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A paradox of civilized manslaughter?
« on: 2003-01-09 17:18:07 » |
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A paradox of civilized manslaughter?
http://www.washingtonpost.com/ac2/wp-dyn/A11171-2003Jan4
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U.N. contingency planners estimated that as many as 4.5 million to 9.5 million Iraqis could need food from outside shortly after the beginning of a war and predicted that as many as 900,000 refugees could spill into neighboring countries such as Iran, Turkey, Syria and Jordan.
Three weeks ago, U.N. relief agencies requested $37.4 million to cope with the expected crisis. Tents, blankets and medical kits have been stockpiled in places such as Amman, the Jordanian capital, to be shipped in at a moment's notice. Iran has agreed to open another border crossing where humanitarian goods could be brought in by truck.
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"What world do we live in where humanitarians are the biggest warmongers?" asked Marcus J. Dolder, head of the Baghdad office of the International Committee of the Red Cross. "I don't like it that humanitarians are bulking up. . . . We're very uncomfortable and we don't want to be part of the propaganda, the huge buildup. On the other hand, we have to prepare for the worst and hope for the best. We would be very stupid not to get ready."
Without an official crisis to respond to, he added, there are limits to what groups such as the Red Cross can do. "We can't make formal demarches for something we hope doesn't happen," he said. "We can't do that until the aggression takes place, the first minute, not even a day before. This is all very tricky."
Nonetheless, the Red Cross plans to have on hand enough medical kits to help 7,000 people injured by bombs or fighting on the first day of the war, including syringes, antibiotics, gauze, anesthetics and surgical tools. It also wants to stockpile enough tents, stoves, cooking pots and blankets to shelter 100,000 people at the beginning of any conflict.
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