Anthropology in Warfare: Understanding Culture and Social Setup
Anthropology has been a critical consideration in warfare and military application. Since war entails interaction with people of foreign origins, it creates the need to understand their culture and social setup. This understanding is what guides the best approach in either seeking for war or truce through negotiations (if the war itself is still ongoing). There are very minimal possibilities of having a successful military endeavor that fails to identify and integrate the critical role played by anthropology before and after deployment of their troops.
The Ethical Principles of Anthropology: Protection of Interests
The ethical principles of anthropology, which are the protection of the interests of studied populations and their safety, are what guide the programs set out by the American and Canadian militaries (Jamail, 6). Human Terrain System (HTS) for the US Army and the White Situational Awareness Team (WSAT) of the Canadian Army incorporated the science of anthropology in their endeavors. Any meanders out of the established code of conduct (protection of innocent lives) is considered a violation of the systems set in place. The incorporation of different anthropology techniques helped in ensuring a blending culture between both the soldiers and the locals as they troop seek their targets during their analysis of the existing situation. Thus, making their actions strategic and efficient. The strategizing also helped in influencing the decision structure of their troops while they operate in foreign nations such as Afghanistan and Iraq. Therefore, forming an excellent way to approach warfare since it broadens the awareness of the American troops, lessens their cultural ignorance as it exposes them to new cultures.
Applying Anthropological Expertise in Warfare
Application of anthropological expertise is a viable venture where social scientists induce a sense of understanding and appreciation of someone else’s culture, morality, language and customs. Such programs have, however, have met strong opposition and negativity as some people believe it is unacceptable to know and familiarize with a way of life of people who the military ends up killing (Kassel, 1). My opinion for this, no matter how accurate it may be, is that we should embed an anthropological sense so that our troops have that awareness and sensitivity when approaching foreign civilians which will minimize casualties and improve international relations.
The Role of Social Scientists in Warfare
Since its genesis, the HTS has placed social scientists in every army unit and marine team. These employees of the government are responsible for the sensitization of the troops on the ground, such as in Afghanistan. Their primary and essential duty is to provide information to the troops and commanders about the understanding and way of life of the local population. This, in turn, facilitates stealth and reduces the need for lethal force when dealing with insurgents and threats to peace. Social scientists on the ground also help in determining the needs of the local community (Shay, 2). This is the best way to approach invasion and foreign warfare. Many are in contention with this saying it would not be war if we are friends with our enemies and know their culture and way of life. Opposition within the army itself is for shutting the HTS program down. They believe the essence of war is surprise attacks with no affiliation to the enemy (Jaschik, 1). Shutting the program down goes against what anthropologists believe in and what they fight for.
The Debate on Ethical Issues and the Future of Anthropology in Warfare
Ethical issues concerning the HTS have been in debate since the program commenced. The army has tried not to affiliate itself to the program and has even barred journalistic intelligence from acquiring information about the phasing out of the program. Social scientists deployed have been killed on the ground, and this is one of the reasons the army is against the program. Protests form anthropologists did not hinder the program from ending (Jaschik, 2). War will always be a part of the socio-political spectrum of the world. Nations use a lot of funds and resources to sustain the defense systems.
Implications of Anthropological Application in Warfare
The anthropological application should be part of the defense system which positively affects the war in creating an understanding and awareness of the enemy. Furthermore, there is the sensitization of new cultures and civilization with innocent people that need to be considered in the fight against terror, fight for peace and protection of the interests of a nation. Lives lost should never be seen just as casualties n saw as casualties of war which is neither morally or ethically sound. However, this realization and enhancement of the different techniques and systems of war should not solely affect the well-being of the community regarding both stability and existence. The redefinition of the existing ideologies and systems of governance will alter the direction in which the common man fights his kin. Most wars can be won without the involvement of advanced systems of mass casualty. As much as war has causalities, taking innocent lives has reduced drastically with the use of well trained and easily camouflaged troops. The milestones covered by integration of anthropology in military reflects the efficiency of war techniques both now and in the future.
Works cited
Jamail, Dahr. “Anthropological intelligence supports military occupation: engineering “Trust of the indigenous population.” Global Research, 2009. http://www.globalresearch.ca/anthropological-intelligence-supports-military-occupation-engineering-trust-of-the-indigenous-population/13643
Accessed 6th March 2018.
Jaschik, Scott. “Embedded conflicts.” Inside Higher ED, 2015. https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2015/07/07/army-shuts-down-controversial-human-terrain-system-criticized-many-anthropologists
Accessed 6th March 2018.
Kassel, Whitney. “The army needs anthropologists.” Foreign Policy, 2015. http://foreignpolicy.com/2015/07/28/the-army-needs-anthropologists-iraq-afghanistan-human-terrain/
Accessed 6th March 2018.
Shay, Christopher. “Should anthropologists go to war?” Time.com, 2009. https://content.time.com/time/nation/article/0,8599,1947095,00.html
Accessed 6th March 2018.
