Iraq 2010–2013

The chapter narrates the 2010-2013 period, discussing the new American Presidency and the use of drones; the release of the Iraq War Logs by WikiLeaks, which enabled IBC to conduct further research into civilian deaths and add thousands more victims to its database; the Human Terrain System, a strategy to manage the far enemy; finally, it provides the context in which we can understand the emergence of the Awakening Councils, which appeared to change the course of the war, by reducing the casualties and by reflecting the power and the influence of a hegemon. By 2010 British forces had left Iraq and US forces were preparing to do the same. President Obama promised a new direction in domestic and foreign policy, defining the struggle as a battle against terrorist organisations. His rejection of neo-conservatism was a rejection of Bush’s policies in the Middle East, which included the occupation of Iraq. Iraq’s human security would be affected by the Human Terrain System, the Awakening Councils and the Arab Uprisings, all of which demonstrated America’s tactics, power and influence; all of which caused further violence and the spillover of wars fought in the Middle East and North Africa.

Dilemmas of the involvement of Anthropology in War: The case of the Human Terrain System

The involvement of anthropology in warfare has a long history. Anthropologists’ performance helps to bridge the gap of cultural awareness of the military in wartime, providing soldiers an understanding of foreign local cultures where they deploy. The establishment of the Human Terrain System is also within the purpose, aiming to fulfill the need of conducting anthropology research on the life of Iraqis and Afghans for the sake of wars in which the United States has involved. This paper attempts to provide a deep look at dilemmas of the involvement of anthropology in wars through systematically reviewing criticism imposed on the Human Terrain System, which is seen as the most controversial program in the history of American anthropology. The Human Terrain System was put under pressure on nine aspects comprising: organizational, financial, institutional, professional, military-strategic, methodological, scholarly, ethical, political. Ethical debates have focused on whether the Human Terrain System achieves golden principles “do no harm” and “informed consent” in anthropology research on battlefields. The advocates claimed that what the organization did is consistent with codes of ethics, whereas the majority of anthropologists violated the codes. Furthermore, what the Human Terrain System did has been considered as challenges for anthropologists and generated negative effects on the anthropological profession.