anthropology

An anthropologist looks at Obama in Laos and sees the harsh truth

By / 3 Comments / 9 September 2016

Summary: Nobel laureate President Obama visits Laos to the acclaim of the US press. Maximilian Forte looks beneath the celebrity glitter to see harsher truths about our neoliberal elites. It takes the vision of an anthropologist to see through their hypocrisy, pretenses, and lies. Cosmopolitan Imperialism: Obama Does Anthropology in Laos? By Maximilian C. Forte. …

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A powerful article by the War Nerd about our odd leaders & lost wars. Limited time only!

By / 5 Comments / 7 August 2015

Summary: I recommend reading these two valuable articles by the John Dolan (aka the War Nerd) at Pando. They are an entertaining autobiography, but also provide a valuable outsider’s view of our society and our wars. They’re only ungated for a limited time.  Post your reactions in the comments. Part one tells the personal stories of …

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Learning from our failure at weaponizing anthropology

By / 1 Comment / 7 January 2018

Summary: While we begin a new round of wars we still learn about dark aspects of the first round. For example, that psychologists assisted the US torture program in addition to the doctors and attorneys who participated. A book by David Price looks at another group violating their professional standards in join our wars — anthropologists …

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We weaponized anthropology. Why didn’t it work?

By / 21 Comments / 12 March 2015

Summary: Science provided massive advantages in our post-9/11 wars against the less-developed peoples of the Middle East. Not just the material science that created our wonder weapons, but the social sciences that gave experts the tools to manipulate these societies like children do legos. Or so said the writers of the COIN guide FM 3-24 …

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A lesson about counterinsurgency that could change America’s future.

By / 9 Comments / 4 June 2015

Summary: As we move forward to a new round of interventions let’s take a moment to look backwards. What can we learn from our failed interventions since 9/11, and more generally from the scores of failed counterinsurgency programs waged by foreign armies since WWII (when Mao brought 4GW to maturity)? There is a simple lesson, …

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