The Obama administration has authorized U.S. military commanders of troops deployed to Ebola-afflicted West African countries to exercise their own discretion in instituting quarantines for soldiers and support personnel whom they suspect of coming into contact with the virus. That’s a harsher stance than the administration has taken on restricting air travel to and from countries like Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia. So far, Obama has not instructed the State Department to issue any travel bans involving Ebola-stricken populations, despite the United States’ first-ever case of Ebola having been introduced by a man who boarded a U.S.-bound plane from Liberia. American soldiers, whom Obama ordered to Africa to play supporting roles in securing treatment centers in Ebola zones, will be more closely guarded. There are about 500 soldiers there now, but the administration has authorized the deployment of up to 4,000. “In an unprecedented move to protect U.S. troops that might be exposed to Ebola, U.S. military commanders are being given the authority to quarantine troops for 21 days at a Defense Department facility where they will be monitored for signs of the disease and treated if they do contract the virus, a Defense Department memo explained,” CNN reported Wednesday. In July, Obama moved quickly to institute a travel ban to Israel in the midst of a foreign policy skirmish with Israeli Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu. Obama described that short-lived restriction as a “prudent action” that had nothing to do with his difference of opinion with Israel over its defensive stance against Hamas rocket attacks originating from the Gaza Strip.
Posted on: Fri, 17 Oct 2014 13:37:32 +0000