Enemy combatant

A vital clue can be found in the way that he responds to the query about his experiences. He says that it is “…like nothing you could ever imagine.” That is strong evidence that he witnessed, or was directly involved in, close contact with enemy combatants in a war zone. There is one thing that is not mentioned in the vignette – a timeline. If the symptom pattern began…

of the rich, but the poor face the true consequences. For example, in past times of war, elites and leaders may have made decisions regarding where to attack the enemy geographically. It has become apparent that as the focus of the war shifted from military battle to destroying entire populations and cities, common civilians and combatants face the greatest consequences of war. It is apparent that even in these times of war, one’s class and placement on the economic spectrum influences the…

There is a dramatic difference between the perspectives of an anthropologist and a politician, both of which I am struggling to balance in a class like Anthropology of Violence. Being a political science major, I understand the positions that governments take, regardless of how morally appalling they may be, however, by taking courses in anthropology, I am open to a whole new interpretation on issues facing our world, particularly violence. Having both of these perspectives is frustrating and…

Within the IC there are 16 separate member organizations, with each falling within or under one of the following groups: independent intelligence agencies, military intelligence, and civilian intelligence and analysis offices within federal executive departments. Within this maze there is a direct line of authority and a line of coordination connecting these elements into a manageable soup. The Director of National Intelligence (DNI), who reports to the President of the United States, leads the…

For two months, as I followed every conceivable lead, Caulder grew nastier, fuming constantly about my incompetence. “What the fuck have you been doing with your time?” he bellowed. “Do you have any idea the flack the department will take, that I will take, if it comes out we killed a guitar player while trying to dispatch an ambassador’s daughter? I’m not letting you jeopardize my reputation—or my retirement.” “It’s not my fault. You taught her every trick she knows.” “She switched sides, Mark.…

Al-Qa’ida (‘the Base’) is an international terrorist organization that was founded by Osama bin Laden in August of 1988. Bin Laden, a son of a wealthy and prominent Saudi family, trained and fought with the mujahedeen in Afghanistan during the 1989 Soviet Invasion of the country. The organization continues to pose a threat to regions of North Africa and the Middle East, as well as various Western countries. This organization seeks to unite Muslims as a means of overthrowing any regimes that the…

Ali Khadery (2014) Three years ago, the Islamic State (ISIS) did not exist; now it controls vast swaths of Syria and Iraq. Showing off its handiwork daily via Twitter and YouTube, Isis has repeatedly demonstrated that it is much more than a transnational terrorist organization – rather, it is an entity with sophisticated command, control, propaganda and logistical capabilities, and one that has proven its ability to take and hold strategically critical territory at the heart of the Middle East.…

the extent appropriate and consistent with military necessity” (The Economist). The U.S. naval base at Guantanamo Bay has held terror suspects since January 2002. Early in the war on terror, the Bush administration argued these detainees were "enemy combatants" who didn 't have the protections according to the Prisoners of War (POW) laws under the Geneva Conventions. This means, the terror suspects were allowed to be tortured with no laws specifically protecting them, until…

As defined by the Rand Corporation (3), agroterrorism is “the deliberate introduction of a disease agent, either against livestock or into the food chain, for the purposes of undermining socioeconomic stability and/or generating fear. Depending on the disease agent and pathogenic vector chosen, agroterrorism is a tactic that can be used either to cause mass socioeconomic disruption or as a form of direct human aggression”. The Department of Homeland Security defines agricultural bioterrorism as…

voluntarily recruited are given the same training. The training given to Children, however, with due regard to their age may be considered inhuman and grueling. As the authors of Human Rights Watch’s 2003 report, “You’ll Learn Not to Cry: Child Combatants in Colombia,” write that the State and non-State groups both teach the children to teach the opposing group without a shred of mercy. They are instructed to kill or torture the opposite sides. They are taught to have absolutely no regard to…