by-john-masters-an-anthropological-novel/comment-page-1/#comment-4527 Tony Thu, 04 Feb 2010 03:37:42 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/?p=490#comment-4527 Hi Jon: Mainly, I guess that it would teach us that nihilistic cults like Al Qaeda and Thugees are best addressed with police-like action and courts rather than the broad stroke of "war" undertaken by 19 year-olds. The British did not fight a "war" like the US is today; rather they conducted law enforcement operations using highly skilled middle aged guys who spoke languages, etc. I know that that such broad policy is beyond the purview of HTS, so perhaps I should have recommended the book to the generals who design policy, rather than the HTS on the ground. Like you said, they probably already get this at the gut level. But just because social scientists from HTS gets it, doesn't mean that the policy will change. Hi Jon:
Mainly, I guess that it would teach us that nihilistic cults like Al Qaeda and Thugees are best addressed with police-like action and courts rather than the broad stroke of “war” undertaken by 19 year-olds. The British did not fight a “war” like the US is today; rather they conducted law enforcement operations using highly skilled middle aged guys who spoke languages, etc.

I know that that such broad policy is beyond the purview of HTS, so perhaps I should have recommended the book to the generals who design policy, rather than the HTS on the ground. Like you said, they probably already get this at the gut level. But just because social scientists from HTS gets it, doesn’t mean that the policy will change.

]]> By: jon w http://www.ethnography.com/2010/01/i-hope-that-the-human-terrain-teams-read-the-deceivers-by-john-masters-an-anthropological-novel/comment-page-1/#comment-4497 jon w Wed, 03 Feb 2010 06:47:43 +0000 http://www.ethnography.com/?p=490#comment-4497 I read the book last night. Fun, started after dinner and stayed up to the end after midnight. But I can't find any new tips for fighting the Taliban. Learn the language? Got it, that's old news. Understand the culture? Got that one too. Grow up five generations of occupying forces in their country? I guess that's why Bush and friends called it the endless war. But really, what's the book got to teach us about the war? I think it's pretty far fetched. I read the book last night. Fun, started after dinner and stayed up to the end after midnight. But I can’t find any new tips for fighting the Taliban. Learn the language? Got it, that’s old news. Understand the culture? Got that one too. Grow up five generations of occupying forces in their country? I guess that’s why Bush and friends called it the endless war. But really, what’s the book got to teach us about the war? I think it’s pretty far fetched.

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