Well, it looks like BushCo's
talk about putting the military in charge of an avian flu pandemic is one step closer to reality.
According to MSNBC
[my emphasis]
If the nightmare of an avian flu pandemic emerges from the dark chapters of doomsday scenarios, it will fall to the Department of the Homeland Security, not the medical establishment, to manage the crisis, according to federal documents and interviews with government officials.
Don't you think that concept is really, really frightening given the government's response to Katrina and Rita? Let's talk below the fold.
When Bush
said from the Rose Garden on Oct 5th that he was considering using the military to manage an avian flu pandemic, he stated
"The best way to deal with a pandemic is to isolate it and keep it isolated in the region in which it begins."
That is true. But given the failure of government on all levels to respond to Katrina and Rita, can we trust it to respond to such a pandemic? Consider this
{snip}
Such a shift could require a change in law, and some in Congress and the states worry it would increase the power of the federal government at the expense of local control.
If and when an avian flu pandemic hits, I sure don't want gun toting macho military folks making sure people adhere to a quarantine. What will be needed are trained professionals who know how to deal with a population completely freaked out and most likely very sick. People who know how to medically treat and calm down individuals in total panic. The miltary will not and cannot accomplish this - that is not their role.
I'd much prefer to see a national, coordinated response with the Department of Health and Human Services taking the lead. However, the MSNBC article says this
The DHS lead role, however, seems at odds with operational plans that call for the Department of Health and Human Services to be the government's go-to agency in such a crisis.
According to current documents outlining operational plans for public health and medical emergencies, HHS "is the primary Federal Agency responsible for public health and medical emergency planning, preparations, response, and recovery."
That HHS planning document, currently under revision and circulating among federal agencies for comment, seemingly conflicts with the federal National Response Plan, a kind of overarching playbook for how to manage any number of national disasters, from terrorist events to hurricanes and floods. But under the National Response Plan, which also plans for actions in case of pandemics, DHS assumes top authority when an "incident of national significance" is declared.
Officials from DHS and HHS told MSNBC.com that the departmental statements outlining the chain of authority aren't in conflict at all.
Not in conflict? I wonder, when the pandemic hits, how long will it take DHS and HHS to determine when to declare an "incident of national significance?" I mean, look at the chicken fights and finger pointing between the local, state, and federal governments that happened after Katrina about who and when states of emergencies were declared.
You see, this is what would happen
An influenza pandemic "would obviously be declared an `incident of national significance and DHS would be the overall in-charge agency," said Brian Doyle, a DHS spokesman.
Doyle noted the "unique partnership" his agency has with HHS. "HHS would be the lead agency on the health side of it," he said, echoing comments made by Homeland Security Secretary Michael Chertoff in late August.
And I don't know about any of you, but I hear the fear game being played again here. [emphasis mine]
DHS officials privately acknowledge that any such forced quarantine could swiftly turn violent, with people rioting to get away from a perceived diseased area.
"If you quarantine it's going to get ugly really quick, I'm afraid," said a DHS official who spoke on the condition of anonymity, saying he was not authorized to talk about internal planning discussions.
It's just that potential for chaos that has the administration examining the steps needed to allow the President to put federal troops in charge of the situation.
Here's what Scottie had to say (all the while salivating at the thought of being able to unleash the military in Any Where USA) [my emphasis]
"These are all issues that we need to look at, and that's why [President Bush] thinks there needs to be a robust discussion with Congress and do we need to establish some sort of trigger that would automatically say the federal government, and specifically, the military, is the one that will be in charge of stabilizing the situation," said White House Spokesman Scott McClellan during a Sept. 26th press conference. "And then the Department of Homeland Security would come back into play once the situation is stabilized," McClellan said.
Some in the medical world aren't sold on the miltary's involvement, but seem to agree they could play a role
Some medical experts aren't sold on the military's hinted role in a pandemic. "One of the issues is that the current influenza pandemic plan is supposed to carry a large military role, the problem there is I'm not sure how much the military has, at this point, been involved with [dealing with pandemics]," said Dr. Stephen Morris, an epidemiologist, the National Center for Disaster Preparedness and founder of the Center for Public Health Preparedness.
Morris, however, isn't bothered by the dual responsibility roles laid out by DHS and HHS officials. "So the reality is, once [the Federal government] kicks into action I think, yes, there are obviously roles for both of those agencies," Morris said. "HHS does have the lead in the medical aspect...There are obviously a lot of non-medical things that will have to be done in terms of traffic control, logistics and I'm sure there will be a role for the Department of Homeland Security, so I agree it's not mutually exclusive."
I'm not arguing here that the military has no role should an avian flu pandemic hit. What I am arguing is that the plan must very clearly delineate clear lines of authority, when exactly an "incidence of national significance" would be declared, and what exactly the military would be doing.
{snip} [my emphasis]
It's one thing to put down on paper how an agency will respond in case a pandemic hits; it's a whole other matter to draft a plan detailing what agency will literally keep the trains running, the mail flowing and lights turned on.
Indeed. So far, that ain't the case [my emphasis]
The plan makes it clear that the U.S. is woefully unprepared should a pandemic hit. All kinds of shortages are noted, everything from not enough vaccines to the seemingly mundane: special surgical masks to prevent infection.
Democrats have criticized the administration for not having a plan. Sen. Tom Harkin, an Iowa Democrat, said in a statement Saturday that time for action was short.
"Having a plan on paper does nothing to protect us," Harkin said while urging the administration to work with Congress on implementing protections against a pandemic. "Next month is too late. The United States is woefully unprepared for this, and we must get started immediately."
Show me a plan and maybe I can buy into a 'military' response that is coordinated by HHS, which afterall has the expertise on things like avian flu pandemics.
We Need REGIME CHANGE