AAA Board Statement on HTS

On October 31, 2007, the American Anthropological Association’s Executive Board passed a statement concerning ethical aspects of the U.S. military’s Human Terrain System (HTS) project. The project, which has received widespread national and international media coverage, embeds anthropologists and other social scientists in military teams in Iraq and Afghanistan.

Ethical and procedural concerns regarding anthropologists working with U.S. military and intelligence agencies have been under investigation by an ad hoc commission of the AAA. The Ad Hoc Commission on the Engagement of Anthropology with US Security and Intelligence Communities will submit their final report on this subject—which extends beyond the particulars of the HTS project—during the AAA’s Annual Meeting in Washington DC.

To facilitate discussion on this subject, the AAA has created this blog as a forum for members to post comments regarding the Executive Board statement and related issues.

Read the Executive Board Statement on HTS

Read the Code of Ethics