Blurred lines

Omar Dewachi

doi:10.17157/mat.2.2.185

Abstract

The neutrality of medicine and health care professionals in different conflict settings in the Middle East have come under scrutiny in recent human rights reports, and should be seen as part of the broader fallout of the US-led ‘global war on terror.’ The last two decades of US military attacks on health infrastructures in Iraq and the use of polio-vaccination campaigns to track down ‘terrorists’ are acts of war that have further blurred the lines between health care and warfare. The failure of international legal processes and institutions to prevent such assaults or to prosecute those responsible raises questions about the Eurocentric system of checks and balances that shape international humanitarian law and its invocation as a ‘legal’ and ‘moral’ framework.

Highlights

The increase of reported attacks on healthcare professionals and facilities has raised many red flags about the immunity of medicine and health care professionals in different conflict settings
With the help of a local Pakistani doctor and international nongovernmental organizations, the CIA orchestrated a door-to-door vaccination drive months before the attack in Abbottabad in order to locate Bin Laden (Shah 2011). This fake campaign has had a serious effect on the Pakistani health system, triggering a backlash in Taliban-controlled areas where the militant group has banned polio vaccination (Edwards 2014)
Areas in Pakistan have seen an increase in polio cases, raising concerns about efforts to eradicate this global pest that thrives under conditions of war and poverty

Summary

Introduction

Global war and the systematic assault on health care The increase of reported attacks on healthcare professionals and facilities has raised many red flags about the immunity of medicine and health care professionals in different conflict settings. Assaults on civilian populations and healthcare systems have become increasingly normalized.

Results

Conclusion