MSF, Doctors Without Borders Blasts NATO Afghanistan Proposal

...needs the support of international development organizations and non-governmental organizations to provide the "soft power" needed to prevail in such crises.

Fogh Rasmussen complained in a video blog, released Thursday, that military and civilian aid groups currently "don't plan together, don't train together" and hardly share information.

To change that, he said, NATO plans to organize a conference for military planners, NGOs

MSF has negotiated with all warring parties—Afghan and International security forces and opposition groups alike—to keep weapons out of the hospital compounds where MSF is working in Kabul and Lashkargah. Only then do people in need of medical assistance feel secure enough to enter the health facilities, as the absence of all military presence means that the structures will not be attacked by either side.

The suggestion by Mr. Rasmussen that civilian organizations such as MSF should in any way collaborate, or provide 'soft power' to NATO forces, endangers this understanding and makes hospitals, patients, and staff more likely to be targeted by opposition forces.