These types of actions are contested based on whether or not they follow the code of ethical conduct as defined by the American Anthropological Association (AAA). The ethnographic research method involves a cultural anthropologist embedding themselves within their target population, with the goal of collecting data on local customs, economics, and politics (Online Ethics 2013). These groups of anthropologists pass the data they have collected to military superiors, who will then use the information obtained for a counterinsurgency strategy in the Middle East (Online Ethics 2013). Many viewers object to the idea of ​​anthropologists conducting fieldwork with such poor ethical structure. The American Anthropological Association reported on this subject that "ethnographic inquiry is determined by military missions, not subject to external review, where data collection takes place in the context of war, integrated into the objectives of the counterinsurgency and in a potentially coercive environment […] it can no longer be considered a legitimate professional exercise of anthropology” (Kolowich 2009). Anthropologists carrying out this type of fieldwork risk their lives to acquire this information, which neglects their right to protection in their profession (Online Ethics 2013). Clearly, the failure of the HTS to follow these guidelines put in place by the AAA presents a problem for all anthropologists associated with this subject.