Aditi Bhan
Assistant Editor
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<< The growing insurgency throughout the world is giving rise to a new way of thinking. In the hunt for long-time peace solutions, governments and security agencies are discovering the power of mapping socio-cultural dynamics of a society >>
USA declared its war against terror in 2001, following 9/11 attacks. It along with its partners attacked Afghanistan for harbouring terrorists and overthrew the Taliban regime. It has been more than 11 years now but the conflict in Afghanistan between the Taliban insurgency and the coalition forces continues.
Terrorism in J&K; Insurgency in North-East; Naxalism in nearly 200 districts of the country. It has been decades now and yet India’s tryst with peace seems a distant reality.
The Iran-Israel conflict refuses to die down, situation in the Arab world remains volatile…
World over, governments continue to struggle with the growing menace of insurgency. The traditional methods of war-fighting are no longer suffice in an age where security forces are finding themselves constantly engaged in low-intensity conflicts. Asymmetric warfare has redefined the rules of warfare. The changed scenario is posing new challenges for governments and security agencies around the world. In their hunt for long-term solutions, they are realising how mapping of cultural information can play a significant role in conflict resolution.
Cultural awareness
No security operation can be planned and effectively executed unless everyone involved in the operation (from the decisionmaker to the low level operator) has an understanding of the motivational factors influencing the population which they are seeking to engage or protect. These factors are generally local and rooted in the geographic experience of a population. As US Army describes on its website, www. army.mil, “Conducting military operations in a low-intensity conflict without ethnographic and cultural intelligence is like building a house without using your thumbs: it is a wasteful, clumsy, and unnecessarily slow process at best, with a high probability for frustration and failure.”
Explains Col John Kedar, Chief of Staff Headquarters Engineer in Chief (Army), MOD UK, “Culture is very important. A counterinsurgency operation does not involve fighting with another army. In these operations, you try to win the hearts and minds of people.”
Human Terrain Analysis (HTA)
Of late, HTA has gained prominence among defence forces, mainly in the US, for it involves in-depth analysis of socio-cultural factors existing in a particular region, esp., in their Area of Operation (AOR). The procedure is helping security forces to better understand and appreciate the local culture and beliefs in places where they were deployed. “The term ‘human terrain analysis’ is often used as shorthand to refer both to socio-cultural analysis and applied human geography. Socio-cultural analysis is usually qualitative and relies on interviews, vignettes and historical and scholarly publications. The applied human geography branch of analysis requires geospatial data – typically coordinates – so that spatial patterns in data can be identified,” said Nathan Hamm. Hamm works as a Principal Analyst of SCIA, LLC, which specialises in human geography data and analysis services.
Ric Diaz, Chief Geospatial- Intelligence, GG-14, DIA, adds, “HTA is the gathering and exploitation of cultural information to provide military commanders and staff planners with current, accurate and reliable data by on-the-ground research on specific social groups. It provides a socio-cultural foundation for decision making.” Diaz was one of the speakers at the recently held conference in London, DGI 2012.
How is information gathered under HTA?
Broadly, each Human Terrain Team (HTT) consists of at least one social scientist, usually an anthropologist, a language specialist and former/ active military personnel. According to Wikipedia, HTT’s job is to provide an updated, user-friendly ethnographic and socio-cultural database of their AOR, that is, data maps showing specific ethnographic or cultural features.
The type of information collected by the team is generally driven by the operational requirements of the force. Various methods are employed for the collection of information ranging from using academic publications to interviewing people. The cultural intelligence thus gathered is shared with the force, which enhances the latter’s knowledge about the region and the people, thus aiding in conflict resolution.
How does cultural intelligence help resolve conflicts?
Diaz describes cultural intelligence as ‘an ability to recognise and understand shared beliefs, values, attitudes and behaviours of a group of people, and to apply that knowledge towards achieving specific objectives.” The process involves in-depth analysis of the background, motivational factors, and behavioural capacities to effectively respond under complex circumstances, he adds.
Ignorance of the traditional beliefs and behaviours of communities in specific regions and geographies have often led to escalation of tension between the natives and the security agencies. The cultural intelligence tries to fill this gap. “It helps them to apply resources better. It helps them to identify and interact with key decision makers in social groups, to understand and respond to the population’s needs and to identify and respond to sources of potential social conflict,” said Hamm.
“Take the case of Afghanistan, for example,” explains Col Kedar, “There are tribal leaders with one son fighting for Taliban and the other for the Afghan National Army. So, no matter who wins, these leaders are always at an advantage. Cultural awareness helps you understand these dynamics of a society.”
“HTA, if done correctly, can predict points of contention in a society. This way, the policy makers can identify the problem areas and accordingly try to solve it,” explained Patrick D. Warfle, Deputy Director of Military Support, ODMS, NGA, in a recent interview to GeoIntelligence. He illustrated his point by citing an example. “Suppose you have different tribal factions occupying the same geographic area over centuries and share common natural resources. If a shock is introduced to the system, such as an environmental disaster or water resources becoming scarce, this may lead to friction in the society and may cause conflict,” he says.
Challenges
- Data collection involves risk to life – Carrying out field-based research is a very difficult process and involves risk to life. For example, US’ HTT member Paula Loyd, who was surveying the village of Chehel Gazi in Afghanistan, was set on fire by an Afghan national, Abdul Salam in November 2008. Loyd later succumbed to injuries after nearly two months of battle with death. In another incident, Michael V. Bhatia, a member of HTT AF1, was killed along with two other soldiers in Khost, Afghanistan in May 2008 due to detonation of improvised explosive devices.
- Data authenticity – Various methods are employed for collection of information like interviews, historical and scholarly publications, internet and so on. However, care has to be taken for ensuring that the information acquired is authentic. Analysts take a number of precautions in this regard. For example, if information has been provided by a recognised source or organisation, it is considered to be correct with no further validation required.
- Big data and analysis – With the advancement in technology, data is available now from a number of sources. Fusion and analysis of this vast amount of data is a vital task for analysts. Moreover, unless geolocation is embedded in the data stream, the whole process is meaningless.
- Speedy availability of latest data – Understanding the needs of the users and accordingly delivering the required information in near real-time is one of the major challenges before the analysts.
- Standardisation of data – When security forces of different countries are working in a collaborative environment, like in Afghanistan, information gathered by a particular country’s HTT must be available to other friendly forces in a format understood by all. This requires building common standards.
- Need to bridge the gap between the user and the analyst – Human terrain analysts are the single point of contact for cultural or ethnographic questions the deployed forces might have. Hence, it’s important that there is more engagement between analysts and users so that there is better clarity between the two about the needs of the latter.
 “Culture is very important. A counter-insurgency operation does not involve fighting with another army. In these operations, you try to win the hearts and minds of people” – Col John Kedar |
The world experience
Several countries like the US, the UK, Australia, have started applying HTA in their military operations. NATO is also successfully using it in its ongoing war on terror in Afghanistan.
The US – The US Army developed its human terrain programme, the Human Terrain System in response to identified gaps in American forces’ understanding of local socio-cultural environment in the areas where they were deployed. The programme is said to have made dramatic difference in reducing the attacks on US forces in Iraq in 2007. It continues to provide an edge to the forces in Afghanistan. HTS is now an important tool in decision-making at the tactical, operational and strategic levels in the US Army.
The UK – Set up by the UK’s Ministry of Defence, the Defence Cultural Specialist Unit (DCSU) provides cultural awareness training to the British military. The cultural advisors help military commanders identify and understand issues relating to the local cultural, political, social, economic and historical environment.
HTA in India
India poses a unique testing ground for human terrain analysts. Its army is not directly engaged in war with any foreign country but is involved in anti-insurgency operations in J&K and North-East. Naxalism is another major concern for the country. While socioeconomic factors are considered to be the major cause behind the rise of naxalism in the country, people of north-east and J&K have often complained about being marginalised by the central government. Although security forces have been able to bring down the level of violence in these regions, long-time solution can only be achieved by bridging the gap between the people and the administration (both local and central government). The success or failure of various peace plans and economic proposals can only be determined by the equations shared between the government and the locals.
 “Cultural intelligence helps security agencies to apply resources better. It helps them to identify and interact with key decision makers, understand and respond to the population’s needs and to identify sources of potential social conflict” – Nathan Hamm |
A programme like HTA will be able to help government in identifying problems prevalent in a particular zone and accordingly devise the appropriate solution. This way, the solution will not only be specific in nature but will also be directed at a particular group/ zone. The HTA programme is thus likely to address the security and development concerns of the local population effectively.
Future
“Human terrain analysis has a bright future, supporting decisionmakers not only in governments but also in humanitarian assistance, development and business world. Socio-cultural knowledge can improve operational effectiveness for almost any organisation. Additionally, new technologies and the increasing ubiquity of geodata are bringing down the costs and increasing the power of garnering powerful insights into the relationships between people and the places they inhabit,” said Hamm.
Conclusion
It is a well-known fact that asymmetric warfare is here to stay for long. The need is therefore to adopt a new approach for conflict resolution. As Col Kedar says, “The need is to shift emphasis from platform and C2 nodes towards better understanding. We need to understand the people we are dealing with. There is a need to have information on human geography.” HTA shows the way to go ahead in this direction.
It may not enable us to predict what the enemy will do next, but it will help us better understand his motivational factors, modus operandi and other factors which help him flourish. Better cultural awareness will gradually help in eradicating the very foundation on which this warfare survives – the support of the local population.
