NPR had a story on the Human Terrain Systems this morning:

Marines Tap Social Sciences In Afghan War Effort

I have a friend who did a 6 month tour in Afghanistan with HTS last year.  I havnt spoken to him yet about his experiences but would be really interested to hear what he has to say.  Im suprised it took the military so long to integrate anthropologists into the planning (they have been doing it the last 3 years however) but the leadership as well as the troops should have some pretty thorough cultural awarenes and historical training before they ever go into theatre.

CMM

This "discussion" covers some interesting views. 

On one hand, I understand the ethical concern about being involved in military applications -
yet on the other hand - it can only be helfpful to both the soldiers and to the local population if there is an increased awareness of cultural issues, values, customs, etc.  Sensitiizing troops to the culture they are surrounded by will increase the potential for helpful communication, mutual respect and very well could help to decrease unnecessary killing that results from misunderstandings and failure to recognize what is important to the culture. 

Some simple examples - understanding what we might do on a daily basis as normal that other cultures take as an insult - i.e. placing your foot so its bottom points toward someone (ever wonder why the Iraqi's hit Saddam statues with their shoes - or why a shoe was thrown at Bush - both were acts of extreme insults in the culture).