Imperial Instruction: The Human Terrain System?s Academic Trainers, Part 1
As part of the series designed to ?map the terrain? of war corporatism, beginning with charting the private corporations contracted by the Human Terrain System (HTS), corporations with military, intelligence, and other specializations, then examining the various other human terrain efforts outside of HTS, and then generally considering how anthropologists and other social scientists have sought to capitalize on the ?war on terror,? one of the elements that was missing was an outline of who the academics are that train HTS employees. We already know the identities of several social scientists, and others, who have formed part of Human Terrain Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan, but we have had no list of those who train them?the academics behind the curtain. This is an attempt to fill in that gap, using and synthesizing materials freely available online, and with some leads and other information provided by Roberto González, John Stanton, and Jamil Hanifi, and three former HTS employees who have contacted me by email. Needless to say, it is unlikely that the list and overview provided here is a complete one.
Imperial Instruction: The Human Terrain System?s Academic Trainers, Part 2
HTS? Other Handlers
There are those trainers who are not attached to either UNO or the University of Kansas as faculty.
Human Terrain System Criticized by U.S. Congress
The U.S. House of Representatives Armed Services Committee (HASC) has issued a criticism of the Human Terrain System, limiting its funding until the U.S. Army can submit a formal review that addresses ?certain concerns.? (Thanks as well to ?Napkin Chagnon? for the update.)
In a document titled, ?H.R. 5136 ? Nation Defense Authorization Act for Fiscal Year 2011,? the HASC stated the following regarding HTS (see page 25):
House Panel Puts the Brakes on ?Human Terrain?
It ain?t over, but it seems like HTS is at least ?on hold? for now.
The House Armed Services Committee, in its version of the defense budget bill, says it ?remains supportive? of HTS. But, as Spencer Ackerman points out, the committee says it will ?limi[t] the obligation of funding?the project, until ?the Army submits a required assessment of the program, provides revalidation of all existing operations requirements, and certifies Department?level guidelines for the use of social scientists.?
