09/27/2001

President George W. Bush
The White House
Washington, DC

Dear Mr. President,

I am writing with a vital recommendation on the humanitarian side of the U.S. response to the terror attacks. It is a lesson that emerges clearly from most of the major humanitarian emergencies of the past decade.

As part of the most senior core team in charge of planning and implementing the U.S. strategy and tactics, a ranking officer should be designated specifically and solely to take charge of humanitarian issues. While all senior members of the U.S. team should be sensitive to humanitarian concerns, it is important to have one individual at the table who is responsible for the complex interplay among military, political and humanitarian aspects of the operation.

The over-riding brief for such a humanitarian affairs officer should be to insure that the interests of Afghan civilians and refugees are protected. If civilian casualties mount, the U.S. operation will quickly lose the support it needs internationally and domestically; we will be seen as willing to sacrifice Afghan civilians in the effort to avenge the tragic deaths of ours.

The humanitarian affairs officer can be either a military or civilian officer; he/she could also be the senior contact point for the UN, other international organizations, and NGOs involved on the humanitarian front. What is essential is that the officer be in the inner circle of those who are running the U.S. part of the decision-making process.

If not, humanitarian issues will get overlooked with very harmful military, political, and humanitarian effects. Desert Storm lacked such a humanitarian focal point and thus the Kurdish refugee exodus was not foreseen and addressed. There is time to avoid a repetition.

Sincerely,

Lionel A. Rosenblatt
President Emeritus