May 9, 2008

Social Scientist in Army's 'Human Terrain' Program Dies in Afghanistan

Michael V. Bhatia, a graduate student in political science who was serving as a civilian employee of the U.S. Army’s Human Terrain program, died on Wednesday in Afghanistan.

Mr. Bhatia graduated from Brown University in 1999 and was pursuing a doctorate in political science and international relations at the University of Oxford. Since late last year, he had been working with the Army’s 82nd Airborne Division as part of the Human Terrain program, a controversial effort in which scholars advise military personnel about local social structures.

The program has prompted widespread criticism, but Mr. Bhatia strongly supported it, according to a memorial notice that was posted on Thursday by Brown’s Watson Institute for International Studies.

The institute quoted a November 2007 letter in which Mr. Bhatia wrote, “The program has a real chance of reducing both the Afghan and American lives lost, as well as ensuring that the US/NATO/ISAF strategy becomes better attuned to the population’s concerns, views, criticisms, and interests and better supports the Government of Afghanistan.”

The Watson Institute’s notice does not describe the circumstances of Mr. Bhatia’s death, but an e-mail message circulated on Thursday said that he had been killed by a roadside bomb near Khost, an eastern city near the Pakistan border, perhaps in an incident reported by the Voice of America. Two NATO soldiers died in that same attack.

A spokeswoman for the Department of Defense declined to comment on Thursday, citing a policy that forbids public discussion of casualties until at least 24 hours after the next of kin have been notified.

After graduating from Brown, Mr. Bhatia worked for several nongovernmental organizations and conducted research in East Timor and Kosovo. He was an author of two books, one of which was published just last month.

In a 2004 paper, Mr. Bhatia and two colleagues criticized the management of the NATO-led intervention in Afghanistan, arguing that U.S. and NATO troops relied too heavily on local militias and warlords and had done too little to help ordinary citizens feel secure. —David Glenn

Comments

1. What little I can add about Mike is here:

   http://sethresler.wordpress.com/2008/05/09/michael-bhatia/

   We will miss him very much.

   — Seth    May 9, 10:28 AM    #

2. I did not know Mr. Bhatia, but am sorrowed by his passing. I hope that all HTS scholars/scientists can find it in themselves to be as dedicated.

   — Liam Murphy    May 9, 01:38 PM    #

3. Michael was a colleague, and friend, of mine within the Human Terrain System. He was truly dedicated to his work and was an exceptional young man. I will miss him dearly.

   — Joseph Kather    May 9, 03:59 PM    #

4. One recalls the resistance of some army personnel to the use of medical and/or academic skills to further military ends — Dr. Howard Levy, for instance, who refused to train special forces troops in medical techniques for the purpose of winning “hearts and minds” in Vietnam. Dr. Levy went to Leavenworth for objecting.

   — C.S.    May 9, 04:16 PM    #

5. C.S. (post #4): I’m not quite sure what you’re trying to point out (ok, I admit that I’m somewhat dense!). If Dr. Levy was a military doctor, then he most certainly did not go to prison for “objecting” (I spent over 20 years in the military, and a day didn’t go by when someone was not loudy and vociferously objecting to something). If, however, he refused to obey a lawful order (such as training SF troops in legal medical techniques), then it is quite possible that he was found guilty in a court-martial and sentenced to prison.

   Mr. Bhatia died in the company of some of America’s finest — the paratroopers of the 82nd Airborne Division. My heart goes out to his family, friends, and loved ones; I wish I had some magic words that would alleviate your pain, but all I can say is that I am very sorry for your loss.

   — Bob    May 9, 04:48 PM    #

6. I just read the comments and note of thedeath of a sincere individual. In my younger days I was once in the 82nd Airborne,even became a citizen while there in l953. Now at 75, hard fgor me to believe iwas there then n but i appreciate the kind words.even if I am 75 years old now.

   — Freddy    May 9, 05:02 PM    #

7. Post # 4 (CS) Levy (an officer) was convicted of willful disobediance of a lawful order (to train Green Beret medics to treat skin disorders), slander and disrespect toward the enlisted men who were his patients, under his command, or his students. His conviction was upheld by the Supreme Court.

   — CitizenShip    May 9, 06:15 PM    #

8. All of the soldiers who are in Afghanistan and Iraq are brave. Deaths like those of this student serve to remind us all just HOW brave. If there is a touch more shock at the scholar’s loss, perhaps it is because so few of us put ourselves on the front lines; it’s easier to sit behind a desk and criticize. My deepest condolences to the families of Mr. Bhatia and the NATO soldiers.

   — Ergum Soloff    May 10, 08:12 AM    #

9. Mike was a great and honorable man. He was a scholar with a great amount of courage and conviction. I worked with Mike and can honestly say the light is a little more dim with his passing.

   — Cliff    May 11, 09:33 PM    #

10. Michael was an exceptionally brilliant and brave man who died doing what he wanted to do most. He was intellectually and emotionally engaged trying to make things better for Afghanistan. It was an honour to share so many ideas and gin and tonics with him.
    Phil

    — philip wilkinson    May 12, 05:54 AM    #

11. I grew up three houses away from mike. He would watch me when my parents would leave, i remember mike when he was 16, he was passionate and i always knew he would do great things. He will be missed.

    — david johnson    May 12, 03:07 PM    #

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