Hi Folks,
Originally Posted by
MountainRunner
Marc,
I haven't read David Price's article (or your SWJ article I'm sorry to say, but I'd appreciate a link
), but I'm sure you've read Montgomery McFate's article "Anthropology and Counterinsurgency: The Strange Story of their Curious Relationship"?
Actually, the McFate article, and the brouhaha that it sparked, we the tipping point to get me to write my article. It's in the latest SWJ (Vol 7) and also available here.
I have certainly heard of Hickey and his problems 
. In many ways, that case exemplifies some of the differences in mind set or worldview between Anthropologists and people in the military - that's a generalization, not a prescription 
. In a lot of ways, Cultural Anthropologists are "closer" in worldview to a weird cross between Intel, PSYOPs and long duree historians - we are cultural technologists who rarely get to experiment and have a very long time horizon (~5 million years or so for many of us).
Originally Posted by
MountainRunner
Now that is an interesting article. I read some interviews with him after the AAA resolutions and, while I think his heart may be in the right place,I doubt that his head is. He seems to have abandoned, or at least severely restricted, the long view of time. By concentrating on the anti-torture component he is neglecting the long term effects of either a protracted war, a loss of that war, and, also, the long term effects of trying to control information.
I certainly agree with his anti-torture position - torture just isn't very effective at eliciting information as a recent DIA study showed once again (sorry, can't find the link). Torture used for other purposes, e.g. intimidation, ritual, etc. may be useful in some cultures but not in the Anglo complex where it tends to cause a degradation in the psyche (that's a book in itself, so we'll just leave it there).
The effects of a protracted war should be obvious to anyone who has studied history, which makes me wonder about Gonzalez. Pretty much every society that has become involved in protracted conflict situations has ended up becoming extremely rigid and controlling of its members, the shifting of Rome from a Republic to the Principate in the 1st century bc is a good example of this, or has ended up falling apart (e.g. post-Periclean Athens, especially in the last 10 years of the Peloponnesian War).
What about losing the long war? Some of the more alarmist literature showing up, e.g. While Europe Slept, gives a pretty good example of what could happen. Personally, I think the MB inspired ideology of the irhabists would not only destroy Western civilization but, also, be a disaster for Islam and the species as a whole.
Maybe Gonzalez believes that a quick retreat will ameliorate the effects of a long war and / or a loss. I don't know, and I doubt that we will ever sit down over a couple of beers (probably Perrier for him) and discuss it in a rational manner (we are too polarized to use one of Dalmas' terms ). I would, however, say that when I ead his material and his quotes in various articles, I am reminded of the words of Flanders and Swan:
The Ostrich
Peek-a-Boo, I can't see you,
Everything must be grand.
Boo-ka-Pee, they can't see me,
As long as I've got me head in the sand.
Peek-a-Boo, it may be true,
There's something in what you've said,
But we've got enough troubles in everyday life,
I just bury me head.
Oh, Ostrich consider hw the world we know
Is trembling on the brink.
Have you heard the news, may I hear your views,
Will you tell me what you think.
The Ostrich lifted its head from the sand,
About an inch or so;
'You will please excuse, but disturbing news
I have no wish to know.'
Oooh, Peek-a-Boo, I can't see you,
Everything must be grand.
Boo-ka-Pee, they can't see me,
As long as I've got me head in the sand.
Peek-a-Boo, it may be true,
There's something in what you've said,
But we've got enough troubles in everyday life,
I just bury me head.
Then I noticed suddenly where we were,
I saw what time it was.
Make haste, I said, It'll be too late,
We must leave this place because....
He stuffed his wingtips into his ears;
He would not hear me speak,
And back in the soft Saharan sand
He plunged his yellow beak.
Oooh, Peek-a-Boo, I can't see you,
Everything must be grand.
Boo-ka-Pee, they can't see me,
As long as I've got me head in the sand.
Peek-a-Boo, it may be true,
There's something in what you've said,
But we've got enough troubles in everyday life,
I just bury me....
(BOOM)
From a sheltered oasis a mile away
I observed that dreadful scene.
And a single plume came floating down
Where my Ostrich friend had been.
Because he could not bear the sound
Of these words I had left unsaid;
'Here in this nuclear testing ground
Is no place to bury your head!'
Marc
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