This launch marks a major soft power first for Beijing. The cruise is almost certainly inspired by the successes of similar US medical stability operations conducted by USNS Comfort and USNS Mercy. However, it is important to note that, like US hospital ships, Peace Ark is a duel use vessel. America’s hospital ships were originally designed and built to provide medical care during large scale military operations. Likewise, Peace Ark is exactly the type of ship needed during a major amphibious action against Taiwan.
Check out Raymond at Information Dissemination for some good commentary.
Caption: U.S. Navy Petty Officer 2nd Class Angela McLane, assigned to Combat Camera Pacific, documents two Soldiers assigned to Outlaw Troop, 4th Squadron, 2nd Stryker Cavalry Regiment providing overwatch security during the opening of Khalis hospital in Khalis, Diyala, Iraq, Sept. 28, 2008. Photo by Spc. Ronald Wright.
The humanitarian consequences of such attacks showcase the absence of clear-cut rules on what it means in practice to minimize civilian casualties. An updated set of rules may be needed to fit the nature of today’s wars if a better rate of civilian protection is to be achieved.
Such rules would need to be worked out by states, but nongovernmental organizations and legal experts have plenty of ideas about what they could look like. For example, governments and human rights organization should re-evaluate what exactly constitutes “excessive” civilian casualties or “all feasible precautions” and determine whether some limits might shrink the gray area between “unfortunate” and “unlawful.” Landmine Action, for example, has called on states to curtail the use of explosive weapons in urban areas.
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Today, war crimes by governments are declining in part because the original rules were improved upon and are working to influence military doctrine — even among those governments who never formally signed onto them. But as the Afghan war logs suggest, collateral damage by governments may be increasing in international wars in part because of the absence of such clear-cut rules. It’s time for this to change.
Caption: A third year medical student stands by to welcome Lt. Gen. Karl Eikenberry , to the military medical education center and hospital Aug. 14. The site serves as the only combat medic school for the Afghan National Army.
Previously, I discussed the Guinea Worm Ceasefire in Sudan. This ceasefire during the Sudanese civil war allowed public health programs to operate in areas of fighting. While temporary, the ceasefire improved the health of the civilian population and helped establish a non-governmental health infrastructure capable of reducing the disease’s prevalence. However, the Guinea Worm Ceasefire is just one example of health related cooperation between belligerents.
Government and NGO health workers in Afghanistan face great risks. You do not need to look far to find proof. Earlier this month a team of NGO health workers was executed by Taliban forces in the north of the country. However, for some health workers conducting polio vaccinations in Afghanistan, safety comes in the form of a one page letter. The letter is an endorsement of the antipolio campaign and is signed by Taliban leader Mullah Mohammad Omar.
The letter, rarely discussed by the media or politicians, is the brainchild of Dr. Tahir Mir, the World Health Organization’s (WHO) head of the polio-eradication campaign in Afghanistan.
“In mid-2007, when Dr. Mir first asked for a Taliban letter of support, polio teams encountered growing difficulties in accessing insurgent-held areas.
At the time, some vaccinators were beaten up and their rosters snatched by local Taliban, because the teams’ frequent home visits and detailed documentation of who lives where aroused suspicions that the health workers were spying on militants. “But now, if they have any problems, they just show the Taliban letter, and it works,” says Khushhal Zaman, the WHO’s polio-eradication team leader for four eastern Afghan provinces, including Laghman.
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Dr. Mir says that, because of the rise in insurgent activities in the previously safe northern Afghanistan, vaccination workers now must carry the Taliban letter in northern provinces such as Kunduz and Baghlan, in addition to the south and the east.
In the insurgent-dominated areas, it’s the Taliban who select the local vaccination teams and their supervisors. These Taliban-appointed vaccinators then receive the vaccine and the documentation from government health offices, and report back the results once the round is over.”
Since the WHO is not allowed to talk to the Taliban direct (due to the United Nations blacklist), Dr. Mir used the International Red Cross and Red Crescent (ICRC) as an intermediary. As per their neutrality mandate, ICRC maintains a strong relationship with the Taliban and even provides insurgents with first aid training and medical support.
The Taliban has provided a new letter of endorsement for every polio campaign, ten times in 2009 alone. While this letter is not a path to peace, it is a rare form of cooperation between the Afghan government, the IGO community, and the Taliban.
I typically avoid posting DoD or NATO public affairs videos. However, this clip from the NATO Channel is excellent. It is the first in a series of videos following Medevac crews from 101st the Combat Aviation Brigade. Medevac is one of the most important developments in battefield medicine and it is good to see these men and women get the credit they deserve. Just be aware that this is a NATO video and not neutral journalism.
Over the last few weeks, I have been monitoring andwritingabout the US military’s role in flood relief efforts in Pakistan. As a service to Conflict Health readers, here is a roundup of the best articles on the topic published in the last week.
As the U.S. carries out rescue missions and pours millions of dollars of relief into flood-ravaged Pakistan, Washington hopes the aid will chip away at the deep hatred and mistrust that many Pakistanis have for America. Though the two nations’ governments remain allies in the fight against terrorism, Pakistanis have long viewed the United States as an exploitative power interested more in controlling their country than nurturing its prosperity.
That stated, the ability to conduct humanitarian assistance has a long and honorable history in the US military and has its place. Taking six-weeks to help people suffering from water-born disease and lack of medical care is a long time to “help” save lives. Most who are in danger of dying now will be dead by the time the ARG/MEU gets there. On the extreme margins, we can help a few – but is that “our” job to save every soul in danger across the world? A Pakistani whose village is much better off than the homeless refugees of Darfur who are walking among the uncounted dead. Where, and at what cost-point, do you say, “enough.” When do the actions of a Republic start to look like the duties of an Empire?
U.S. Army choppers carrying emergency food and water buzzed over the swollen river and washed-out bridges, landing in the valley once controlled by the Taliban. They returned laden with grateful Pakistani flood survivors — newly won friends in a country where many regard America as the No. 1 enemy.
Catastrophic floods in Pakistan have killed more than 1,500 people, displaced at least 12 million, and left 20% of the country under water. Though the World Bank and the United Nations have pledged more than $1.4 billion in combined relief funds, the international community has generally been reluctant to get involved with the troubled Pakistani government. All too eager to aid flood victims, however, are Pakistani terrorist groups that use social services to expand their influence.
Check out blog alumna Erin “Charlie” Simpson mixing it up with Brian Katulis, Jake Shapiro, and Sarah Holewinski (of CIVIC) at the New America Foundation. Shapiro’s thesis is really interesting and important: reducing civilian casualties actually reduces U.S. troop casualties as well. So the supposed trade-off involved between strict ROE and risking U.S. casualties isn’t a trade-off at all once you bother to look at the data. (I met with LSE’s Radha Iyengar before she left for Afghanistan and am excited to see her already kicking some analytical ass.)
On paper, the multipronged project revitalized a backward Afghan province, weaning it off poppy cultivation and winning Afghan hearts and minds.
However, a Monitor investigation reveals that even in spite of a few modest gains, the Afghans here were left angered over project failures, secrecy, and wasted funds.
“We have to repair the social fabric here,” said Abelardo Escobar, a cabinet member sent by Mexican President Felipe Calderón with a new rescue package for Juarez, a $270 million surge in social spending.
The money is paying for schools, hospital renovations, student breakfasts, a youth orchestra, anti-violence training and drug treatment centers. There are funds to promote physical fitness, build eco-friendly houses and support free concerts — 160 projects in all.
Christopher R. Albon Ph.D. candidate at UC Davis researching human security, health diplomacy, and public health consequences of armed conflict. He currently lives in Durban, South Africa. Homepage, Contact, Twitter.
