I read an interesting article in this month's issue of Wired Magazine. The article discussed US Army advances and successes in Iraq due to Human Terrain Teams (HTT). So I went to the US Army's website and read an article about HTT.  When the US first invaded Iraq, it was unbelievably obvious how little w understood the culture. But now, the Army has made tremendous strides forward in understanding culture. Those missions minded readers might appreciate the following article. Read an excerpt below:

Knowing the Script

Even though Operation Iraqi Freedom is in its fifth year, Lt. Col. Villacres said many in the U.S. military still fail to appreciate the differences between Arab and Western culture.

"Arab society doesn't have any of the common foundations we have," he said.

As a result, it can be difficult for Iraqis and U.S. Soldiers to find common ground, despite good intentions on both sides. Prof. Matsuda gave as an example an instance where U.S. Soldiers thought they had settled a dispute with people in a village by making a condolence payment. But when the Soldiers returned a few days after making the payment, they were attacked. The Soldiers thought they had been betrayed, but in the villagers' eyes, the agreement had never been valid because the traditional reconciliation ritual hadn't been conducted, Prof. Matsuda explained.

Anthropologists believe all societies operate according to a certain "script," Prof. Matsuda said. Iraqis have one script, Americans have another. The HTT's mission is to provide an interpretation of the Iraqi cultural script that will help Soldiers make the right decisions.

The team has carried out that task in ways both small and large. One small way they affected operations came when the brigade was about to put out a wanted poster featuring an image of the scales of justice. Prof. Matsuda pointed out the idea behind the scales of justice was a Greek-derived, Western concept that meant nothing to Iraqis. Instead he proposed changing the poster to show two open hands - an image drawn from ideas in the Quran - in order to make it more resonant with Iraqis.

"We try to find the assumptions and motivations behind what people do," the professor said.

read the rest of the article here: link 

HT: Army Blog