Health and politics in the 2003 war with Iraq: lessons learned

1Military involvement is often essential for the provision of intelligence, security, and logistical support to international relief organisations (in this article: UN Agencies, non-governmental organisations [NGOs], the International Committee of the Red Cross, and the International Federation of Red Cross and Red Crescent societies). In these situations, however, such organisations have retained overall leadership and control, which is essential for maintaining neutrality of relief workers. However, since the Balkan wars, the US armed forces have increased engagement in humanitarian projects, such as community health and food programmes. Relief organisations believe that this engagement contributes to insecurity by blurring the lines between civilian and military function, and falsely associates them with the military forces. 1,2