Originally published September 19 2014
Obama says Ebola a threat to national security, but still won't secure the U.S. southern border
by J. D. Heyes
(NaturalNews) The worsening Ebola outbreak in West Africa has become so much of a U.S. national security issue that President Obama has ordered as many as 3,000 U.S. troops and personnel there to help deal with the crisis. But for some reason, the president doesn't seem concerned enough about the spread of a virus with a 70-90 percent fatality rate to better secure the porous U.S.-Mexico border, through which hundreds of thousands of immigrants -- many of them children -- have streamed across for over a year.
Obama's actions come on the heels of an American doctor who contracted, but survived, the disease. The physician, Dr. Kent Brantly, told senators this week that there was no time to waste in combating the epidemic.
"We can't afford to wait months, or even weeks, to take action, to put people on the ground," Brantly said, according to The Associated Press (AP).
In announcing his recent actions, Obama pronounced the Ebola outbreak a crisis as well as a threat to global (and U.S. national) security. His plan to send U.S. military personnel to West Africa includes "an aggressive effort" to train healthcare personnel and erect field hospitals, AP reported. In all, the effort could wind up costing U.S. taxpayers in excess of $1 billion -- but not one dime of that would shore up security along the U.S.-Mexico border.
Troops for Ebola, no troops for the U.S. border
"If the outbreak is not stopped now, we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of people affected, with profound economic, political and security implications for all of us," Obama told reporters following briefings in Atlanta with doctors from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), as well as physicians from Emory University, where Brantly and a pair of other American aid workers who contracted Ebola were treated.
Obama issued his orders because he was pressured by regional leaders and the heads of international aid organizations who have been begging for U.S. assistance in combating the deadly virus.
"It's a potential threat to global security if these countries break down," Obama said, in reference to the hardest-hit countries of Liberia, Sierra Leone and Guinea, where at least 2,400 people have died. Liberia has borne the brunt of the mortality thus far.
But what about American security? Is the political motivation behind lax border enforcement more important to Obama and his backers than the security and protection of the American people? Many think so.
The CDC has, so far, downplayed any fear of Ebola making it to the United States -- via the porous border, through one of the nation's many international air hubs or by ship. Still, American healthcare workers have already been sickened by the virus. Now, U.S. troops are going to potentially be exposed. And while the virus has a high mortality rate, its incubation period can take weeks.
Why take the risk?
Also, according to Border Patrol officials, some illegal aliens being apprehended along the U.S. Southwest border are from African nations, WorldNetDaily reported.
"Border Patrol agents in our sector have in the past apprehended aliens from Iraq, Ethiopia, Eritrea, Israel and from many other nations," Albert Spratte, a spokesman for Local 3307 of the National Border Patrol Council, the Border Patrol's union, told Breitbart News. "People think this is just about Mexico and Central America, but it isn't. People from all over the world are trying to sneak into the United States."
"There is no significant risk in the U.S.," added the CDC in a recent statement. "While it is unlikely that the disease would spread if imported into the United States, the recent infections in U.S. healthcare workers working abroad highlight the need for vigilance. CDC is reminding U.S. healthcare workers of the importance of testing and isolating sick travelers returning from the affected areas."
The real question is, of course, why would our president be willing to take any risk of allowing such a deadly disease to simply walk into the country?
Learn all these details and more at the FREE online Pandemic Preparedness course at www.BioDefense.com
Sources:
http://hosted.ap.org
http://www.theblaze.com
http://www.wnd.com
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