With thousands of US ground troops heading to Liberia to “fight Ebola,” President Obama is planning to unveil a new Executive Order later today which will allow the deployment of active duty and reserve National Guard troops to Liberia as well.
The National Guard forces are being sent with an eye toward the creation of 17 Ebola treatment centers. The Pentagon says the execute order will speed deployments and allow the president to send more troops “as needed.”
This is the overseas part of President Obama’s “much more aggressive” campaign against Ebola, which also includes a domestic component, and will include the creation of an “Ebola SWAT Team” at every US hospital that has Ebola patients.
Publicly, President Obama is trying to downplay fears of an Ebola outbreak as pointless hysteria, while privately he is convening emergency meetings and deploying thousands of troops abroad to fight the virus.
Dissatisfaction over the president’s Ebola crackdown is expected to be a major political problem in the mid-term election, which is likely to fuel more high-profile actions in the days and weeks to come.
Reminds me of the Simpsons military parody recruitment ad – they show you the military blowing up the usual turban wearers, the obvious reference to Kim-Jong II, then there is a tornado being destroyed by missiles, made-up cartoon characters and Bigfoot being exploded, and then finally Death itself.
Sending soldiers to combat a deadly disease is as stupid as it sounds. I'm sure those guys really wanna be there, what with the chance of catching it, then coming back and spreading it around.
Stupid and short-sighted to say the least – but that should be our new national motto.
Where are the doctors and other medical professionals? Has it really gotten so bad overseas for travelling Amerikanski?
So, let me see if I've got this right. No boots on the ground to fight the most horrific terrorists on the earth. No concern about importing ebola to the country he is sworn to protect. But he'll send our sons and daughters into the hottest of hot zones, knowing they will be exposed to a deadly pathogen that we cannot contain on our own soil. Does Obama lay awake nights dreaming up new ways to tear this country down?
Yes he does
The US military and intelligence ARE "the most horrific terrorists on Earth." But "Ebola SWAT teams?" Don't' know if that's more horrifying or more silly.
We don't have enough bullets to shoot all those Ebola virus particles.
The Brits are sending soldiers to fight Ebola too. Either the whole thing is a hoax, or we have reached some kind of critical point of bureaucratic insanity.
They are pimps of the head pimp. just like south korea and BAN KI MOON..
The National Guard? Holy jumping ebola body bugs, Obama is out of his freaking mind.
If the alleged 'best health care system in the world' can't handle Ebola in fully-equipped hospitals on home turf, and health care workers are contracting the disease despite the alleged 'best precautions'…. exactly what chance does some National Guardsman have of avoiding infection when he's sent into the mouth of the beast to work out of a makeshift field hospital and having repeated daily contact with any number of potentially infected locals?
I was in the military long enough to know how this is all going to go down- some Guard unit is going to get the word it's shipping out, and the unit members who have the pull and/or some conveniently-timed extenuating circumstance will be left behind as rear party while the hapless lower ranks and out-of-favor noncoms and officers will be tapped to go. Watch, too- if unit commanders are handed the task of deciding who's going to go, do you really think the 'best and brightest' are going to be at the top of the list? Nope, it's going to be the slackers and marginally acceptable troops who get 'volunteered' to go.
I agree with your scenario. IMO all of the Guardsmen should say "Sir, no sir!" when told to deploy for "Operation Contagion." They can't throw everyone in the stockade.
They can and will throw everyone on the stockade. This is up to the Generals and Colonels and other officers to resign their commissions in the hope of protecting their men. They won't, but they should.
Is Obola insane? What about CON gress? What about our so 'called' allies? Amerika is FINISHED…
Well, Biden's son just got kicked outta the navy for snortin' coke. So I guess he's got some time on his hands. Maybe President Obola could send him and Uncle Joey.
Any National Guard or Army member posted to Africa should be offered the option of a full honorable discharge upon request. Obeying orders is not an excuse for a suicide mission that could endanger one's family and community upon return. Courage should not be confused with insanity. Sometimes true bravery is the refusal of a brutal stupid order.
Then this should be applicable to members posted to morally repellent wars abroad, too.