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Subscribe to RSSThe world's reaction to a powerful Taliban commander in northern Pakistan banning the vaccination of 161,000 children against polio, in retaliation against frequent drone attacks by the United States, has been more or less "no comment." That is unacceptable.
Hafiz Gul Bahadur says unless the U.S. stops its frequent drone attacks against the Taliban, he won’t let doctors and public health officials give out free oral polio vaccine to children any longer in North Waziristan, a tribal area on the Afghanistan border. This threat comes at a time of huge progress in eradicating polio worldwide.
By deciding to hide behind babies as a way to fight drones, Bahadur has chosen a strategy that is cruel, immoral and highly unlikely to have any effect on the use of drones. His action ought to bring loud moral condemnation upon him from all quarters of the globe. So, where are world’s major religious and political voices united in loud condemnation of the crass act of targeting the helpless children of Pakistan and Afghanistan with polio?
In reaching his decision to sacrifice the children of his region, Bahadur noted that the CIA had run a phony vaccination campaign in Pakistan to try to obtain DNA from some of Osama bin Laden’s children. The doctor who was allegedly involved, Dr. Shakil Afridi, was recently sentenced by a tribal court in Peshawar to 33 years in prison. Embarrassment over putting a humanitarian vaccine program to use in the effort to find and kill bin Laden may partly account for the relative silence that has greeted Bahadur’s ban on vaccination.
But the notion that letting polio run amok in Pakistan and Afghanistan will teach the world about the horror of drone attacks is manifest lunacy. There are plenty of legal, diplomatic and political forums to debate the morality of drone warfare. The ban on the polio vaccine is not needed to appeal to them.
The success to date in getting rid of this horrific plague stands as a mountain of evidence against those who argue that vaccines don’t work, are not safe, or are nothing but a way for pharmaceutical companies to make a buck. In 1988, the World Health Organization passed a unanimous resolution to eradicate polio from the earth by vaccinating every child. The United Nations, Rotary International, and, later, the Gates Foundation joined the effort. Untold numbers of health care workers from around the globe have dedicated their lives to eradicating the virus.
In 2012, according the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there have been 73 cases of polio reported from four countries. Almost all of the cases were in three countries where the disease is endemic -- Pakistan, Afghanistan and Nigeria. Globally, polio cases are at an all-time low, after the virus was eradicated in India last year.
That positive momentum shouldn’t be hindered by a ban on polio vaccination, whatever the motivation or excuse. The silence over this ban sends a very loud message that killing and disabling kids is an acceptable strategy in war. It isn’t.
The world must make it very clear to Bahadur, and any other leaders tempted to follow his lead, that it will not accept turning back the campaign to eradicate polio, with the certain result of killing and disabling children.
Arthur Caplan is the Sidney D. Caplan Professor of Bioethics at the University of Pennsylvania. After July 1, he will head the Division of Medical Ethics at NYU Langone Medical Center.
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I do feel bad for these children, not only for the fact they cannot get this vaccine, and also because they will grow up in a place as insane as the one they do. With that said. You want to punish us, by punishing your own brothers and sisters? Every one of you beyond your sickening battle stategies is moronic at best. If you want to make life for your own people harder because of some fairy tale @!$%# you believe in, then have at it.
The outrage is missing because the response shows the lack of civility in the Taliban. They have always killed anyone. Only the West views non-combatants as protected. Groups like the Taliban kill anyone who doesn't think like them. The response shows they are not worth being a part of earth's civilization. They know they are playing the sympathy card in the weak Western nations. No politician will come out against them since some Muslim group will scream against them in the West.
The best thing to do is express outrage but where is the Obama administration's response? Our leader and government doesn't have a huge response. Where is the outrage from other groups? There should be a huge Pakistani outrage but nothing.
The ignorant response of some above regarding no need for vaccines shows how effective they have become. You can live without one because it is no longer the huge death threat it was. Some of those replies should have to live like someone stricken with polio. They would change their tune REALLY quick.
Except there are several fatwa's against terrorism
Americans are so overwhelmed with people asking them money to support this political organization or that organization that when hear about or read about a worthy cause as Haiti or the problem with the Taliban effectively KILLING off 160,000 young kids their response is always.....
Its cheaper to let them die than to help.
If America doesn't help in the fight against vaccinating the kids against the polio disease then the parents of those children afflicted with polio will be forced to find a country willing to help.
If the U.S. doesn't help the kids in Pakistan by supplying them vaccines not only is the move in humane but it will also take away from American support in the country when it comes to hunting down terrorists such as Bin laden.
I think Osama's number two is hiding in Pakistan. What a convenient way to throw a cover over his location by disenfranchising Pakistan from America so that Pakistan will not allow American forces into the region.
The terrorists are on the move again.
I'm curious, where's the condemnation from Pakistan? In a perfect world, outside pressure would end such a terrible thing from being done, but we all know that telling Pakistani's, let alone the Taliban what to do amounts to zero, especially when the Pakistani government feels they can do no wrong.
So, my question is, where is the condemnation from the Pakistani Government? Why are they allowing such a stance to be taken, in THEIR country, without word one? Until their own Government cares, there's not a damn thing anyone outside of Pakistan can do to stop this.
what is not acceptable? this taliban guy and any taliban affiliate should just be condemned to death for crime against humanity, not to mention terrorism, simple as that. they want to ban vaccine, well let them do that from their graves.... send them SEAL team 6 to take care of some business quickly, this guy is not even hiding so make it quick.
Sounds like someone needs to be bumped to the top of the drone target list.
This is disturbing. Polio has been nearly wiped out from the planet. Many children across the globe don't take the vaccine because it is now so isolated. We are so close to wiping it out! If for some reason Polio got out and it were to once again spread, there's a whole generation of children at risk across the entire globe, not just in Pakistan. Leaders need to speak up on this issue and pressure the governments to help finnally wipe out this disease that has killed millions over the course of history.
I first read about this the other day. I wasn't angry because there was nothing I could do and I really am unconcerned if the people in those countries choose to ignore what's best for their own children. This is a form of protest or resistance? This is an assault on their enemies? One positive outcome will be that there are fewer Muslim radicals in the future as they will not have survived the illness or will be maimed.
And what would this 'bioethicist' like us to do about it? If the people in these countries allow the Taliban to rule, they're asking for nonsense like this. The muslim world needs to step up and find the courage to get rid of the Taliban, then things like this won't happen. Period.
As far as I'm concerned, that's 161,000 fewer future terrorists for us to have to kill later.
wheres the anger over the 50,000 indian children paralyzed by bill gates polio vaccine?
Dr. Kaplan, How long will it be before you (as a brilliant person) and the rest of the world figures out that (1) this is nothing more than a political ploy, (2) This person doesn't care a whit about the children or anything else other than power, (3) all the chiding of this man means nothing to him or his troops, and (4) we, the U.S. and anyone else that is stupid enough to give this country money or aid of any kind needs to conduct a reality check. We are pouring money and aid down a rathole. These children haven't got a chance in the world nor do the women in that area. Give them the chance to leave. If they don't take it then there's nothing one can do.
In truth, this is our fault. We left that Doctor hanging and now, this is the consequence. These lives are on us.
Where is the anger when drug companies stop making a drug because the profits from it drop.
Where is the anger when poor people have to decide what to buy, Food or medicine.
Where is the anger when the side effects of drugs are worse than what they are treating.
Where is the anger when US citizens pay way more for drugs than other countries.
Where is the anger when certain drugs in Europe are working but can't be sold here in the US.
I feel sorry for the kids in Pakistan who have no choice in the matter. But there are millions in the US who have no choice either.
This is called 'population control' by one of the worst countries in the world.
A country which contributes absolutely nothing at all to the world society that is good and beneficial.
Instead, this sewer pit of a country, who the usa keeps on trying to buy favor with, is one of the most despicable sewer pits on the face of the earth.
pakistan, n korea, china, afghanistan, iraq, iran and saudi arabia are some of the most repressive countries in the world, yet the rest of the world, especially the very stupid, corrupt usa government keeps on trying to buy favors from them.
gag me, let pakistan return to rotting, it is no good for the rest of the world.
Shouldn't the US government be somewhere in that list?
They protect these Taliban bastards. Who cares what happens to their kids, who will grow up protecting the next generation of Taliban bastards.
So why aren't we hearing from all those pro-life people? Oh , I guess it's because these lives are already born, and it's only unborn 'life' that they care about.
Urthmom: In the overwhelming number of these posts, we are not told whether or not those who protest the Taliban's policy of withholding vaccine are or are not prolife people. Where do you get off singling out prolifers?
Yes, Yes, where is the United Nations outrage over this! Oh that's right they are only interested in interfering in a civil war where they have NO business being.
What kind of a country mentality would hold children up as targets to make the world comply with what they want.
We should stop this very minute with any aid, money or anything else.
One of the five pillars of Islam is the giving of alms. Are there those who love being seen giving alms, who want to have crippled beggars on the sidewalks of their cities? Many of their beggars are those who have been crippled by poliomyelitis. Does every society have its hypocrites?
Why should we care? This ass does nothing to help out his countrymen, other than kill them for disagreeing with him. If he really wanted us to stop the attacks, he just has to not support the taliban. Its not like they're doing anything positive anyways. They've killed more of their own people than nato has.
Jarret - The whole point of using drones is so that we don't have to put soldiers in harm's way. There's nothing cowardly about it. What would you rather have happen, send in a group of soldiers, loose half of them, spend the money it takes to transport their bodies back, dish out the benefits to survivors and all that goes along with it, or use a drone to fire a couple of missles on an unsuspecting taliban/aq leader? I'd go for the 2nd choice any day.
Where is the out rage in the US and most likely other governments putting agents in charities to collect blood samples from the citizens of other countries to make a database to track down so called "terrorists." Why wouldnt the taliban ban it when its being used to track them down?
So what are we supposed to do, go to polio War? This is the problems with these Muslims. Now this is the problem of Pakistan and Taliban, so leave us out of this. Take care of your problem. We are coming home and no more war as soon as we finish killing off all our Al Qeida enemies.
Yes, let's all condemn Bahadur for this outrage. That will teach him a lesson and it has been so effective with terrorists in the past. Look, one way or another, these thugs are going to hide behind women and children. The drones must be working, or he wouldn't be threatening to kill babies.
I tend to think that drone attacks are a little too easy. Sooner or later, the drones flying over this country will be armed. Or one will fly into an airliner. But, hey, a little collateral damage should be no problem, so suck it up, USA, it's all for the greater good