Shapiro M F
Ann Intern Med. 1982 Jul;97(1):119-24. doi: 10.7326/0003-4819-97-1-119.
During international or civil wars, private citizens of noncombatant nations often provide medical aid to one or the contending factions. To examine the role of such an aid campaign in a military conflict, I did a detailed historical analysis of the prominent campaign in the United States to provide medical aid to the Republicans during the Spanish Civil War (1936 to 1939). Substantial medical aid was provided that clearly alleviated some suffering, but one of the major objectives of the campaign was to arouse public opinion sufficiently to end the boycott of aid to Republican forces by the American government; this objective was never achieved. I conclude that even a successful medical aid campaign to people in a military conflict may save some lives but may not affect substantially the course of the conflict. Persons who are primarily interested in influencing political or military developments may find tactics other than medical aid campaigns more useful in accomplishing their goals.
在国际战争或内战期间，非参战国的普通公民常常会向某一方或多方交战派别提供医疗援助。为了研究这种援助行动在军事冲突中的作用，我对美国在西班牙内战（1936年至1939年）期间向共和党人提供医疗援助的著名行动进行了详细的历史分析。当时提供了大量医疗援助，这显然减轻了一些痛苦，但该行动的主要目标之一是充分唤起公众舆论，以结束美国政府对共和军援助的抵制；这一目标从未实现。我的结论是，即使是针对军事冲突中民众的成功医疗援助行动，可能会挽救一些生命，但可能不会对冲突进程产生重大影响。那些主要对影响政治或军事发展感兴趣的人可能会发现，除医疗援助行动之外的策略在实现其目标方面更有用。
