In response to the growing Ebola crisis and pleas from the Liberian government, the U.S. says it will send 3,000 troops and $500 million to fight the disease. In a letter to Barack Obama Sept. 9, the president of Liberia, Ellen Johnson-Sirleaf, writes, "The virus is spreading at an exponential rate and we have a limited time window to arrest it. Mr. President, well over 40% of total cases occurred in the last 18 days. ... I am being honest with you when I say that at this rate, we will never break the transmission chain and the virus will overwhelm us. ... In a country that has barely emerged from a 30-year period of civil and political unrest, with the presence of a large youthful (mainly unemployed) population, some of whom were child soldiers -- this health emergency threatens civil order." Obama's announcement is merely another diversion from foreign and domestic policy failures to boost his credibility as a "humanitarian" leader. More...
