The reputation of the Taliban already was well-established and did
not require the use of child hostages to convince anyone of the
extremists' venal nature. Even so, the ban on polio vaccination in
northwestern Pakistan -- and the attacks on health workers who defy it
-- is a remarkable example of the Taliban's inhumanity, one that not
only risks the health of about 280,000 of Pakistan's children but also
hampers the world's ability to eradicate the disease.The Taliban
say they will lift the ban after the United States agrees to stop the
use of drone attacks against the extremists. That undermines the logic
of people who would excuse the Taliban their act of blackmail by
suggesting it is logical fallout from the CIA's use of a vaccination
campaign as a ruse to establish the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden.That
was a reckless tactic by the CIA. It gave extremist leaders in
Pakistan's Federally Administered Tribal Areas the pretext to declare
the locally run polio vaccination program also is a cover for American
spies. ...

The Taliban simply see the health of children -- even
their own children -- as a weapon to be used against the U.S. Their
commitment to lift the ban after there is a halt to drone strikes
illustrates as much. If the Taliban truly thought the local health
workers -- or the World Health Organization, for that matter -- were
legions of U.S. spies, they would hardly be prepared to let the
vaccinations resume.The halt to polio vaccination is a terrible
blow to global public health efforts. Just 25 years ago, a quarter of a
million cases of polio were reported in 125 countries. So far this year,
only 91 cases in four countries, Pakistan among them, have been
reported. Who's to say how many children will now end up stricken by a
preventable virus, one that can rob them of the ability to walk, and for
how many more years the virus will claim new victims, as a result of
the Taliban's crime against children.

http://www.lancastereaglegazette.com/article/20120721/OPINION01/207210311/Taliban-takes-kids-hostage-vaccine-ban?odyssey=mod
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