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For over 50 years the Red Cross has fiercely protected its independence, operating in theatres of conflict with the support of governments worldwide. Yet recent wars - from Somalia to the Balkans - have seen the Red Cross forced to work ever closer with the United Nations and other agencies, jeopardising its independent status and threatening its neutrality. In the 1990s, just how independent is the Red Cross? Focussing on the role of the Red Cross in the Balkan wars, this book scrutinizes the success and failure of all humanitarian organizations, in their attempts to preserve oases of peace and provide emergency assistance to war victims. Written by a senior Red Cross staff member, the book questions the wisdom of attempting to mitigate manmade disasters with humanitarian aid when warring parties appear to do little more than lie about their activities and engage in "abject political conduct". Mercier provides a history of Red Cross presence in the former Yugoslavia during the conflict and identifies key moments and events to examine the changing role of humanitiarian aid in the region in the face of a weakening sense of responsibility on the part of the international community.