The Morality of 'Military Anthropology'

This article describes the use of anthropologists 'embedded' with military forces in Afghanistan and Iraq to provide onsite knowledge, interpretation, and practical advice regarding local cultures and practices. The specific development of this 'Human Terrain System' (HTS) project is distinguished from other, related employment of anthropologists to assist in the writing or revision of military policy and doctrine (as in the U.S. Army's new Counterinsurgency Field Manual), provide pre-deployment education and orientation to military troops in language and regional cultural studies, or even to engage in anthropological field research focused on military services and organizations themselves. The author discusses the controversy generated by this field of "Military Anthropology" and discusses its relationship t professional code of ethics in anthropology, how anthropologists govern their responsibilities toward individuals and cultures studied; and features of classical just war theory, governing the role of those (whether combatants or support personnel, such as civilian academics or scientists) who find themselves participating in conflicts which may (or may not) satisfy the basic criteria of moral or legal justification.