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David A. Bradt, MD, MPH
The Johns Hopkins Hospital Baltimore, Md

JAMA. 1994;271(10):745-746.

	Since this article does not have an abstract, we have provided the first 150 words of the full text PDF and any section headings.

To the Editor.

—The article by Drs Geiger and Cook-Deegan¹ cites a Physicians for Human Rights (PHR) report on Kurdish refugee relief after the Gulf War. This report is said to have "contributed to a governmental decision to mount a more effective relief effort." This statement typifies the behavior of civilian disaster intervenors who self-assert their impact as humanitarian change agents in a military theatre.

Sandler et al² reported on the PHR mission as follows: "After returning to the United States on April 15, we briefed individuals in those government agencies and the press. On April 16, US policy shifted away from merely delivering provisions by aerial drops to a more comprehensive public health emergency relief operation." Delightful is the notion that our errant military was guided in its relief strategy by PHR.

The self-asserted claims of impact by civilians are not limited to military relief strategy. Claims . . . [Full Text PDF of this Article]

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