An Anthropology of War: Views from the Frontline by Alisse Waterston

Author:Alisse Waterston [Waterston, Alisse]
Language: eng
Format: epub
Publisher: Berghahn Books
Published: 0101-01-01T00:00:00+00:00

FIGURE 6 Future Force Warrior Concept Equipped with Helmet Displays and Lightweight Weapon (Department of Defense Public Affairs Office)

Aside from his problematic characterization of guerrilla fighters as ‘primitives’, I think Dunnigan describes perfectly the situation that the US is facing in Iraq today. The Iraqi insurgency is using a mixture of old and new weapons and tactics to foil the US occupation. Would the Future Force Warrior be any better equipped to deal with this situation? Other than improved body armor for protection against explosive blasts, I would say no. Again, Dunnigan is in agreement when he claims (1996: 287): “Technology is not much help in guerilla operations; of more use is good old-fashioned ‘getting to know the locals and the lay of the land.’ As armed forces place more of their emphasis on technology, they become less able to deal with low-intensity warfare and dealing with guerillas. The next decade will reveal whether or not many, or any, nations have decided to deal with this problem head-on and trained for these ‘little wars’ ahead of time.” I think that as long as the military-industrial complex continues to operate as it does now, with new contracts driving further research and development (and corporations profiting handsomely), token gadgets as opposed to more useful training will be the norm. Without the ability to understand the language and culture of the ‘enemy’, no amount of technology, visual or otherwise, will make warfare any easier than it was 3,000 years ago. What will become easier is the ability to kill on a massive scale without fully comprehending the devastation happening on the screen. Night vision, infrared, and virtual reality act simultaneously as amplifiers and filters, mitigating the experience of war.

Acknowledgments

I would like to thank Murphy Halliburton and Shirley Lindenbaum for comments they offered on an early version of this chapter. I would also like to thank Alisse Waterston for encouraging me to submit it for publication. A draft of this chapter was presented at the Eighth Annual Conference of Critical Themes in Media Studies at the New School, New York City.

——————— Jose N. Vasquez is an anthropology doctoral student at the City University of New York. His research with military veterans returning from Iraq and Afghanistan focuses on the politics of veteran status in contemporary US society. He is an active member of Iraq Veterans Against the War and was a key organizer of “Winter Soldier: Iraq and Afghanistan, Eyewitness Accounts of the Occupations,” a four-day event held in 2008 that brought together veterans from across the US to testify about their experiences in Iraq and Afghanistan

Notes

1. By visual technology I mean high-powered lenses, night vision, and infrared devices such as goggles, scopes, and cameras. The advent of virtual reality, which uses computer-generated images coupled with motion sensors and three-dimensional displays, is the next step in visual technology.

2. For an extended discussion of the impact of CNN's coverage of the Gulf War on popular perceptions of war, see Virilio (2002).

3. Berms are earthen mounds used as fighting positions, like foxholes for tanks.

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