U.S. To Commit $500 Million, Deploy 3,000 Troops In Ebola Fight

[Purveyor]

Source: TIME

On Tuesday, President Obama will announce more efforts by the U.S. to lead a global battle against the spread of the deadly virus

Zeke J Miller @ZekeJMiller 12:00 AM ET

The United States is dramatically escalating its efforts to combat the spread of Ebola in West Africa, President Barack Obama will announce Tuesday during a visit to the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta.

The unprecedented response will include the deployment of 3,000 U.S. military forces and more than $500 million in defense spending drawn from funding normally used for efforts like the war in Afghanistan, senior administration officials outlined Monday. Obama has called America’s response to the disease a “national-security priority,” with top foreign policy and defense officials leading the government’s efforts.

The officials said Obama believes that in order to best contain the disease, the U.S. must “lead” the global response effort. In the CDC’s largest deployment in response to an epidemic, more than 100 officials from the agency are currently on the ground and $175 million has been allocated to West Africa to help combat the spread of Ebola. Those efforts will be expanded with the assistance of U.S. Africa Command, which will deploy logistics, command and control, medical, and engineering resources to affected countries.

Officials said that the Department of Defense is seeking to “reprogram” $500 million in funding from the department’s “overseas contingency operations” fund to assist in the response. Obama has also requested another $88 million from Congress for the U.S. response, including $58 million to expedite the development of experimental treatments for Ebola.



Read more: http://time.com/3380545/u-s-to-commit-500-million-deploy-3000-troops-in-ebola-fight/

[Uncle Joe]

1. Kicked and recommended.

Thanks for the thread, Purveyor.

[DesertDiamond]

2. 3,000 TROOPS??? Are they planning to SHOOT the disease?

[longship]

3. "deploy logistics, command and control, medical, and engineering resources to affected countries."

Nothing about guns there, my friend.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

7. Maybe the occasional flame thrower.

[candelista]

27. :)

[Recursion]

4. No, but they're planning to set up a lot of camps

Which involves building a lot of things, feeding a lot of people, radioing a lot of messages, and providing a lot of medical care, things the military does very well.

3000 people is roughly a regiment plus its support staff, which is generally the smallest unit you can realistically deploy independently.

[The Traveler]

8. Various units have applicable training and skills

The military is being called upon because it already has the logistics mechanisms and required organizational structure. Also, security of facilities has been difficult to establish. People are scared, very scared, and very understandably so ... and scared people sometimes do unwise things. Facilities have been raided, burned, etc.

It's probably the best way for him to quickly marshal an effective response.

Trav

[Earth_First]

15. Contrary to popular belief...

...the military does (on occasion) have the ability to perform humanitarian missions.

Personally, I say: finally.

This needs everything we can throw at it...

[hack89]

18. The military has high tech mobile hospitals

Plus the logistics capability to get it to Africa fast.

The US military is the best disaster relief organization in the world.

[Spitfire of ATJ]

31. Plus they have a talent for containment.

[valerief]

26. Most likely. nt

[Marrah_G]

35. You know the military does a lot more then shoot people right?

They have medical facilities, communications, logistics, transportation, etc

[jmowreader]

5. Sounds like they're sending Special Forces A teams to the region

And if you're going to send troops at all, those are the ones you want - they've got the right mix of people (two physicians' assistant-level medics, two engineers and six guys with strong backs who know how to give EMT-level medical treatment, plus two officers), excellent training and good language skills.

[BrotherIvan]

6. I applaud this move

Thanks, President Obama.

[nitpicker]

9. The military may be a way to get facilities built quickly

http://www.bbc.com/news/world-africa-29217350

Ebola outbreak: Barack Obama 'to pledge US troops to fight virus'

(snip)
US officials said the aim of the country's anti-Ebola initiative is to:

Train up to 500 healthcare workers a week
Construct 17 heathcare facilities, each with about 100 beds
Establish a joint command based in Monrovia, Liberia, to co-ordinate between US and international relief efforts
Distribute home healthcare kits to thousands of households
Conduct a home and community-based campaign to train local people in how to handle patients

Liberian President Ellen Johnson Sirleaf has appealed directly to Mr Obama for help in tackling the outbreak.

Several disease experts have welcomed the US plan, though some also question its focus on Liberia.

"We should see all of West Africa now as one big outbreak," says Michael Osterholm

(snip)

[nitpicker]

10. maybe not that quickly

http://m.news24.com/nigeria/World/News/US-to-assign-3000-from-US-military-to-fight-Ebola-20140916

This suggests it will take ((at least)) two weeks to get the effort going.

[nitpicker]

11. Link to the Senate HELP hearing 16 Sep 2014 1430 EDT on Ebola

http://www.appropriations.senate.gov/event/joint-hearing-ebola-west-africa-global-challenge-and-public-health-threat

[Spitfire of ATJ]

32. Liberia has been treated globally like Haiti....

We all know why.

[951-Riverside]

12. We can't have those people running loose spreading disease.

Obviously the authorities in Liberia are ill-equipped, untrained and in many cases too incompetent to handle this global catastrophe which puts us all at risk. Its time for the US and other nations to stop playing around, put their foot down and use any and all means necessary to contain this.

We can't have scenes like this anymore

[NealK]

13. K&R

[nitpicker]

14. Looks like Obama will speak at CDC around 1600 EDT

http://www.whitehousedossier.com/

[Sparhawk60]

16. That Money Was Earmarked

But that money was earmarked to kill people and blow stuff up. This sets up a VERY dangerous slippery slope, what’s next? Using money meant for a B-2 bomber on free school lunches or health care for Americans?? Unpossable!!

How can we win the hearts and minds if we waste our money on helping people instead of blowing them up?


/sarcasm

[ascap_scab]

17. So now the VA will have to treat PTSD and Ebola?

Why not let Drones and Freedum Bombs solve this too? What does Presnut Blinky McCain have to say?

[Spitfire of ATJ]

33. I bet he checked to see if he could take the side of the virus....

Like he did with Isis and here with Qaddafi:

[Sherman A1]

19. Excellent!

Overdue in my opinion.

[magical thyme]

20. finally. hopefully it's not too late to contain it. nt

[postulater]

21. Can he commit a few billion for a global fight against the 1%?

[Divernan]

22. Updated details from AP

President Barack Obama planned to announce the stepped-up effort Tuesday during a visit to the federal Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Atlanta amid alarm that the outbreak could spread and that the deadly virus could mutate into a more easily transmitted disease.

The new U.S. muscle comes after appeals from the region and from aid organizations for a heightened U.S. role in combatting the outbreak blamed for more than 2,200 deaths. Administration officials said Monday that the new initiatives aim to:

• Train as many as 500 health care workers a week.
• Erect 17 heath care facilities in the region of 100 beds each.
• Set up a joint command headquartered in Monrovia, Liberia, to coordinate between U.S. and international relief efforts.
• Provide home health care kits to hundreds of thousands of households, including 50,000 that the U.S. Agency for International Development will deliver to Liberia this week.
• Carry out a home- and community-based campaign to train local populations on how to handle exposed patients.

The officials, speaking on the condition of anonymity to discuss the plans ahead of Obama's announcement, said the cost of the effort would come from $500 million in overseas contingency operations, such as the war in Afghanistan, that the Pentagon already has asked Congress to redirect to carry out humanitarian efforts in Iraq and in West Africa.

The officials said it would take about two weeks to get U.S. forces on the ground.

Read more: http://triblive.com/usworld/nation/6804755-74/story#ixzz3DTpYXmwI
Follow us: @triblive on Twitter | triblive on Facebook

[think]

23. This is the kind of engagement America should focus on

if America truly wants peace around the world.... JMO

[GliderGuider]

24. This is REALLY good news.

The response is commensurate is the the size of the crisis. Well done.

[valerief]

25. Okay, the U.S. is leading. Who is following? nt

[GliderGuider]

28. We should see over the next couple of days.

I think the rest of the world will be relieved that for once the US isn't asking them to join in bombing some brown people. That should make international cooperation a bit easier.

[valerief]

29. No, it'll be shooting brown people. nt

[B2G]

34. China has committed 59 mircobiologists. nt

[Omaha Steve]

30. K&R!

[Union Scribe]

36. Yes! THIS is the sort of war I support

It's great to hear this. Those brave people dealing with this outbreak are overwhelmed and every country that can should be pitching in.

[quadrature]

37. Rumor... US Army spreading Ebola in Africa

you heard it first on DU

[dickthegrouch]

38. About bloody time

and in the timeless words of spouses everywhere:
"Where the hell have you been?"

6 months late is my real assessment.

[ZombieHorde]

39. Wow, a decent use of the military.

That's great!