Journalist Vanessa Gezari answers your questions about her story on the Human Terrain program in Afghanistan for The Washington Post Magazine. She writes from Helmand Province, where she is embedded with a Human Terrain team attached to the Marines. Comments and questions for Gezari are marked in italics.
Vanessa, I enjoyed the article, thank you. I also enjoyed reading the comments, which contained many interesting points.
Given that U.S. policy appears committed to staying in Afghanistan, I think the U.S. military should consider multiple options for improving its ability to protect its troops, counter the Taliban, and provide
security for local Afghans. I understand how other posters have reached the conclusion that those goals are unattainable, and that is certainly a very important strategic discussion. However, the U.S. military is conducting what it has deemed a counterinsurgency, and I think we can discuss the conduct of that counterinsurgency independent of the broader strategic discussion.
Like many of the other posters, I would like to know more about the background of the program, the hiring of the program members, and the alleged difficulty in finding members with knowledge of Afghanistan. Mr. Rosen suggested that as a bare minimum the program members should receive several months of intensive language training. The U.S. military does have a formal lessons learned process; one can only hope that the military intends to provide that training in the future. Mr. Rosen pointed out that officers with common sense should be able to figure out for themselves many of the things that the Human Terrain members will be looking at. Undoubtedly. Countless articles suggest that officers, soldiers, and marines developed an excellent understanding of Iraqi sectarian and tribal workings. However, officers, soldiers, and marines must also plan operations, look after their troops, and fight. My guess is that they would welcome assistance from individuals with at least some formal training, be it in anthropology, tribalism, or conflict resolution, who can devote all of their energy to focusing on the problem at hand and providing candid suggestions to decision makers. Of course if the soldiers feel the human terrain members' presence is a dangerous distraction or unproductive, that should be addressed in the article or future articles.
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