That Wilfred Brimley Moment..

[RYP]

http://openanthropology.wordpress.com/2 ... ghanistan/

OPEN ANTHROPOLOGY
Questions and Allegations about Robert Young Pelton’s Reporting on a Human Terrain Team in Afghanistan
Posted in COLONIALISM/IMPERIALISM by Maximilian Forte on February 24th, 2009
Robert Young Pelton, the National Geographic channel, illustration by Asaf Hanuka

Robert Young Pelton, the National Geographic channel, illustration by Asaf Hanuka

In a previous post titled, “Bumming a Ride with the Occupation Parade: A Look at Human Terrain Teams in Afghanistan,” I wrote about a new piece of “military travel writing,” specifically that of Robert Young Pelton and his article in the Men’s Journal titled, “Afghanistan: The New War for Hearts and Minds” (21 January 2009). I was not effusive in my praise of the article, but I was struck by some memorable images from a writer who, unlike myself, had actually been to Afghanistan and had traveled with a Human Terrain Team. What was also striking is that it was not the usual kind of American flag-waving piece (I don’t think that Pelton being a Canadian is necessarily the reason for this), it impressed me as written from a detached perspective of someone who was not eager to reproduce official truths, and if something was embarrassing to his hosts, he would print it without feeling he had to pay dues to wrongdoers. I did not even say this much in that post, but that it resembled other writing, but with less ambiguity and cover for the Human Terrain System.

Have I now been given reason to doubt the integrity of Robert Young Pelton, and to retract what I think was valuable about his article? Not necessarily. Yet, there are some questions and allegations that are circulating about Pelton’s “real motives” in writing his article, and these pose additional challenges for analyzing the merits of his work in Afghanistan. Moreover, Pelton himself has, I believe, tended to make matters worse by allegedly threatening at least one critical blogger with a lawsuit on the grounds of libel. (see here, and here). I would prefer to see an open discussion and an airing of all possible facts, rather than trying to silence anyone. In extreme cases, yes, one has to proceed to court, but I am not sure that we have reached such extremes yet.
Who is Robert Young Pelton (aka RYP)? What is Praedict?

The first thing I confess is not doing any research into the background of RYP, primarily because I did not feel it was necessary. I do not need the speaker to be “the right kind of person” before I can quote his/her speech. If Adolf Hitler says, “When there are no clouds, and the sun is shining, the sky is blue,” then I say, “I agree with Adolf Hitler.” That Hitler may be a megalomaniacal, mass murdering scumbag is besides the point if he makes an observation of fact that can be validated, or better yet, a view that meets with considerable intersubjective agreement.

“Old Blue,” the same critical blogger I mentioned above, who writes at Bill and Bob’s Excellent Afghan Adventure, wrote a series of sharp criticisms on my post about Pelton’s article, starting here, claiming (to summarize) that my personal bias allowed me to accept a hack piece that was packed with lies and distortions, and that Pelton had personal business interests for tearing down the Human Terrain System. So this is where this new story really begins.

On his Come Back Alive site, Pelton describes himself in Indiana Jones-like terms that connote danger, adventure, conflict, intrigue, and travel to distant exotic lands filled with guerrillas and mercenaries. He is not marginal in the mainstream media, having produced reports for CNN, CBS’ 60 Minutes, ABC News, the National Geographic Channel, and the Discovery Channel where he has/had his own show called, “The World’s Most Dangerous Places.” (In a map of his world, he ranks Canada as “a vacation with grandma,” and Afghanistan as, “could be your last trip.” Interesting. In my world a vacation with grandma would have been my last trip.)

I would wager that for most anthropologists, all the wrong alarms are sounding now, loudly. Pelton says that he,

“is known for overcoming extraordinary obstacles in his search for the truth. He has made a career of bypassing the media, border guards and the military in his goal of getting to the heart of the story. In his travels to and through the world’s most dangerous places, Pelton has shared risks with his hosts and often has become the sole surviving witness to history-shaping events. His recent journeys have taken him inside the siege of Grozny in Chechnya, the battle of Qala-I-Jangi in Afghanistan, the rebel campaign to take Monrovia in Liberia, inside the hunt for Bin Laden in the Tribal Areas with the CIA, with insurgents during the war in Iraq and running RPG Alley every day for four weeks with Blackwater in Baghdad.”

(I emphasize some words above for purposes that will become apparent below.)

A speakers’ bureau, the Lavin Agency, describes Pelton in these terms:

Robert Pelton’s continuous quest for knowledge and understanding has taken him to remote and exotic areas in more than eighty countries. Among his collection of unbelievable experiences are tales of survival in war-torn Central America, his role in organizing the world’s first television interview of Taliban leaders, and his capture by death squads in Algeria. In his presentations, Pelton never romanticizes war or conflict-he simply takes the opportunity to tell American audiences about the reality of life in other parts of the world, unfiltered by the agendas and political calculations of the mainstream media.

(Going to “remote and exotic” places — no romanticism here? A simple and unfiltered agenda, outside of the mainstream? Let’s see. What we do know is that Pelton has also worked for the mainstream media, and there seems to be a recurring theme of tension, the inside-outsider, the outside-insider, perhaps part of the mystique cultivated by Pelton or others.)

Pelton is also a partner of Eason Jordan, the former Chief News Executive for CNN, in a business venture called Praedict. (Jordan resigned from CNN over remarks he made at a Davos forum about U.S. soldiers targeting and killing journalists in Iraq.) Members of the advisory board include Ted Turner. Praedict, which runs “IraqSlogger,” describes its mission and services as follows:

“Praedict offers the next generation of media and insight. We are a group of well known professionals who have come together from media, marketing, and military backgrounds. Praedict’s CEO is Eason Jordan, and its president is Robert Young Pelton. We offer a synthesis of real-time news dissemination, customized content, and analysis distributed through web-based technology. The business is designed to meet the demanding requirements of news consumers, companies, governments, and NGOs operating in high-risk environments.”

On his own site, Jordan says the following about Praedict:

Praedict is an innovative war zone-focused media company providing customized, up-to-the-minute news, insights, and safety tips to those in harm’s way and their employers. Praedict’s businesses include International Safety Networks and IraqSlogger. Eason Jordan founded Praedict and is its Chief Executive Officer. Robert Pelton is Praedict’s co-founder and President….Jordan felt a top-notch news and safety tip service produced for employers and their employees in war zones would empower those at risk to make more enlightened judgments about their movements and actions–perhaps saving lives.

It’s important to read these descriptions carefully. The passages and words I emphasized are there as clues to how some might read the allegedly “true” intentions of Praedict. I say alleged because nothing is yet proven conclusively. I can find no actual Praedict nor International Safety Networks websites as such. For the latter, all that I found of any substance is this entry, which speaks of ISN as a management consulting service with annual sales of $12 million.
Is there a controversy?

One has to sort what are petty quibbles over descriptive details from larger issues of interpretation and perspective. Let’s turn to some of the larger allegations:
(1) Because Pelton has a business interest, his agenda slanted his writing about the Human Terrain System

If necessary, re-read the business descriptions of Praedict above. Some, like “Old Blue,” suggest that these business ventures are designed to muscle in on the Human Terrain System (HTS), and replace it with Praedict’s services, or to get room for a Praedict contract. Highlighting the deficiencies of HTS is allegedly motivated by Pelton’s business interest, his desire to sell a better product.

Old Blue writes the following:

In the summer of 2008, Eason Jordan, former Chief News Executive at CNN and a partner in two intelligence ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan, approached COL(R) Steven Fondacaro of the Human Terrain System (HTS) with a business proposal. He wanted to sell HTS-related intelligence provided through Praedict in Iraq and AfPax Insider in Afghanistan/Pakistan to HTS. Not having any way to verify information provided through such an outside contract, Fondacaro politely declined.

Old Blue says it was “HTS-related intelligence,” but without further elaboration. While the two Praedict company descriptions above contain elements that might support this ambiguously phrased idea, Praedict does not appear to be either equipped or designed to be a HTS reincarnation, nor would it seem to have anything to offer the military that it does not already have in abundance –rather, Praedict draws from the military.

Old Blue then explains that Pelton sought to be embedded with a Human Terrain Team in Afghanistan, without acknowledging his business connections (not that he has done a marvelous job of trying to hide them either, as we see in this very post):

“We had no idea at the time that Pelton was associated with Eason Jordan,” Fondacaro told me. Eason Jordan’s partners in IraqSlogger, Praedict, and AfPax Insider are Ted Turner, GEN(R) Wesley Clark and Robert Young Pelton.

Apparently Pelton decided against traveling to Afghanistan in the company of Montgomery McFate (the so-called lead anthropologist at the Human Terrain System), on an official visit, and decided to go there on his own. Old Blue states that there was a reason for going by himself, and in advance of his “embed”:

Pelton arrived in Afghanistan days before the embed was to begin. He spent this time in Kabul, marketing his intelligence services to International Security Assistance Force, known as ISAF, commanded by GEN McKiernan.

On September 17th, 2008, Pelton called a member of a team at Bagram Air Field (BAF,) according to insiders. In notes on the conversation, it is noted that Pelton, “bragged about his intel/HT (Human Terrain) consulting contract with ISAF,” says a source who declines to be named, citing security concerns. The source goes on to say that the contract Pelton bragged about included, “cultural advisors, area specialists, polling, and other services.” Pelton, the source explains, “claimed he wanted to see how HTS was operating and that writing an article about us was the best way to get that information.”

So what? Pelton has business interests, everyone he meets and deals with has interests. He has a business venture of some relevance, and what is the problem?

Old Blue advised skepticism, but he has only provided material that is suggestive of cause and effect relationships, but does not demonstrate them. He questions one side in the story, Pelton, but not the other side, the officials who lead HTS. Indeed, he takes their words as unproblematic, and uses them to push the allegation that Pelton’s piece was preemptive, profit-motivated, business propaganda:

Would it make his own intelligence services more marketable if HTS and its management were discredited? Was this article written to assist in furthering his business objectives?

Dr. McFate says, “I don’t feel proprietary about this. I believe in the concept and I want the Army to be successful. If Mr. Pelton feels that he can do this properly, then he can try. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”

Asked about the disturbance caused to the HTS at a very delicate time it its young history, Dr. McFate says, “It’s upsetting if this is an attempt to damage the program. This is not in the public interest.” (source)

Pelton is certainly free to use his time in Afghanistan however he likes — he does not need permission from HTS to market his goods. HTS does not own the U.S. military, nor does it own Afghanistan, nor does it own Pelton’s time. Pelton’s observations that appear to reveal serious problems with HTS are simply additions to much that we already knew about a program that has been in trouble and has indeed been restructured so as to eliminate the private contracting element. But that also strikes out Praedict. That Pelton can have a business agenda — that Hitler can be a murdering bastard — does not automatically and necessarily mean that he has to make up what he writes about, just like it does not mean that Hitler was wrong to say the sky is blue.

Old Blue may be onto something, he may even have the right hunches, but he has not demonstrated what he needs to, and he does not seem to have sufficient evidence to do so. Any supposed threats from Pelton make matters worse for Pelton: they encourage Old Blue into thinking that he really is on the right track.
(2) Pelton fabricates his material, probably because he has something against the Army or the U.S. mission in Afghanistan

Old Blue has dedicated one very long post to disputing each and every little descriptive detail in Pelton’s article in the Men’s Journal. Yet the entire post is premised on belief: what Old Blue believes to be true, without having been in Pelton’s company, without seeing what Pelton saw, or being present at the conversations Pelton has. The driving logic behind the post is, “because it doesn’t sound right to me, it cannot be true.” The post is a bit of a degenerative one, to be polite: it is loaded with snide, personal insults, against Pelton, against anthropologists, and significantly, against anyone who would dare to cast the U.S. mission in Afghanistan in a negative light as an imperialist occupation. The latter slant is what drove Old Blue to this blog, to debate me.

The focus can be on such minute detail that this bigger aim of Old Blue’s seems to be lost. He even disputes whether a helicopter was decorated with a figure of death, and later, when sent a photograph of the helicopter by Pelton himself, Old Blue was forced to publish a retraction. Old Blue had been proven wrong on one point at least — so much for belief, so much for what sounds right.

There is also a very naive logic at work in Old Blue’s approach: given the same objective realities, we will all see the same things, we will see them in the same way, and come to the same replicable and verifiable conclusions. He thinks that is “science.” It is actually rubbish. Old Blue needs to acquaint himself with Rashomon, not Descartes.

Then there is the complaint from Old Blue, as well as McFate and Fondacaro, that Pelton was not respectful towards them, towards HTS, or towards general military orders (such as not bringing alcohol onto a base, that apparently was already loaded with it; such as sharing a drink with a soldier who was not supposed to drink, but who did anyway, and this is Pelton’s fault). My question again is: so what? How is this bad news? How is this a problem?

One would expect, indeed, demand that these “embedded” journalists show far greater independence, not running with the grain, not deferring to authority, not submissive like partners who are not in an embed, but rather just simply in bed. This is where Old Blue’s complaints actually do the opposite of what he intended: they shore up Pelton’s legitimacy and credibility. Indeed, his apparent disrespect and renegade ways seem to perfectly match Pelton’s self-description at the top of this post.
(3) Pelton…Anti-Imperialist?

If Pelton wanted to write against imperialism, then he really fails, and would need to do a lot more work to be convincing on that front. I do not believe there is anything in Pelton’s background, his professional interests, his employment,, etc., that remotely smacks of the anti-imperialist. I did not think so before, and I still do not. When Old Blue associates us, my liking Pelton because he says what I want to hear, his understanding is flawed on that very count: Pelton nowhere comes even remotely close to saying what I want to hear.

Old Blue is falling into a trap of his own making, and that is drinking from the well of Donald Rumsfeld. “Occupation” is an unauthorized word, we must never use it. (Old Blue never offered a credible alternative, let it be noted yet again.) To think that Pelton is somehow the opposition, in the same camp as myself, is to take an extreme binary view like that of George Bush: you are either with us, or against us. And you are against us, it seems, if your writing wavers in any little way from the official line. Indeed, Old Blue himself asked me to read official statements and mission statements to prove that U.S. imperialism in Afghanistan is an “occupation” — again, looking to the official line.
Conclusions? Small Potatoes Do Not a Banquet Make

In his reponse to Fondacaro and McFate, Pelton wrote the following:

Ultimately I believe any outsider exposed to what I saw would have come away with the same disconcerting sense of dysfunction, isolation and frustration but for the record that was not my goal when I first chose to focus on the human terrain program. My goal was to see the program at its best, not its worst.

Since you have the most to gain and the most to lose, I put it back to you: Why not admit that what bothered you about this article was the conduct and problems in the system? I would think that your energy is best spent on fixing the problems, not critiquing someone who points them out.

This does not strike me as coming from someone who has an alternative plan to sell, not if he wants the current one to be fixed. Either way, there is no evidence to back a claim that his motives are anti-military, or cynically guided by his own quest for profit.

That does not stop the “milblogging” pack of hounds though:

there are guys like Pelton out there who are chasing little specks of Pulitzer dust and they know exactly the tone and tenor of the stories they need to write in order to achieve their goal. They are not going to be successful due to our military men and woman who are now able to enter the debate via the World Wide Web. (source)

You can enter the debate, but you need to enter it armed with evidence, and armed with the logic to make the most sense of the evidence. Given the behaviour of the U.S. military and U.S. intelligence, there seems to be a very serious deficit on all of these fronts.

_______
Links to related articles and sources:

* Robert Young Pelton, “Afghanistan: The New War for Hearts and Minds,” Men’s Journal, 21 January 2009
* Steve Fondacaro & Montgomery McFate, “U.S. Army Response to Robert Young Pelton’s The New War for Hearts and Minds,” Men’s Journal, 12 February 2009
* Robert Young Pelton: Response to Fondacaro & McFate, 12 February 2009
* The Lavin Agency: Robert Young Pelton
* AllExperts: Robert Young Pelton
* Wikipedia: Robert Young Pelton
* Bill and Bob’s Excellent Afghan Adventure: Picasso Pelton — Old Blue’s Paint by Numbers
* Bill and Bob’s Excellent Afghan Adventure:Mea Culpa
* Bill and Bob’s Excellent Afghan Adventure: The Adventurist Gut Punches HTS… Shades Of Meo? (Edited To Clarify Personal Opinion On A Matter Of Public Interest)
* The Stupidest Man on Earth: The Pelton Controversy — Colouring the Facts in Afghanistan
* Free Range International: Afghanistan as Vietnam
* Cosmic Iguana: Robert Young Pelton claims U.S. Mercs behind sectarian violence?
* Say Anything Blog: Eason Jordan and his Shill
* Casual Nexus: Robert Young Pelton

_______

Possibly related posts: (automatically generated)

* Robert Young Pelton
* Indiana Jones and the Talky-Talky Team

Tagged with: afghanistan, countrerinsurgency, Eason Jordan, HTS, HTT, Human Terrain System, human terrain team, IraqSlogger, Men's Journal, montgomery mcfate, Robert Young Pelton, RYP, Steve Fondacaro
« Misunderstanding and Misrepresenting the Charges Against Ward Churchill

[Q]

That's all well and good, but how's the beetis?

[Kurt]

I still remember when you "discovered" Johnny Lindh. In one day the New York Post had an editorial that condemned you as a traitor for not skinning him alive or something and the Village Voice had an editorial accusing you of working for the CIA and setting up Lindh.

I still have not bothered to read your article due to fact I am a lazy person who pretends to be too busy....But I think you may have hit on the right path when one side condemns you for not viewing the US military as sacrosanct and the other one suspects you have a morally suspicious business (based on definitions he read online).

I liked how he compared Old Blue to Hitler (well...not really) but he had to do some backpeddling for his audience as to why he agreed with Old Blue and he used Hitler's hypothetical weather observations to do it.

[Grenadier]

The writer is indicating in his comments that he's had page views from State, Pentagon, and House of Reps today. The information there may point to a conflict of interest or a violation of journalistic ethics. What are your thoughts on that, RYP?

[LechoZX]

That's all well and good, but how's the beetis?

Better eat your oatmeal.

[Grenadier]

Does anyone else hear crickets?

[Crickets]

Does anyone else hear crickets?

*chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirpchirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirpchirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirpchirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirpchirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp douche chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirpchirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirpchirp chirp chirp chirp chirp chirp*

[Grenadier]

I did! I did hear crickets!

That's funny! Thanks Crickets.

Still wondering what RYP's thoughts are, though.

[Q]

That's all well and good, but how's the beetis?

Better eat your oatmeal.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pod4jIKT_kA

Best comment ever....

"He should be on the valtrex commercial, "Hi im wilford brimley and i have genital herpiss"

[Zero]

This is why I don't write anything in my real name. "Old Blue" is a great name for someone who likes his anonymity (kind of like zero). Go ahead and re-read the article, replacing "Old Blue" with "Some Guy" and see how you feel about it.

This is an article giving 'two sides of a debate' that is someone with a real name, a real reputation, and a real bio vs some guy who may or may not be what he claims to be, who has already taken space on his blog to post an apology for going overboard with his 'it just doesn't seem right to me' stuff. This means that not only does he have to conform to a higher standard of proof than someone putting his reputation on the line to back up his words, but must take pains to avert suspicion that he is sensationalizing and going off the deep end with 'gut feeling' speculation, as he has already admitted to doing so once before.

[Grenadier]

Oh, snap! Looks like he just showed that RYP was not telling the truth in a comment over at Neptunus Lex. I read the article over on the Observer site, and it looks like RYP does have a business relationship with Turner and Clark. Advisory Board is a business relationship, right?

I guess that depends on what your definition of "is" is, though.

As far as being outed by a blogger, it seems like the writer has made some very good points and done his research pretty thoroughly. I'm still waiting to hear what RYP thinks of the possible ethics implications are for him if there is any point here. RYP, are you saying that you weren't marketing to ISAF as is stated over there? Is the guy lying?

You said on NepLex that he was making stuff up and he slammed you right back with an article detailing your involvement with the very two guys you say you've got no relationship with. How do you not have a relationship with people who sit on the advisory board of a company that you are the co-founder of?

Dude, it looks like you're dancing a lot. Nice job ignoring it, though.

[Grenadier]

By the way, Zero... did you read that "Mea Culpa" over there? I don't think you actually read it. It really doesn't sound like much of a victory to me. Looks like he called RYP a liar in every way that he could without using the word, "lie."

I don't know. I could be wrong. I'll read it again. It looked like another "oh, snap" bitchslap to me.

[Grenadier]

The Triple Snap! Awww, shit... now the same author that RYP started this thread off on is wavering... looks like someone changed their web page today and didn't clear the cache. Now even your boy over at openantropology is wondering about you.

RYP, why did IraqSlogger change that web page? Man, he catches you lying over at Neptunus Lex and then finds out that the website has been changed in the past day? You're getting outed like George Michael.

Dancing your ass off, aren't you?

That's okay, you've still got coldharvest. Loved that picture of him with hair yesterday. He looks better with his head shaved. With hair he looks like Rosie O'Donnell. Yech.

[Jumper]

"Dude sprays 'blog' all over Pelton's chest, and Pelty is rubbing it in like the attention whore that he is." :))))) (I couldn't resist)

So now your quoting from this openanthropology blog? The same group that is currently defending Ward Churchill, with one post below this latest article? So not only are you now supporting blogs, but ultra leftwing libtard blogs? Keep painting yourself into that self serving, Obama loving, uber liberal corner, because it is sucking the objectiveness right out of you. Mwaaa!!!

Ward Churchill love
http://openanthropology.wordpress.com/2 ... churchill/

Also, Old Blue leveled some charges against you, and you should at least post his deal and reply to those charges. (just so the reader knows what 'Maxi-fifty cent' up top is replying to. But that would require you to actually have some integrity.

No, fuck that. I will post it, and you can thank me later Pelty.

Because obviously you do not have the balls to post a reply to Old Blue on his site. Or maybe your lawyers have advised against it? Either way, please.....allow me. :)))))))))))

http://billandbobsadventure.blogspot.co ... nt-by.html

--------------------

Tuesday, February 24, 2009
Picasso Pelton: Old Blue’s Paint By Numbers
We are going to play a paint-by-numbers game. I’m going to lay out the lines with the facts that I know, and I’ll supply the paints. You just paint by the numbers, and we’ll see what picture presents itself by the time we are done. This article includes a basic description of the Human Terrain System and why it is important to the counterinsurgency efforts in Afghanistan, and series of related events that may threaten the program at a critical stage in its development. This will show that Robert Pelton's business partner approached HTS with a proposal to sell intelligence to the program, and failing that, Pelton sought an embed, marketed his own services directly to ISAF without the knowledge of those who had gotten him cleared to enter the country, and then wrote a scathing article about the program.

* Overview of the Human Terrain System
* Delicate Times for HTS
* Eason Jordan markets intelligence to HTS
* Pelton seeks an embed
* Pelton travels alone, markets to ISAF
* The embed
* The article
* Threats to the blogger
* Questions raised
* The picture




Overview of the Human Terrain System

The Human Terrain System is a $132 million program that provides social science information to the United States Armed Forces to assist them in understanding the populations in Iraq and Afghanistan. They map out the social networks in areas of operation, provide context about the concerns of the local population, and assist the military staffs with understanding the human elements of the local environment providing valuable information to commanders on the ground. This assists the commanders in working with and around the populations. It helps the Army to stay population-centric in the solutions that it arrives at when selecting courses of action. This means more effective counterinsurgency strategies. The efficient operation of this program is in the best interest of the Army, and therefore the nation. It is an item of public interest.

Anthropology not being an Army branch, the social scientists have in most cases been civilian contractors. This has provided for the social scientists to be very well compensated, making it a bit more worthwhile to subject themselves to the rigors of combat zones.

The program is not without its critics, both within the Armed Forces and without. The American Association for Anthropology has a very vocal minority that cries out that the program is an unethical use of anthropological science. They claim that anthropologists are using the data to target individuals for death. Commanders who have actually used the output disagree. COL Schweitzer, Commander of the 82nd Airborne's 4th Brigade Combat Team had this to say:

Schweitzer was unequivocal in his support for the HTT. He was conscious of how that might sound to his peers—“whacked,” was how he put it. But he assured me his enthusiasm was grounded in facts. Since February, his brigade had reduced kinetic operations by 60 percent in favor of “non-lethal forms and sets of maneuver,” which had reduced both American and Afghan casualties. More than one third of the districts in his area of operations pledged their support to the Afghan government for the first time. ~ Steven Featherstone, “Human quicksand for the U.S. Army, a crash course in cultural studies,” Harpers Magazine, September, 2008



Delicate times for HTS

HTS is in part comprised of Human Terrain Teams (HTT’s,) of which there are 20 in Iraq and 6 in Afghanistan. The Army has orders for 13 more teams in Afghanistan. Due to the new Status of Forces Agreement (SOFA) in Iraq, civilian contractors will be subject to Iraqi law and under new regulations will not be covered for basic health care by military doctors at military installations. This has forced the HTS to convert the HTT personnel who are currently contractors to government employees. Many of the social scientists are finding themselves looking at pay cuts that in some cases work out to about 70% .

“It’s the only thing that we could do for the long term health of the program,” says a senior program official at the HTS. “I know it’s hard for individuals because it’s not as lucrative, but in the coming weeks we are going to see many programs affected by this making similar choices.”

The $132 million program, a significant enabler of COIN in-theater, is making its way through some rocky parts in its road, perhaps facing the greatest challenges since its inception. There is another challenge.

Eason Jordan markets intelligence to HTS

In the summer of 2008, Eason Jordan, former Chief News Executive at CNN and a partner in two intelligence ventures in Iraq and Afghanistan, approached COL(R) Steven Fondacaro of the Human Terrain System (HTS) with a business proposal. He wanted to sell HTS-related intelligence provided through Praedict in Iraq and AfPax Insider in Afghanistan/Pakistan to HTS. Not having any way to verify information provided through such an outside contract, Fondacaro politely declined.

Pelton seeks an embed

Shortly thereafter, Dr. Montgomery McFate co-author of FM 3-24, Counterinsurgency, was approached by a journalist, Robert Young Pelton, at a social function. Pelton sought to do an embed with an HTT in Afghanistan. Through Dr. McFate, Pelton was then introduced to Steve Fondacaro. Fondacaro, who describes himself as, “the operational side of HTS,” and Dr. McFate as “the social scientist side of HTS,” agreed to embed Pelton with one of their teams.

“We had no idea at the time that Pelton was associated with Eason Jordan,” Fondacaro told me. Eason Jordan’s partners in IraqSlogger, Praedict, and AfPax Insider are Ted Turner, GEN(R) Wesley Clark and Robert Young Pelton.

Fondacaro and McFate approved Pelton to the Army PAO (Public Affairs Office,) which then completed the necessary steps to certify Pelton for the embed. Pelton was put through the process, including signing agreements to abide by the Army’s terms, including agreeing to comply with Army directives while embedded with American units, including a prohibition on gambling, pornography, extramarital sex and alcohol. These are the prohibitions of “General Order Number 1” which apply to all American forces in the theaters of combat. Finally, the embed was cleared.

Pelton travels alone, markets to ISAF

“We planned to take Mr. Pelton on a planned official visit to Afghanistan with us,” Dr. McFate told me, “but then he called us and told us he had found his own way to Afghanistan. We didn’t think much of it.” Pelton arrived in Afghanistan days before the embed was to begin. He spent this time in Kabul, marketing his intelligence services to International Security Assistance Force, known as ISAF, commanded by GEN McKiernan.

On September 17th, 2008, Pelton called a member of a team at Bagram Air Field (BAF,) according to insiders. In notes on the conversation, it is noted that Pelton, “bragged about his intel/HT (Human Terrain) consulting contract with ISAF,” says a source who declines to be named, citing security concerns. The source goes on to say that the contract Pelton bragged about included, "cultural advisors, area specialists, polling, and other services." Pelton, the source explains, “claimed he wanted to see how HTS was operating and that writing an article about us was the best way to get that information.”

The embed

When Pelton joined the team days later at Bagram, arrangements had been made for him to participate in a scheduled mission “outside the wire.” Pelton missed the movement and was left behind while the mission was performed. The team went to great lengths to arrange an ad hoc mission so that Pelton would get a chance to go on a mission. This was when the trouble began.

“I had to tell my interpreter not to interpret his questions to the locals,” a team member reports. “Every time I spoke with an Afghan civilian, he would inject himself into the conversation.” He goes on to say, “He kept asking where the Taliban were. We never ask that. It interferes with what we really need to know. During one engagement that was going well, he blurted out, ‘Ask him where the Taliban are!’ The elder we were speaking with clammed up after that and wouldn’t speak to anyone.”

Pelton was asked repeatedly to cease such activities by 1LT Jones, the military team leader for the mission. At the end of the mission, 1LT Jones complained to his leadership about the trouble that Pelton had given him out in the field. 1LT Jones would later pay the price for his professionalism.

The article

Pelton wrote the article published in Men’s Journal trashing the team with which he was embedded and the HTS in general. He cast 1LT Jones as an idiot. In the final stab at the young First Lieutenant, Pelton claimed that Jones had shared some of the contraband whiskey that Pelton had smuggled into FOB Morales-Frazier. 1LT Jones is now undergoing an investigation into the allegation made by Pelton in his article. The Army had no choice but to investigate such a claim.

The article itself painted a bizarre picture of places, and of operations the types of which this writer is intimately familiar with. Pelton’s article just did not carry the ring of truth. Blogger Tim Lynch stated in his blog, Free Range International that Pelton appeared to be trying to capture the surreal character of Michael Herr’s Dispatches. His description of places and the behaviors of the Soldiers and Marines conducting operations in these places bore little resemblance to what my direct experience would lead me to find believable.

Pelton’s description of the HTT at Bagram was even less kind. Pelton nitpicks the team to pieces in a few sentences.

“What I find most disturbing,” Dr. McFate says, “is that he can take a man who has devoted twenty years of his life to studying Afghanistan and call him a Laotian DNA expert. I don’t understand why he would describe LTC Rotzoll as if he didn’t know what he was doing. LTC Rotzoll is on his fourth tour in Afghanistan, and he is very professional. The team that Mr. Pelton described in that article bore no resemblance to the team that I know.”

This writer took Pelton to task for his article, and in response received a barrage of emails from Pelton containing threats to sue for libel.

Threats to the blogger

If you do even the slightest bit of research on my background you will understand why your unfounded insults will not go uncorrected. I can also tell you that without an earnest attempt on your behalf to correct your malicious actions, the appropriate corrective and punitive relief available to me will be fully enforced. If you choose to be unresponsive, I will take that as proof that you choose to ignore polite requests to mitigate the damage. I strongly encourage you to consult your lawyer and have him define the term "libel" and its potential impact. I will print out a pdf of your website and other comments at exactly 9pm tomorrow evening Pacific time. (from an email dated February 19th, 2009 to me from Robert Young Pelton)



Mr. Pelton bragged on his own site about the tactics of intimidation.

...of all the things on the planet that need to be written about and the last person on earth you would want to call out... Most bloggers can't actually pay up but the cost of defending themselves (whether they are right or wrong) is enough to convince them that their economic model is going to get a whole lot costlier if they can't back up their statements. … often its the only way people realize the gravity and cost of the mistake they have made.



The mistake he’s talking about is pointing out something potentially unflattering about Mr. Robert Young Pelton. He was pointing out that his deep pockets make him right, and he’s not afraid to use them.

Questions raised

These very aggressive emails sent to a relatively unknown blogger caught my interest. It wasn’t fear of a lawsuit as much as curiosity as to why such a vicious response would be directed over a criticism of an obviously flawed and at least partially fabricated story in a second rate men’s magazine. As curiosity took hold, bits of what Mr. Pelton’s disjointed and rambling emails said made more sense.

Pelton even tried to lead me to believe that Fondacaro and McFate had approached him, as if they were begging him to do the embed:

Despite this one embed to satisfy Steve and Mitzi's request…



I talked to Fondacaro and McFate and discovered not only that Pelton had approached them, but also that his partner Eason Jordan had preceded him, a fact that came to light unbidden.

The discovery that he had bragged about marketing his services to ISAF made this passage from a separate email sent the same day as the one quoted above seem to make more sense:

You may not tell people that I work directly for the highest military command in Afghansitan and that my embed was set up at the highest level...but more importantly you need to respect that I busted my ass to see how this program work and it was a fucking disaster at every level. Jones, Rotzell, Fondacaro and McFate believe in this program passionately but are faced with almost insurmountable problems. This article clearly sends a message to the public, congress and the military that people like LT Jones (at 30K a year) do the heavy lifting while lazy anthros cost our government half a million dollars each and do fuck all.



A quick read of the article itself shows no evidence of attempting to show that 1LT Jones was even trying to do his own job. 1LT Jones’ behavior and professionalism was cast into such doubt by the fallacious article that his very career as an Army officer is subject to being ended. The end result of the type of investigation he is being subjected to as a result of Pelton’s writing is a Court Martial. While the assertions of holding 1LT Jones up as a shining example are obviously false, the email does seem to confirm that Pelton feels incredibly empowered and in control of the situation. It also begs more questions.

Assuming that every other person, or even most of them involved in this story may be truthful, Mr. Pelton’s story is slanted in general and at times flatly untrue. Is it possible that everyone else is lying and Pelton alone is telling the truth? If one is to doubt Mr. Pelton’s veracity in the article, which is a conclusion that is reasonably reached, then what is the purpose of, “This article clearly sends a message to the public, congress and the military…?” What message? Why sell this message so strongly in the public forum? What is the goal? Why defend it so viciously against question from even a blogger who is unknown to the general public? What is worth such a ferocious defense?

Would it make his own intelligence services more marketable if HTS and its management were discredited? Was this article written to assist in furthering his business objectives?

Dr. McFate says, “I don’t feel proprietary about this. I believe in the concept and I want the Army to be successful. If Mr. Pelton feels that he can do this properly, then he can try. It’s a lot harder than it looks.”

Asked about the disturbance caused to the HTS at a very delicate time it its young history, Dr. McFate says, “It’s upsetting if this is an attempt to damage the program. This is not in the public interest.”

The picture

I’m calling this one a duck. You can rest assured, based on his previous behavior, that Mr. Pelton will bluster and bully and call it an eagle. He will demand retractions and apologies and insist that I print an apology and call it an eagle. It looks like a duck, it walks like a duck, and it quacks just like a duck.

Once you’ve filled in the numbered areas with the paints provided, tell me what picture you come up with. I bet it’s a duck.

[Zero]

Without specific, independently verifiable evidence, I'm going to assume that the blog in question is entirely in the category of 'makes plausible-sounding shit up, mixes it with anger, and posts it with a backdrop of the American flag'.

By the way, Zero... did you read that "Mea Culpa" over there? I don't think you actually read it. It really doesn't sound like much of a victory to me. Looks like he called RYP a liar in every way that he could without using the word, "lie."

I don't know. I could be wrong. I'll read it again. It looked like another "oh, snap" bitchslap to me.

Yeah I read it. The gist, to me appears to be as follows: Some Blogger says in first post 'no American general would fly around in a helicopter with skulls on it, I feel this to be true deep inside my soul, and because of this, and other things I feel deep inside my soul, I am making a lot of serious accusations'; RYP sends photos of grim reaper on the side of a helicopter, Old Blue posts 'mea culpa' along the lines of 'it was a skull, not skulls, and it was just a teensy skull, and I'm still right about RYP being all sorts of horrible'. This is to say, an apology was warranted, and a backhanded, phony, 'i don't really mean this but I said I'd do it and I always do what I say I will' apology was given.

His 'experience' and 'gut feelings' already led him to anonymously accuse someone with a real professional reputation on the line of outright fabrication, so pardon me for not being interested in anything else he thinks based on 'personal experience', 'gut feelings', or 'anonymous sources', especially if he is planning to accuse the same person of capital crimes (treason and sabotage). I have no idea why RYP does the stuff he does, and admit that it's possible that his motives were less than pure, but in America, we have a proud tradition of both allowing people to face their accusers, and the presumption of innocence.

My personal opinion: I have a moderate background in the social sciences, Afghan culture, the third world in general, and the mechanics of the US (and other) government's operations; when I read the Human Terrain Team manual on wikileaks, my first thought was that it was a good idea, but more likely than not to result in a confusion and failure. They are given a very general mandate, are ambiguously controlled, and have an extremely short logistical tail. To me, this says that depending on a lot of factors, they could be 'self-directed, lightweight, and agile' or 'lacking direction, attention from higher-up, and necessary equipment'.

I also will comment on an aspect of 'Old Blue's' post, which further leads me to believe that he spouts propaganda and vitriol rather than facts. He takes issue with RYP's statements about a 'central database', and goes on about the peaceful intentions of the HTTs, which may be so. However, they are billed as 'providing human terrain advice to the area commander', so from his perspective, this is one of many tools in the toolbox, and he will use information from social scientists in concert with information from more traditional ISR assets to shape both kinetic and non-kinetic operations, and may potentially use it to determine go/no-go on a kinetic operation. The HTT system also has a central reporting mechanism, which implies a central database of HTT reports, which is likely widely accessible to all sorts of 'intelligence consumers' within the USG (including 'shooty-shooty' types), who will use it at their discretion, just like all other 'intelligence'.

I am far from an expert, but given the track record of HTTs in general (which I think even the most ardent supporter would refer to as 'mixed'), the push in the US intelligence community to integrate information from all sources into a coherent whole, and the reclassification of human terrain team members as Federal employees with the 'Intelligence Analyst' job description, I do not think that I am too far off the mark.