‘Sensor’ to ‘Shooter’ Gap Narrows Again
In the latest issue of Newsweek a sloppy, flawed and misleading article about the US Army’s Human Terrain System appears A Gun in One Hand, A Pen in the Other | Newsweek Iraq War | Newsweek.com. Very shortly thereafter it is swatted down by Dr. Montgomery McFate, the Senior Social Science Adviser to said system. For obvious reasons armed forces are reluctant to get involved in the management of domestic perceptions of conflict. But such things matter a lot. See Failing to Win: Perceptions of Victory and Defeat in International Politics. IMHO, the Human Terrain System is the most sensible thing I’ve heard about the real application of knowledge to warfare in a long time and a vital part of any plan to achieve meaningful ‘information dominance’ in the kinds of wars we actually fight which are those in and ‘amongst the people’. The British Army should be doing it too. I am happy to see at least some parts of the army are getting good at targeting corrosive memes. More of this please.
Friday, 18, April, 2008 at 4:32 am
In what way was Dr. McFate’s reply a “smackdown”? Many of her objections are small or even misleading — barely worth a reply by Newsweek. Such as…
“Social scientists earn “$300,000″ a year - Overstated. This is true only if hazard pay, overtime, and danger pay are included. The base salary is a low six figures.”
“Earn” in normal usage covers all types of pay. And how many people in the US with “low six figure” pay earn overtime?
Her substantial comments were lost amidst this “ankle-biting”, in my opinion.
Friday, 18, April, 2008 at 4:36 am
[...] at the Small Wars Journal (17 April 2008). Abu Muqawama calls this a ”smackdown”; Kings of War says she “swatted down” [...]
Friday, 18, April, 2008 at 6:57 am
McFate is a true cultural determinist, and argues that AQ and Iraqi insurgents methods, organisation and motives are ‘determined’ by their indigenous culture.
So how she explains AQ or other groups are happy to employ women as suicide bombers is beyond me, given that suicide is traditionally taboo in those societies and that women’s participation is traditionally opposed by Sunni militant groups.
Reaching for the revolver…