“Soft” Counterinsurgency: Human Terrain Teams and US Military Strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan

119 Pages·2014·1.54 MB·English

by  Paul Joseph (auth.)

“Soft” Counterinsurgency
DOI: 10.1057/9781137401878.0001
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DOI: 10.1057/9781137401878.0001
“Soft”
Counterinsurgency:
Human Terrain Teams
and US Military
Strategy in Iraq
and Afghanistan
Paul Joseph
Professor of Sociology, Tufts University, USA
DOI: 10.1057/9781137401878.0001
“soft” counterinsurgency
Copyright © Paul Joseph, 2014.
Softcover reprint of the hardcover 1st edition 2014
All rights reserved.
First published in 2014 by
PALGRAVE MACMILLAN®
in the United States—a division of St. Martin’s Press LLC,
175 Fifth Avenue, New York, NY 10010.
Where this book is distributed in the UK, Europe and the rest of the world,
this is by Palgrave Macmillan, a division of Macmillan Publishers Limited,
registered in England, company number 785998, of Houndmills,
Basingstoke, Hampshire RG21 6XS.
Palgrave Macmillan is the global academic imprint of the above companies
and has companies and representatives throughout the world.
Palgrave® and Macmillan® are registered trademarks in the United States,
the United Kingdom, Europe and other countries.
ISBN: 978–1–137–40181–6 EPUB
ISBN: 978–1–137–40187–8 PDF
ISBN 978-1-349-48748-6 ISBN 978-1-137-40187-8 (eBook)
DOI 10.1007/978-1-137-40187-8
Library of Congress Cataloging-in-Publication Data is available from
the Library of Congress.
A catalogue record of the book is available from the British Library.
First edition: 2014
www.palgrave.com/pivot
To Leepee
A great second Mom and principled opponent of war.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137401878.0001
Contents
Acknowledgments vii
List of Acronyms viii
Introduction 1
1 Program 11
2 Battle Space 35
3 “Success” 55
4 Violence 80
5 Occupation 90
References and Source Material 101
Index 106
vi DOI: 10.1057/9781137401878.0001
Acknowledgments
Thank you to Maxie McFarland of TRADOC for making
my visit to the Human Terrain System (HTS) training
center possible, and to LT George Mace, Public Affairs
Officer of HTS, for arranging all of the details of my visit
to Leavenworth. The Tufts Faculty Research Fund assisted
with my trip to HTS headquarters. Laurel Hutchison tran-
scribed many of the interviews with skill and good humor.
Yasir Abbas helped with the translation of different Arabic
dialects. My colleagues at the Sociology Department at
Tufts University gave me important feedback on how to
edit the interviews in a responsible manner. Members
of my Spring 2014 Seminar on “War, Peace, State, and
Society” relayed many valuable suggestions on a first draft
of the manuscript even though I had to push them past
their first instinct to be overly kind to their professor.
Sociology Department Assistant John LiBassi helped in
many ways. At home, Linda Schiffman made it possible
for me to complete the manuscript under time pressure.
Finally, my deep appreciation goes to the many current
and former members of the Human Terrain System, as
well as the military commanders, who gave so much of
their time. This manuscript depends on their interviews
and I am grateful for their contribution.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137401878.0002 vii
List of Acronyms
A/O Area of Operations
AAA American Anthropological Association
ADS American Dialect Society
ANP Afghan National Police
BCT Brigade Combat Team
COIN Counterinsurgency
COP Combat Outpost
FOB forward operating base
FOUO For Official Use Only
HTS Human Terrain System
HTT human terrain team
IED Improvised Explosive Device
IRB Internal Review Board
JIEDDO Joint Improvised Explosive Device Defeat
Organization
KLE Key Leader Engagement
NLF National Liberation Front
POO Point of Origin
PRT Provincial Reconstruction Team
PSYOPS Psychological Operations
RRC Research Reachback Center
TRADOC Training and Doctrine Command
viii DOI: 10.1057/9781137401878.0003
Introduction
Abstract: Provides a description of the Human Terrain
System program, its main purposes, outlines a visit to the
training center in Leavenworth, KS, and describes the process
of conducting interviews with HTS personnel and military
commanders who had teams embedded on their staff.
Keywords: Afghanistan; counterinsurgency; human
terrain teams; Iraq; military strategy
Joseph, Paul. “Soft” Counterinsurgency: Human Terrain
Teams and US Military Strategy in Iraq and Afghanistan.
New York: Palgrave Macmillan, 2014.
doi: 10.1057/9781137401878.0004.
DOI: 10.1057/9781137401878.0004 