The Weaponization of Disease in the Yemeni and Syrian Civil Wars
Tarnas, Maia C.
2019
- Recent trends in the Yemeni and Syrian Civil Wars indicate that an important shift has occurred in conventional warfare as disease itself has become a tactic of war. This thesis proposes the notion of the weaponization of disease, which can indirectly or directly spread disease throughout a country and has an entrenched role as structural violence. The existence of the cholera epidemic in Yemen ... read moreshows indirect weaponization of disease. Intentional and non-discriminatory bombing campaigns on critical sectors capitalizes on cholera’s endemic nature in Yemen and creates an ideal environment in which the disease can spread. Other actions including the bombing of humanitarian medical facilities, coalition attacks on farms and fisheries, and coalition blockades, remove the population’s ability to seek treatment, clean water and necessary food resources, which therefore allows the disease to spread more throughout the population. On the other hand, the weaponization of disease in the Syrian Civil War is direct because the disease of chemical poisoning is actively inserted into the Syrian population where it otherwise would not exist. The use of chemicals that settle in low-lying areas capitalizes on Syrians’ need to shelter from air raids in these same areas. Indirect actions, such as attacks on health care facilities, personnel, and convoys carrying medical supplies and medicines, allow the acute effects of the chemical poisoning to become chronic. The conflicts in Yemen and Syria create a tragic reality of human rights infractions, suffering, and death. This thesis provides a basic framework to analyze the scale and scope of disease in both these situations to show that effects on health are no longer just collateral damage in the war effort.read less
- ID:
- v118rt16s
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- TARC Citation Guide EndNote
