What some of you are failing to appreciate is that the neutrality of the Red Cross doesn't only benefit guerrillas and terrorists. That reputation also gets the Red Cross access to POWs and hostages that might not otherwise get medical attention. If these rebel forces couldn't trust and respect the Red Cross and its humanitarian mandate, if they came to see the Red Cross as just another tool of Western powers, they wouldn't grant the Red Cross access to treat their captives.
Even if the Taliban don't take prisoners, that reputation for neutrality has saved the lives of the prisoners of less ruthless paramilitary groups elsewhere in the world. Trust is an asset that's hard to rebuild once you throw it away.
I'm sure that while allied soldiers don't relish the idea of having to shoot the same insurgent twice, they don't mind the idea that they have a better chance of getting treated themselves if they should get wounded and taken prisoner.
"The worst part about these reviews is they are [subjective]--and their scores often depend on how drunk you got the media at a Street Fighter event." — Mona Hamilton, Capcom Senior VP of Marketing
*Image indefinitely borrowed from BrainBoxLtd without his consent.
