In Harmonium

Posted By Marc on February 24, 2009

One of the more frustrating (for me) so-called “contributions” to the discussion of the Human Terrain System (HTS) is coming out of the Robert Young Pelton article – Afghanistan: The New War for Hearts and Minds – over at Men’s Journal.  In particular, it appears as if Pelton – RYP to his friends, many other terms from his opponents – has been called out by several people as to a) his behaviour while embedded, b) his terminology in his article, and c) his motivations for writing the way he did.

It is not the fact that Pelton has been called out that bothers me, it is several other things including

• his reaction to having been called out,
• his volte face on the effects of his writing, and
• his generally smug – some have termed it “snarky” – attitude

Being called out

Let me start by noting that Pelton’s reaction to being called out – in a quite civil, albeit somewhat sarcastic, manner – by at least one blogger (Blue) is, to say the least, over the top.  One post in particular – The Adventurist Gut Punches HTS… Shades Of Meo? (Edited To Clarify Personal Opinion On A Matter Of Public Interest) – posted at Bill and Bob’s Excellent Afghan Adventure, seems to have enraged Pelton.  Apparently, Pelton has sent emails to Blue that, in a recent post, he characterizes as threats.  In particular, Blue posts the following quote

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) (source)

Pelton might, himself, do well to check out the definition of libel

Libel is the written or broadcast form of defamation, distinguished from slander which is oral defamation. It is a tort (civil wrong) making the person or entity (like a newspaper, magazine or political organization) open to a lawsuit for damages by the person who can prove the statement about him/her was a lie. (source)

The volte face

I say this given Pelton’s apparent volte face in his characterization and depiction of 1LT Jones.  In his piece in Men’s Journal, Pelton states that:

Jones, his interpreter Gulam, and I climb up the Hescos — the wire-mesh dirt baskets used as blast barriers — to enjoy a smuggled nightcap under the canopy of stars. (source)

This particular statement highlights a very important point which Pelton does not deny, to whit that he “smuggled” alcohol into his embed despite having signed an agreement that he would not do so.  The relevant sources are these:

Third, he brought a bottle of whiskey with him to Forward Operating Base Morales-Frazier and offered some to the team’s interpreter, which is a violation of US Army general orders.
Dr. Steve Fondacaro & Dr. Montgomery McFate

- Whiskey: Yes, I had a fifth. You may not be aware that there are a number of bars on the base. Gulam is Muslim, so there was no reason to offer him alcohol.
Robert Young Pelton

source: U.S. Army Response to Robert Young Pelton’s The New War for Hearts and Minds, Thursday, Feb. 12, 2009

Crucial to this point is Pelton’s statement that “Jones, his interpreter Gulam, and I climb up the Hescos …to enjoy a smuggled nightcap under the canopy of stars.”  If this is the case, then LT Jones is guilty of being in violation of US Army general orders.  As Blue notes, ” The 1LT is currently under investigation due to Pelton’s assertion.”

Despite the trouble Pelton’s article appears to have brought on 1LT Jones, and his characterization of 1LT Jones in that article (the reader can certainly make up their own minds on the nature of that characterization), Pelton now appears to be pulling a volte face. In a subsequent email which Blue has posted (source), Pelton apparently states that

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.

To which Blue replies

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.

I will not speculate on what those questions may be.  Blue has already done so in a very logical manner with what appears to be decent evidence.

Smugness?

The discussion engenedered by the original article has raised what are, for me, a number of serious ethical concerns.

First, what is the responsibility of a person for the foreseeable results of their actions? The particular construction of that sentence implies that the group enjoyed the “smuggled nightcap”, to which he has already claimed ownership.  Since Pelton knew that alcohol was against US Army general orders (he knew this, or at least stated that he did, by the act of signing his agreement with them), the potential for an investigation and possible court martial of 1LT Jones as a result of his article can only be viewed as “foreseeable”.

If 1LT Jones did not drink, then Pelton, as a professional writer, should have used a different verbal construction that did not imply that he had.  If 1LT Jones did drink, the that was an illegal action to which Pelton acted as the instigator. From the evidence Blue presents (here), Pelton appears to believe that he can act in a manner which denies any responsibility for his actions through the use of what Blue has termed “threats”.  The quotes from Pelton’s emails so concerned Max Forte, that he commented on it here, here, and here.

I will not comment on the “smugness” that of Pelton’s apparent responses; that has been amply discussed elsewhere (e.g. here, here and here).  Nor will I comment on the symbolism Pelton uses on his own (exceedingly commercial) web site except to say that I find his use of plastic soldiers to be both offensive and demeaning to people who put their lives on the line.

Some concluding thoughts

From where I sit, I do not see Pelton’s piece and, most especially, his responses to criticisms, as having contributed to the debates surrounding the Human Terrain System.  I find myself, as often, going back to the words of the Bard.  In this case

Life’s but a walking shadow, a poor player
That struts and frets his hour upon the stage
And then is heard no more: it is a tale
Told by an idiot, full of sound and fury,
Signifying nothing.
Macbeth, Act 5, Scene 5

Postscript: my mind must be wandering!  I wanted to thank Max Forte for spurring me to write this.

Category: Human Terrain System (HTS)
Tags: Human Terrain System (HTS), Robert Young Pelton