Making War More Civilian-Friendly
I don’t say this believing that armed forces ought to “prioritize humanitarian concerns over tactical considerations,” as Dr. Carpenter suggests this trend indicates. I think these actions are being taken strictly out of concern that the US and Israeli militaries really don’t want the bad press, not that they are overly concerned about civilian casualities while engaging enemy forces. But I’m a cynic. I agree with the sentiment, but don’t believe it to be any admission that there’s anything wrong with the use of the Active Denial System or white phosphorus munitions. War will always be hell.
Analysis Of Humanitarian Relief Funding Trends In Iraq Post-2003 Invasion
This represents a significant funding drop since 2003, when billions of dollars were allocated for “reconstruction” and “humanitarian assistance” purposes in Iraq. The United States (US) is now on schedule to complete its withdrawal of half of its combat troops in August 2010 as part of the Status of Forces Agreement to remove all troops by the end of 2011. Accordingly, there are rising concerns about the Multi-National Forces in Iraq (MNF-I) members’ commitment to financing Iraq’s humanitarian sector in the future.
Condition Black: Afghanistan’s Wounded Noncombatants
And that’s where this gets complicated. Even though the NATO hospitals
will report CONDITION BLACK, they will always make room for NATO troops
requiring care; there just is not another option. Not so for the civilian
casualties; in CONDITION BLACK, NATO will either refuse to collect them from
the battlefield, or deliver them to the poorly-staffed Afghan Army hospital
near Kandahar – the only Afghan Army hospital in the entire southern
region – and not capable of complex polytrauma surgery. The result is
that NATO is triaging patients based on nationality vice medical need.
Christopher R. Albon is a political science Ph.D. specializing in armed conflict, public health, human security, and health diplomacy.
Want more? Subscribe to Conflict Health through RSS or email.
Comments on this entry are closed.