AU graduate student Kanhong Lin co-authored a resolution passed by the American Anthropological Association that condemns the use of anthropological research in torture and calls for the immediate withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq.
The Nov. 18 meeting at which the resolution passed was the first AAA meeting in 30 years in which enough members attended to achieve a quorum and pass the resolution.
Lin and Roberto González, an associate professor of anthropology at San Jose State University, wrote the resolutions in response to recent CIA recruitment of anthropologists and a 2004 report stating that anthropological research had been used to design culture-specific torture.
These resolutions will probably come as a surprise to most AU students. First, it is surprising that the federal government would resort to such a seemingly non-threatening field as anthropology to gain an advantage in the Iraq war.
It's also refreshing that the AAA would come out with such strong vehemence against these actions; their support for these resolutions is clearly demonstrated by the first attendance in 30 years adequate to achieve quorum.
The support of the AAA for these resolutions is a perfect example of the rising American disapproval of the Iraq war. 63 percent of Americans oppose the war, according to a Nov. 17 CNN poll.
Even among the war's staunchest supporters, support for the current U.S. strategy in Iraq is losing ground. A classified memo sent from Donald Rumsfeld to the White House on Nov. 6 and leaked by The New York Times Sunday said, "In my view it is time for a major adjustment. Clearly, what U.S. forces are currently doing in Iraq is not working well enough or fast enough."
These resolutions are just one more reason for the federal government to re-evaluate our policy in Iraq. And with the most politically active students in America, there's no doubt that AU students will be at the head of the fight.
