Welcome to the 1st Aid Site!
Everything First Aid Related...

Red cross teaching taliban fighters first aid, should we shut them down?

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. 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, landmines and roadblocks,

aid and comfort to the enemy. I will never donate to them again.
http://www.theaustralian.com.au/news/breaking-news/red-cross-teaches-first-aid-to-taliban/story-fn3dxity-1225871357493

Almost forgot the link

Public Comments

1. everyone has the right to health and medical care, whether they're the enemy or not.

2. You cant really patch up a 30mm hole lol however yes i never donate to those people anyway , i very rarely donate to any organization until i fully vet and believe in their said cause

3. All fighters, friendly or enemy, have the right to live another day. If you think that's unpatriotic, look here http://www.nragive.com/ringoffreedom/nr_j0199_landing.html .

4. only the ceo a few years ago they had money left over and gave the ceo 2 million dollars as a bonus while still being low on blood.

5. apparently you know absolutely nothing about the Red Cross and what it does if this surprises you

6. Who cares? You do know that we(our military) give them medical attention if they're caught after a firefight. Once a fight is over it doesn't matter if they're an insurgent, civilian or one of our troops they still get medical attention.

The Red Cross teaching them some first aid just takes some of the strain off of our medical staff.

7. What Robert said. U.S. troops provide aid and comfort to any captured enemy fighters, by long tradition, which was more recently formally spelled out in the Geneva Conventions. But this custom predates the Geneva Conventions.

Providing people the training they need to save lives is a good in and of itself. The good in that action is not canceled out because some of the people whose lives are saved might take up arms against you. The ends do not justify the means here, ethically.

8. I'd also like to point out that the ICRC and the American Red Cross (ARC) are two separate things. If you donate to the ARC, then that stays in America. That's most likely the Red Cross that you donate to anyway. When you go to a RC blood drive, it's the ARC, not the ICRC. If you are truly going to boycott the RC and not donate to them (meaning if you donated in the first place and aren't just spouting off the revolutionary statements), don't be close-minded and believe that you are helping Americans. Because you aren't. By not donating to the RC, you are just hurting those who will need that pint of blood, or those who would benefit from the dollars that you spent when the RC is fixing their area up after a tornado hit.

Another thing that you people who are blindly spouting hate fail to realize is that the ICRC is an international organization. They aren't American. They aren't African. They aren't Iranian. No one can be an enemy to the ICRC. Their only enemy is people dying and people in need of medical treatment. Their focus is to stop people from dying and helping those in need. How do you do that? Provide aid to people who are dying and who are in need, regardless of their affiliation. Do you want to hear their mission statement?

"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 war and internal violence and to provide them with assistance."

Please note that it says impartial, neurtral, and independent. Do you know where the ICRC is located? It's located in Switzerland. There is no tie to America at all. Here are their core tasks:

to monitor compliance of warring parties with the Geneva Conventions
to organize nursing and care for those who are wounded on the battlefield
to supervise the treatment of prisoners of war and make confidential interventions with detaining authorities
to help with the search for missing persons in an armed conflict (tracing service)
to organize protection and care for civil populations
to act as a neutral intermediary between warring parties

Their seven fundamental principles are humanity, impartiality, neutrality, independence, volunteerism, unity, and universality.

None of these could be done if they took sides. But now we're on an interesting subject: If the ICRC took sides. What happened if they took the Taliban's side. Who's their enemy now: America. Thus any the ICRC gave to Americans would be a treasonous act. They couldn't help you, because you were the enemy.

Now, let's put them on the "good guys" side. They are now siding with America in the "War on Terror" (/end spooky voice). They are over there in Iraq and Afghanistan helping out treating the wounded American soldiers. EXPLOSION Everyone in the ICRC hospital is dead because they are the enemy of the Taliban. You would have doctors treating doctors, nurses nursing nurses, and more people dying because of the side that was taken. Because the fact that the ICRC is completely neutral, they are given opportunities to go into POW camps and are able to treat captured American, among others, soldiers.

The ICRC was there in WW I. They were there in WW II. They were there, giving aid to Americans AND enemy forces. Realize that our own military code requires the medical staff to give aid to Americans AND enemy forces on the battle field.

So, the next time you go and complain about how the ICRC has just helped one Taliban person learn how to create a splint and saved one Taliban life, realize that the neutrality has also saved many upon MANY American lives.