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[Note: While the following pledge pertains to anthropologists in particular, it could be extended to any social scientist using an ethnographic methodology.] Dear colleagues, The US Department of Defense and allied agencies are mobilizing anthropologists for interventions in the Middle East and beyond. It is likely that larger, more permanent initiatives are in the works. Over the last several weeks, we have created an ad hoc group, the Network of Concerned Anthropologists, with the objective of promoting an ethical anthropology. Working together, we have drafted a pledge of non-participation in counter-insurgency, which we have organized as a petition (see attachment). We invite you to become a part of this effort by taking the following steps: 1. Download and print the attached pledge (in .pdf format). Ask your colleagues to sign the pledge, and promptly send it to us via regular mail. Our address is Network of Concerned Anthropologists, c/o Dept. of Anthropology, George Mason University, 4400 University Drive, MS 3G5, Fairfax, VA 22030 (USA). If it is more convenient, email a .pdf copy of collected signatures and send it to us at [log in to unmask] 2. Forward this message to your colleagues, and encourage them to sign. 3. Join our network by emailing us at [log in to unmask] Be sure to include your name, title, and affiliation. We will add you to our email list. 4. Visit our web site at http://concerned.anthropologists.googlepages.com/home for more information and updates. Email us at [log in to unmask] if you would like more information or if you have questions. Sincerely yours, Network of Concerned Anthropologists Catherine Besteman Andrew Bickford Greg Feldman Roberto Gonzalez Hugh Gusterson Gustaaf Houtman Kanhong Lin Catherine Lutz David Price David Vine -- Sara Koopman PhD candidate in Human Geography, University of British Columbia, and Spanish translator and interpreter, terminology blog: www.SpanishForSocialChange.com Vancouver cell: 604-719-5233 Seattle cell: 206-200-2520 "Solidarity is not a matter of altruism. Solidarity comes from the inability to tolerate the affront to our own integrity of passive or active collaboration in the oppression of others, and from the deep recognition of our most expansive self-interest. From the recognition that, like it or not, our liberation is bound up with that of every other being on the planet, and that politically, spiritually, in our heart of hearts we know anything else is unaffordable." Aurora Levins Morales, 1998. Medicine Stories. Boston: South End Press.