21 May 2010
Gun Running, Drugs and Flamenco:
US Army Human Terrain System has it All.
by John Stanton
Reader's Note: Due to the gravity of the allegations/information below,
I immediately submitted the information provided by sources to the US Federal
Bureau of Investigation (FBI). The FBI was mentioned in the information provided
and so it was entirely appropriate to contact/inform them of these
allegations.
"Confirmed," said sources.
A member of the US Army (TRADOC) management team in Afghanistan, according
to sources, is a "gun runner." That individual is allegedly listed in an
"FBI database" and has "ties to Wali Karzai and the drug business."
Another Human Terrain System leader has apparently been accused by "local
nationals
of being a pedophile-touching young Afghan children while
out in the field and making disturbing comments about them." Members of a
US Army Stryker group in Afghanistan have made the same comments.
These comments appear outrageous but, then again, this is the US Army Human
Terrain System. It's a
head-shaker that the
US Army (TRADOC) and Lt Gen. Lennox heaps praise upon it even as the US Congress,
House Armed Services Committee, has said the program needs a
good scrub,
as reported by the authorities on HTS at Wired the Washington Independent.
HASC is to be applauded for this action. And it could not come at a better
time.
In Other News
One team leader resigned recently "due to his team turning on him." Some
members of Human Terrain Team (HTT's) have reportedly taken to wearing side
arms on each leg. Another HTT leader was "dismissed due to incompetence."
In one instance, an HTT member disrupted "a night patrol she should not have
been on." That person quite the HTS program and ended up with a position
at USAID.
Observers say that Dr. Montgomery McFate and Dr. Marilyn Mitchell are overseeing
the development of anthropology training within the program. According to
many, these are the "two most unqualified people" to manage the training.
"This choice assures future failure and possible casualties/fatalities,"
they said. Management, recruitment and training continue to be the weak links
in the program.
Others argue that McFate and Mitchell are qualified PhDs and are up to the
task. Observer's counter that McFate and Mitchell (earns $1,200 USD a day)
have no substantive field work or military experience. Those weaknesses can
lead to gaps in training and, perhaps, deadly outcomes in a combat zone.
Such has been the experience of HTS to date.
Speaking of qualifications
one of the social scientists hired by HTS and deployed to Afghanistan, and
now the butt of
Wired's
Caption Contest, received her PhD at the age of 25.
"Anna Maria completed her doctoral dissertation at the University of Notre
Dame. Her Ph.D. was awarded in Theology with an emphasis in Latino Studies.
The topic of her dissertation, however, reflected a lifetime of interdisciplinary
study. Anna Maria carefully researched the early roots of today's Spanish
flamenco as they are preserved in the liturgical tradition of the New Mexican
Penitentes--a society whose worship presents a time-capsule of medieval Spanish
spirituality. Her research yielded surprising revelations about a historically
unique time and place where Islam, Judaism and Christianity flourished in
community. Her work speaks both of the tragedy of the destruction of this
delicately beautiful balance and the triumph of its continued survival in
the arts. Surprisingly enough, Anna Maria's interest in her culture's ancient
roots revealed a message of cooperation of terribly timely relevance to today's
troubled world."
__________
John Stanton is a Virginia based writer specializing in national security
matters. Reach him at cioran123[at]yahoo.com
John Stanton's Human Terrain System articles:
http://cryptome.org/0001/hts-stanton.htm
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