Collection of Links on Military-Civil Reconstruction Projects

Received the following collection of links which merits posting: a broad selection of resources showing the humanitarian and civic action projects being undertaken in Afghanistan by US forces. Might be useful to those of you engaged in the endless debate around Afghanistan, civ-mil debates, involvement of armed forces in humanitarian action, etc.

On the Ground: U.S. Troops, Civilians Bring Goodwill to Afghanistan
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52841

Team Helps to Fight Polio in Konar Province
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52820

U.S. Soldiers Bridge Access for Remote Afghans
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52809

Team Improves Future Prospects for Afghan Village
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52742

School Project Brings Hope to Afghan Province
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52689

Team Holds Weekly Shoe Drive for Afghan Children
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52668

Command Provides Ambulances for Afghan Police Medics
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52662

Afghan, Coalition Leaders Unveil Bridge With Hopes of Prosperity
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52534

Hope is Victory in Afghanistan, PRT Commander Says
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53259

New Roads to Open Up Eastern Afghanistan Province
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53258

Security Forces Provide Safety Net for Reconstruction Mission
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53234

On the Ground: U.S. Forces Help Afghans Combat Winter Weather
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53218

On the Ground: Industry Day, Power Plant Project Attract Afghan Contractors
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53169

Team in Afghanistan Looks to Double Health Care Access
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53155

Program Builds Better Health Care System in Afghanistan
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53152

Paktia Provincial Reconstruction Team Reaches Out to Remote Village
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53107

On the Ground: Americans Help Burned Girl, Train Afghans
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53099

Projects Prove Difficult, But Key to Rebuilding Efforts
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53072

Agribusiness Teams Plant Seeds for Economic Growth in Afghanistan
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53065

Reconstruction Team Serves on Front Line of War on Terror
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53029

Clinic Gives ‘Hope’ to Afghan Village
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53025

On the Ground: Coalition, Afghan Troops Give Fuel, Food, Collect Munitions
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52956

New Bridge Brings Hope, Safety to Afghanistan’s Panjshir Valley
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=52920

Empowerment Program Helps to Educate Afghans
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53712

On the Ground: Troops Provide Medical Care, Necessities to Afghans
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53705

New Afghan Program Supports Community-based Approach to Security
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53686

Coalition Mentors Afghan Army, Police on Jurisprudence
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53661

Special Operations Troops Deliver Smiles to Bagram Children
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53569

On the Ground: Troops Aid Afghans With Security, Supplies
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53520

U.S. Team Helps to Plant Seeds for Afghan Farmers’ Success
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53457

Afghan Women Celebrate Culture, Achievements at Women’s Day Event
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53455

Resource Center to Provide Training, Education for Afghan Women
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53426

Afghan Soldiers Train to Save Lives
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53394

Afghanistan Fight Turns to Economy, Governance
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53369

Coalition, Afghans Find Goodwill at Traditional Afghan Games
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53309

Team Provides Medical Care to Afghan Students, Villagers
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53304

Coalition Troops Care for Afghan People
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53282

Human Terrain Teams Build Friendships, Future
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53281

Soldiers Bring Light to Afghan Marketplace
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54098

Troops Give Afghan Baby Second Chance at Life
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54063

Afghans Bid on Brighter Future
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54041

Afghan Women Find Support in Wardak Province
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54010

Reconstruction Team Completes Afghanistan Canal Project
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53992

International Effort Benefits Afghanistan’s Alasay Valley
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53978

On the Ground: Coalition Medics Treat Afghan Troops, Civilians, Prevent Diseases
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53945

U.S., French, Afghan Forces Team Up to Aid Afghan Villages
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53925

Route-clearance Team Clears Way to Commerce in Afghan Province
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53903

Team Opens Six New Schools for Afghan Children
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53885

Medics Turn Aid Station Into Afghan Emergency Room
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53883

Afghan Girl Gets Help from Soldiers, Americans
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53855

Team Fosters Self-Sufficiency in Afghanistan
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=53802

Civil Affairs Team Brings Change to Afghan Province
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54441

Rural Village Sees Brighter Future With Coalition’s Help
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54371

Health, Security Officials Look to Improve Afghan Health System
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54353

Coalition Team Gives Temporary Shelter to Afghan Students
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54276

Doctor Confronts Maternal Mortality in Afghanistan
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54263

Kansas Agribusiness Development Team Arrives in Afghanistan
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54254

Afghan, Coalition Medics Help People of Herat District
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54188

Special Operations Forces Save Lives After Bomb Attack
http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54286

Sudan Advises Aid Agencies to Accept Military Escort Offer

VOA reports that the Sudanese government is warning UN agencies and aid groups that they should accept military escorts to travel through the Darfur region. This offer follows a day after OXFAM reported they would consider withdrawal from Darfur if the security situation did not improve.

AFRICOM: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing?

Refugees International was invited to testify before the Subcommittee on African Affairs, Committee on Foreign Relations. They have posted the complete testimony entitled AFRICOM: A Wolf in Sheep's Clothing here. Have cut a few clips from the presentation, Mark Malan doesn't waste many words on niceties and gives a comprehensive view of how AFRICOM risks undermining US (and more globally, NGO) interests in Africa:

'In some parts of the world, like Iraq and Afghanistan, the face of US foreign policy is clearly a military one. In Africa, the DoD appears to be putting a civilian mask on the face of a combatant command, with its marketing pitch for AFRICOM. This disingenuous strategy is not working. The veneer of the mask is simply too thin, and attempts to patch the holes that have emerged—by telling us “what AFRICOM is not about” and re-emphasizing a humanitarian and developmental role for the US military in Africa—simply make the face of US foreign policy much shadier....

There is much sense in the argument for inter-agency cooperation; what does not make sense is linking this to a combatant command. According to one of Africa’s leading security analysts, AFRICOM should be orientated to an appropriate and clearly delineated role, with non-military issues kept outside of its grasp: “The much-vaunted inter-agency staff to be included in AFRICOM should be seen for what it is—the further co-option and subjugation of US foreign and development policy to a neocolonial agenda which is inimical to Africa and ironically, to the US itself.”

...The main concern of operational NGOs is that AFRICOM will increase the trend towards the militarization of humanitarian action, which raises fundamental concerns about the purpose of such assistance. Security objectives envisioned in the short term can run at cross purposes to the longer-term vision of creating stable and sustainable institutions that are accountable and responsive to the needs and aspirations of all segments of the population. Such concerns are amplified by the way AFRICOM is being presented as a tool for integrating US military, political, and humanitarian objectives under a unified military command.'

Malan's conclusions are good ones: he proposes that AFRICOM limit its purely extra-miliary role fo defence sector reform and support to the building o African peacekeeping and Standby Force capacity- already a significant workload.

IraqSlogger: Fighting an Insurgency With F-16s

IraqSlogger has a great post entitled 'Fighting an Insurgency with F-16s: Need to Minimize Collateral Damage Leads to Tough Choices'. It gives some real insight on how limiting collateral damages and respecting IHL can in fact 'complicate' war-fighting. Have copied out the text from Michael Yon's observatino of watching an F-16 and a Shadow circling a house where an insurgent ran after shooting a gun at US forces:

'The F-16 and Shadow both beamed down live images of the house where the terrorists had hidden after firing on US forces. Now was option time. Which weapon to use? There were so many choices: mortars, missiles, and cannons of various sorts, among others. With the enemy hiding in the building, an F-16 and a Shadow orbiting in the black above, both peering down on thermal mode, the Battle Captain asked the Air Force experts,(the JTACs) what weapons the F-16 was carrying. As a JTAC started ticking off a long list, I was thinking, “How in the world to do those little jets carry all that?” In fact, I believe they were reading down the list for two jets flying in the same package. They carry a mixture of weapons cross loaded between the jets so that they will have the black magic needed for a likely situation.
In addition to the F-16’s bombs of various sorts, there was the MLRS rocket system dozens of miles away that had been precisely punching rockets through Baqubah rooftops for days. The MLRS had been flattening buildings that were rigged as giant bombs. There were the 155mm cannons on this base that can hit and flatten anything in Baqubah and beyond. The Apache helicopters could spin up with their rockets and cannons. Infantrymen could just roll in. Or tanks. Or Bradleys. Or Strykers. Even Humvees. The idea was to use just the amount of force to kill the enemy fighters, but leave everyone in the surrounds unscathed, if possible. If that was not possible, often they would simply not fire, but other times they would. Judgment call.

By about 0400, the Battle Captain had decided to use 120mm mortars. As a reference, if a 120mm were to land on a car, the car would be obliterated, but a 120mm would not be enough to flatten a decent house. The first round was shot, and the explosion left a black-hot thermal cloud on the two video screens. The impact looked hundreds of yards off target. Successive shots did not hone it, but got worse. It was starting to look like a turkey shoot, so the Battle Captain ordered the mortars to cease fire and refused to consider using the mortars again for that mission.

They discussed dropping a JDAM (a special type of bomb from one of the jets), but were worried about CD (collateral damage). The idea of a strafe run came up but that would likely cause even more CD, and so that idea was also nixed. Things sure look different from the comfort and safety of the TOC, even though the TOC is still so close to the battlefield that often the explosions can be felt from there. Still it’s like being a thousand miles away by comparison to being with the infantry in the dark and danger. (TOCs do get hit by rockets or mortars sometimes.)

The MLRS rockets and JDAMs were good enough to actually hit buried IEDs, and could easily take the house. The F-16 was carrying at least one concrete bomb—literally, just a bomb made from concrete, like throwing boulders at people—but a JTAC said, “We are not dropping a concrete bomb.” For some reason he didn’t want to just throw a rock. Personally, I don’t like to see bombs explode because it means we are still at war. But a strange feeling came over me: I wanted to see the F-16 drop a boulder on the people that shot at our guys. I knew if the rock hit them, the neighbors would be fine.

While they were discussing how best to kill the guys, the F-16 was running low on fuel. The jets flew low in a show of force and rumbled away. I walked to breakfast at 0515 while they were still plotting. I have no idea if they killed them and if they did, what method they finally settled on. But I know that when there is that kind of careful deliberation in the TOC, combined with excellent combat soldiers on the streets, (the low number of civilian casualties) that otherwise would seem unbelievable are believable.'

Iraq- Pentagon tries to learn from Madison Ave. Washington Post - MSNBC.com

'In the advertising world, brand identity is everything. Volvo means safety. Colgate means clean. IPod means cool. But since the U.S. military invaded Iraq in 2003, its "show of force" brand has proved to have limited appeal to Iraqi consumers, according to a recent study commissioned by the U.S. military.'

This is the observation of a Rand Corp report commissioned by the US Joint Forces Command. There seems to be some dry humor in the report, we particularly liked the 'We will help you' brand- wasn't that the underlying rhetoric back in 2003?:

'Helmus and his co-authors concluded that the "force" brand, which the United States peddled for the first few years of the occupation, was doomed from the start and has lost ground to enemies' competing brands. While not abandoning the more aggressive elements of warfare, the report suggested, a more attractive brand for the Iraqi people might have been "We will help you." That is what President Bush's new Iraq strategy is striving for as it focuses on establishing a protective U.S. troop presence in Baghdad neighborhoods, training Iraq's security forces, and encouraging the central and local governments to take the lead in making things better.'

This video must be part of the 'show of force' brand that apparently hasn't worked....

More on AFRICOM

When it rains, it pours- more on AFRICOM:

NYT reports on the announcement of a commander for AFRICOM- pointing out that General William E. Ward is 'the Army's only black four-star general'.

DefenseLink has a more comprehensive press release on the same nomination. DefenseLink now has a dedicated page to AFRICOM.

AFRICOM- North Africa Reluctant to Host U.S. Command

A US delegation visiting north Africa found little interest to host the planned African Command, AFRICOM. Close ally Morocco turned down the offcer, while Algeria and Libya not only refused to host the headquarters, but voiced opposition that neighouring countries host it either.

Public, Private, Non-Profit?- Clear Path International Contracted by DynCorp as part of a US Department of State Contract

The non-profit Clear Path International (CPI) has just received a multi-year contract from DynCorp International to start a landmine survivor assistance program in Afghanistan on behalf of the U.S. Department of State. This is an excellent illustration of how complex working relationships have become in Afghansitan. The press release makes great pains to delineated the particular identities and characters of each group:

- Since 2000, Clear Path International has assisted nearly 4,000 survivors of accidental landmine and explosive remnants of war incidents in Vietnam, Cambodia and along the Thai-Burma border. It has also sent 65 containers of medical equipment and supplies to 25 countries in Asia, Africa and Latin America.

- The Department of State's Office of Weapons Removal and Abatement is one of the world's largest sponsors of mine clearance, risk reduction education and survivors assistance. It has directly funded Clear Path's programs in Vietnam and Cambodia and some of the organization's public awareness and fundraising efforts in the United States.

- DynCorp International is a U.S-based company that provides support services to military and civilian government institutions in such areas as aviation, infrastructure development, security and logistics.

Are there issues in such a blurred public-private-NGO relationship?
As we post on articles such as 'Under fire, aid workers face life as a soft target', and DynCorp staffers being similarly targeted, it does pose questions as to how some agencies are balancing risks and their presence in a context such as Afghanistan.

French military to transport hundreds of toys for refugees in Chad

On a Friday afternoon, all we can say is 'thank you, France' for giving us such a great article to post:

'A small party of officers and men from the army and air force arrived at Quai Branly Museum near the Eiffel Tower on Thursday and helped staff of the UN refugee agency and the museum to load 35 boxloads of toys onto two trucks for transportation to a military airport in Orleans.

The toys, including dolls, model cars, jigsaw puzzles, teddy bears and even a little bicycle, were contributed by French children under a programme run by UNHCR and the museum, which only opened a year ago. Many of the children were at the museum yesterday to send off the toys.

The precious cargo will be flown to the Chad capital, N'Djamena, aboard an air force transport plane on Monday. The toys will then be handed over to UNHCR staff for distribution in refugee camps to children from Sudan's Darfur region and the Central African Republic (CAR).'

Despite telling a thousand words, the caption for the following photo read:
'A French soldier explains to a young boy how the toys he and his friends have donated will reach refugees in Chad.'

Military focuses on development in Africa- CJTF-HOA and AFRICOM | csmonitor.com

CS Monitor has another article on the Horn of Africa CJTF, and how its mixed humanitarian-military mandate is a good model for the evolving AFRICOM structure. There is a continuing stream of articles on AFRICOM (some we have posted on) and also an AFRICOM website.

The article doesn't add much new to the debate. They market the CJTF-HOA in an interesting light:
"CJTF-HOA has served as a test-bed for ideas and concepts, and it has found approaches that work well in several countries on the Horn," says Rear Admiral Robert Moeller, executive director of the AFRICOM Transition Team. "Part of AFRICOM's charter is to be more collaborative, and it's important that our African partners see a consistency in our approach. Whether that's a long-term presence, like CJTF-HOA, or rotational, our engagement needs to be sustained."

Navy ship carries hope for the poor

Been a while since we had a post on military involvement in humanitarian activities- odd, considering the spate of such postings globally in the winter season. The USNS Comfort is steaming to the Caribbean and Latin America, with 800 teddy bears and staff (their statistics), on a 12 nation, four-month tour.

The mission of the Comfort was apparently decided by the Commander-in-Chief himself, notably to treat 85,000 people free of charge, and conduct 1,500 surgeries. While the lengthy article highlights the many great deeds that the hospital ship will conduct, it doesn't mention the practical training value that the ship and its 800 member crew will enjoy during their mission.



Update: more articles on the USS Comfort- also includes video footage.

NATO says review reducing Afghan civilian casualties

The various pledges to reduce civilian casualties in Afghanistan have given rise to this statistically based rebuttal by NATO. Improved procedures and coordination are apparently the reasons for which civilian casualties have declined. Sadly, the ISAF statistics from ISAF are classified, so no proof could be provided.

Meanwhile, a communications breakdown between US troops and Afghan security forces led to a mistaken air strike of a government checkpoint, killing 8 Afghan police officers.

Update: The Agency Coordinating Body for Afghan Relief (ACBAR), an umbrella of more than 90 humanitarian and development NGOs released the following statement that re-opened criticism of multinational forces operating in Afghanistan:

"We strongly condemn the operations and force protection measures carried out by international military forces in which disproportionate or indiscriminate use of force has resulted in civilian casualties..."

DoD Announces the ROTC Language and Culture Project

This is an interesting (and overdue) initiative by the US Department of Defense:

In partnership with Indiana University, San Diego State University, the University of Mississippi and the University of Texas at Austin, DoD will promote the linguistic and cultural skills of ROTC cadets:

'As part of this project, Indiana Universitywill offer scholarships for study at their prestigious summer institute in languages including: Arabic, Russian, Azeri, Kazakh, Pashto, Tajik, Turkmen, Uyghur and Uzbek. San Diego StateUniversity plans to re-shape their military science minor while drawing on the resources of the community around them to teach different dialects of Arabic as well as Farsi and Russian. TheUniversity of Mississippi will offer opportunites for study of Chinese including summers of study abroad. The University of Texas at Austin will invest in material and curriculum to expand their programs in Arabic and Farsi.

Originally posted on Abu Muqawama- thanks!

The Pentagon's New Africa Command

The Council of Foreign Relations has an excellent backgrounder on the New African Command (AFRICOM) announced by President Bush in February.

The article highlights some of the differences between the future AFRICOM and existing Commands:

- 'The Pentagon stresses that Africom’s primary mission will be preventing “problems from becoming crises, and crises from becoming conflicts.”'

- 'It resembles the mission statement of other regional commands, but “the difference is that building partnerships is first and foremost of the strategies which is not necessarily the case with other commands,” says Ambassador Loftis.'
An interesting statement, as the authors frame it, AFRICOM will be more of a diplomacy-development Command, with focus being heavy on cooperation activities with national armed forces, and only a limited capacity for 'kinetic' military operations.

- 'Though Africom will be led by a top-ranking four-star military general, unlike other regional commands, its deputy commander will be a State Department official... Some defense officials say that Africom could function like the interagency task force within Southern Command; in that structure, interagency members have the authority to make decisions without consulting Washington.'
This mixing up of military and civilian staff and agendas is an experiment at a scale not yet attempted by others. Will be curious to see how this aspect is fleshed out over the coming months.

Research- US Marines unlikely to report civilian abuse -study

Some interesting statistical data on the percentage of US soldiers deployed in Iraq. The Pentagon report stated that only 40% of Marines and 55% of Army soldiers would a report a fellow serviceman for killing or injuring an innocent Iraqi. The survey found increasing rates of mental health problems for troops on extended or multiple deployments.

There have been some interesting pieces on the relationship between the prisoner mistreatment at Abu Ghraib and a sharp rise in scenes of torture on prime time television. The prime culprit is the Fox show 24, where hero Jack Bauer is regularly torturing, terrorists, friends and even US officials, all justified by a patriotic sense of 'the end justifies the means'. While we can't make a scientific link, the same Pentagon survey found that over one-third of soldiers and Marines believe torture should be allowed to elicit information that could save the lives of American troops or gain knowledge about Iraqi insurgents. Art imitates reality- or vice-versa?

Canada's Afghan Jitters

The Council on Foreign Relations has an insightful article on Canada's Afghan Jitters.

'Canada’s parliament on April 24 narrowly defeated (NYT) a measure aimed at withdrawing Canadian troops from Afghanistan, in the face of fervent opposition from the country’s Liberal Party. But despite the vote, the debate does not seem likely to go away. As in America, Canadian lawmakers face a public that has turned increasingly anti-war in recent months as they grope for an exit strategy from Afghanistan.'

Dutch Soldiers Stress Restraint in Afghanistan

The New York Times has an interesting article showcasing the Dutch military approach to fighting insurgency in Afghanistan. Whether their approach is truly different or not, the article posits that Dutch 'restraint' is the reason for which they have suffered no combat fatalities since it began operations in Uruzgan province last August.

The approach- and the views of its detractors- can be summed up with this paragraph: 'Its [Dutch military contingent] counterinsurgency tactics emphasize efforts to improve Afghan living conditions and self-governance, rather than hunting the Taliban’s fighters. Bloodshed is out. Reconstruction, mentoring and diplomacy are in. American military officials have expressed unease about the Dutch method, warning that if the Taliban are not kept under military pressure in Uruzgan, they will use the province as a haven and project their insurgency into neighboring provinces.'

The Dutch Commander makes a nice turn of phrase that I can only imagine CIMIC officers will want to adopt in the future: “We’re not here to fight the Taliban,” said the Dutch commander, Col. Hans van Griensven, at a recent staff meeting. “We’re here to make the Taliban irrelevant.”

VOA- East Africa Drought, US troops in Djibouti dig wells, build schools, Feature Stories: East Africa Drought, US troops in Djibouti dig wells, build schools

Voice of America (VOA) ran an article yesterday on the work of US military forces based in the Horn of Africa.

One counter-point to the enthusiasm of the well-received US aid was that of Kenneth Bacon of NGO Refugees International:

"In rare and emergency cases it makes sense for the military to do what only it can do very quickly,” Bacon says. “On a day-to-day basis, I don't think it makes sense for the military to be out distributing aid, vaccinating kids, [and] drilling wells. These are things that can be done by other groups. They can be done much more cheaply and much more effectively by operations like Oxfam or Save the Children or International Rescue Committee or CARE."

TNR- Does the military endanger humanitarian aid workers?

David Bosco has an article in The New Republic Online, entitled, 'Does the military endanger humanitarian aid workers?'. Our friends at PCR Project posted the same piece last week.

The introduction sums up the topography of issues around which the debate is centered:

'The long list of indictments against recent American foreign policy includes one issued by some of the world's noblest people: international aid workers. By cynically and recklessly blending military and humanitarian missions, the charge goes, the United States has blurred the line that once kept aid workers safe and has made them attractive targets for extremists seeking to attack American interests. Innovations like Provincial Reconstruction Teams in Iraq and Afghanistan, which mix military personnel with civilian aid experts have made some humanitarian workers queasy, and the sight of American troops driving around Afghanistan in white SUVs--long favored by aid groups--only made things worse.'

From this point onwards, the argument changes. Basing itself on the Center for International Cooperation's, 'Providing Aid in Insecure Environments:
Trends in Policy and Operations', Bosco concludes that the evidence doesn't fit the charge. Specifically, an increase in attacks on aid workers is a result of an increased number of workers in the field, and not on the blurring of lines between military and humanitarain actors, or the mixing of humanitarian with politico-military agendas.

While Bosco takes a balanced approach in his charting of the issues, in the balance his tone suggests that the future of impartial humanitariran assistance is somewhat cloudy. The debate continues...

Aid still days away for Solomons homeless

Following Monday's Tsunami that hit the Solomon Islands, international peacekeepers were the first responders in assisting civilians affected by the disaster. The peacekeepers, stationed in the country since 2003, evacuated several injured people to hospital in the capital.

'Australia and New Zealand have offered US$2 million in aid, and around 100 peacekeepers that arrived on Wednesday brought with them water, food rations, shelter and other relief supplies. A New Zealand air force Hercules carrying water containers, blankets, tarpaulins, food and lamps also arrived in the islands, with supplies to be ferried by helicopter and boat to the worst-hit areas.'