Andrew J.

The US military should be winning wars, not fighting Ebola

These feelgood humanitarian missions suggest that money’s being spent in the wrong place —and that we’re not facing up to failure in the Middle East

US air Force soldiers delimit with barbed wire the position of the next Ebola treatment center reserved for contaminated healthcare workers in Monrovia, on October 6, 2014, where the virus continues to claim more victims. Liberia is the country hit hardest by the largest Ebola outbreak on record, accounting for about two-thirds of the total 3,338 deaths recorded in the region since the beginning of the year. AFP PHOTO / PASCAL GUYOT (Photo credit should read PASCAL GUYOT/AFP/Getty Images) 
issue 11 October 2014
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As a general rule, soldiers should be employed in the business of soldiering — preparing to fight or actually fighting (preferably infrequent) wars. In response to the Ebola outbreak afflicting West Africa, the Obama administration has decided to waive that rule. His decision to do so has received widespread support.

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