Anthropologists in Arms looks at the moral and ethical debates surrounding the recent development of 'military anthropology'—particularly the practice of embedding anthropologists with combat troops in Iraq and Afghanistan. Lucas traces the troubled history of social scientists collaborating with national military, security, and intelligence organizations and shows how these complex and frequently misunderstood historical concerns contribute to the contemporary moral controversy. He gives special attention to the Human Terrain Systems project developed by the U.S. Army under the direction of General David Petraeus. Although this project has been criticized as unethical by academic anthropologists in the U.S. and the U.K., Lucas shows that the moral status of that program is much more ambiguous than these blanket criticisms would suggest. Anthropologists in Arms concludes with a call for a thorough review of HTS itself, and suggests alternative strategies for providing anthropological knowledge to military forces engaged in irregular warfare—knowledge that might, in turn, help military forces to ameliorate the suffering imposed on noncombatants, while respecting the privacy, security, and human rights of indigenous populations.

"George Lucas... dares to step into this politically radioactive territory to explain some of the reasons why so many academics are up in arms." - International Journal Of Intelligence Ethics

"This closely and elegantly reasoned work should be read by (and will disturb the opinions of) many anthropologists and even a few philosophers.... Highly Recommended." - CHOICE, July 2010

"In this process he helps to widen the universe of discussion by encouraging us collectively to scrutinize the basic assumptions underlying our sense of our moral responsibilities: as anthropologists, social scientists, citizens, and as human beings. For this work, Lucas should be commended." - Collaborative Anthropologies