The Red Cross Training The Enemy (Taliban)

[skyrider 0]

Red Cross Gives First Aid Training to Afghanistan's Taliban, Report Says

More than 70 members of the "armed opposition" received training in April, the Red Cross has said.

The Red Cross in Afghanistan has been teaching the Taliban basic first aid and giving them medical equipment to help fighters wounded in battles with NATO and Afghani forces, The Guardian claimed Tuesday.

More than 70 members of the "armed opposition" received training in April, the Red Cross has said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had offered its medical expertise because it was difficult for the wounded to get to hospitals because of battles, land mines and roadblocks.

The organization aims to remain neutral in the conflict. It has also trained Afghan soldiers, policemen and taxi-drivers who act as a make-shift ambulance service in Helmand and Kandahar.

However, a leading figure in Kandahar's local government, who wanted to remain anonymous, expressed outrage over the development.

He told the Guardian: "They [the Taliban] are like animals, and they treat the people they capture worse than animals.

"They kidnapped and killed an American lady and then wouldn't even return her body. These people don't deserve this help."

The Afghan ministries of defense and interior both refused to comment on what they said was a highly controversial issue.

A NATO spokesman said: "NATO has tremendous respect for the humanitarian work carried out by the ICRC and we recognize the need for this work to be carried out impartially."

Injured insurgents are generally accepted at Afghan hospitals but there have been cases of security forces raiding hospitals and arresting staff for treating the Taliban.



http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/25/red-cross-gives-aid-training-afghanistans-taliban/

[turtlespeed 221]

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Red Cross Gives First Aid Training to Afghanistan's Taliban, Report Says

More than 70 members of the "armed opposition" received training in April, the Red Cross has said.

The Red Cross in Afghanistan has been teaching the Taliban basic first aid and giving them medical equipment to help fighters wounded in battles with NATO and Afghani forces, The Guardian claimed Tuesday.

More than 70 members of the "armed opposition" received training in April, the Red Cross has said.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) said it had offered its medical expertise because it was difficult for the wounded to get to hospitals because of battles, land mines and roadblocks.

The organization aims to remain neutral in the conflict. It has also trained Afghan soldiers, policemen and taxi-drivers who act as a make-shift ambulance service in Helmand and Kandahar.

However, a leading figure in Kandahar's local government, who wanted to remain anonymous, expressed outrage over the development.

He told the Guardian: "They [the Taliban] are like animals, and they treat the people they capture worse than animals.

"They kidnapped and killed an American lady and then wouldn't even return her body. These people don't deserve this help."

The Afghan ministries of defense and interior both refused to comment on what they said was a highly controversial issue.

A NATO spokesman said: "NATO has tremendous respect for the humanitarian work carried out by the ICRC and we recognize the need for this work to be carried out impartially."

Injured insurgents are generally accepted at Afghan hospitals but there have been cases of security forces raiding hospitals and arresting staff for treating the Taliban.



http://www.foxnews.com/world/2010/05/25/red-cross-gives-aid-training-afghanistans-taliban/

Isn't it treason to aid the enemy during war time?

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[wmw999 2,452]

It's the International Committee of the Red Cross -- it's not the American Red Cross. Their mission:

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The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC) is an impartial, neutral and independent organization whose exclusively humanitarian mission is to protect the lives and dignity of victims of armed conflict and other situations of violence and to provide them with assistance.

Wendy P.

There is nothing more dangerous than breaking a basic safety rule and getting away with it. It removes fear of the consequences and builds false confidence. (tbrown)

[Andy9o8 2]

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Isn't it treason to aid the enemy during war time?

Off the top of my head, and strictly re: treason under American law - debates over definitions of "enemy" or "war time" aside - I'd think the issue could only potentially arise if there were individual American citizens actively involved. (Noting that this isn't an American organization; The International Committee of the Red Cross is based in Switzerland.)

I don't see any exposure to non-Americans under the US treason laws. I have no idea how, for example, UK or Canadian citizens might fare under their respective countries' laws.

If I was a lawyer giving advice to an American citizen working for the ICRC, I'd advise him/her to avoid any personal involvement in this, in an abundance of caution. Getting prosecuted by the Federal government is a pretty awful experience; and even if you were to be acquitted, by the end of the day, the legal fees could be ruinous.

[turtlespeed 221]

It seems that there would be quite a few American Citizens doing work with the ICRC.

There is no way, that I am able to find, that would verify that information though.

I'm not usually into the whole 3-way thing, but you got me a little excited with that. - Skymama
BTR #1 / OTB^5 Official #2 / Hellfish #408 / VSCR #108/Tortuga/Orfun

[DARK 0]

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It seems that there would be quite a few American Citizens doing work with the ICRC.

There is no way, that I am able to find, that would verify that information though.

so you think what they are doing is wrong i take it?

for arguments sake lets say there is a firefight between americans and the taliban and an american medic was working on the wounded in the battlefield would it be wrong of the taliban to shoot that medic deliberately?

[billvon 2,998]

>Isn't it treason to aid the enemy during war time?

Nope. And we are fortunate that our enemies agree. Shoshana Johnson sure is.

[Andy9o8 2]

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It seems that there would be quite a few American Citizens doing work with the ICRC.

I'd think that only those Americans who are in some way personally involved in these kinds of direct dealings with Taliban forces might be at legal risk - not every American who just happens to work with or for the ICRC generally.

[Andy9o8 2]

Anyhow, here's a thumbnail discussion of the definition of treason under US law:

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Treason#United_States

[kallend 2,027]

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Isn't it treason to aid the enemy during war time?

"A NATO spokesman said: "NATO has tremendous respect for the humanitarian work carried out by the ICRC and we recognize the need for this work to be carried out impartially."

The national committees and the ICRC are also protected by treaties to which the USA is signatory.

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The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.

[kelpdiver 2]

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Isn't it treason to aid the enemy during war time?

"A NATO spokesman said: "NATO has tremendous respect for the humanitarian work carried out by the ICRC and we recognize the need for this work to be carried out impartially."

That line should cover this subject up nicely, though the OP left it open as to what his opinion was on the matter.

Because the Red Cross is neutral, they have access to POWs that otherwise would not exist. It serves our greater interest to have them present.

[feuergnom 28]

to help the wounded on battlefields here no matter which side they are on was the number one reason the red cross was founded in the first place.

The universal aptitude for ineptitude makes any human accomplishment an incredible miracle

dudeist skydiver # 666

[kallend 2,027]

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It seems that there would be quite a few American Citizens doing work with the ICRC.

I'd think that only those Americans who are in some way personally involved in these kinds of direct dealings with Taliban forces might be at legal risk - not every American who just happens to work with or for the ICRC generally.

The ICRC has legal status to do its humanitarian work impartially, granted by the various Geneva Conventions to which the US is signatory and which are, under the US Constitution Article VI Clause 2, "supreme law of the land".

...

The only sure way to survive a canopy collision is not to have one.