[joe_the_user]

It's just ugly to see an eagerness to think about invasions when not even simple supplies are not coming through.

Liberian President, Ellen Johnson Sirleaf to Barack Obama: "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"

"The dilemma" of invasion and whatnot is beside the point. The Liberian state is desperate. Johnson Sirleaf also recently fired 10 government ministers who had fled the country. Any nation with resources that wants to take over? The Liberian state would eager for the help. Things are that bad.

http://www.nytimes.com/2014/09/13/world/africa/liberian-pres...

[techdragon]

This is more than just a supply issue.

http://reliefweb.int/report/democratic-republic-congo/update...

  "One of the patients hospitalised at the HGR Boende had managed to escape before being recovered by the services deployed to the field."

That is why if this situation escalates we will need people with guns, both medical and security personal with full Biological Warfare training and equipment. We are staring at a disease where scared infected people, are trying to ESCAPE and become extremely dangerous disease vectors, risking the spread of the disease to anywhere from dozens to hundreds, to thousands. When that is what is going on, I don't think the word we should use is "invasion", its something other than that. Best I've got to describe it, is a martial law quarantine, enforced by UN armed forces and medical personnel provided by the nations who have the capable personnel and equipment.

[joe_the_user]

Uh, that's exactly the supply issue. I have read a number of reports of that incident.

The guy escape because he was starving - he went immediately to the market to buy food. If he had food in the isolation ward, that wouldn't have happened (or would be a good deal less likely).

And uh, the idea of shooting people infected with Ebola shouldn't be first or second resort considering you would be straying their infected blood over a significant area. Not to mention guaranteeing no else would want to be treated, etc.

[techdragon]

Yes, the man was starving, but thats also another thing the military forces are good at, supply chains. Also, the idea of having armed security forces, is less about shooting people with regular ebola, I do try to point out in my other comment that I'm in favour of armed forces when talking about a hypothetical airborne ebola strain.

[joesmo]

You misunderstood. I'm not saying that invasion should happen or that it is even a proper choice at this time, only weighing in on the morality of it in light of American invasion history if at some point it happens to be the best choice.

[gbhn]

Agreed. There's no 'invasion' when you're being invited in on a humanitarian mission. People need help.

[x0x0]

I'm sure the folks we point guns at will agree. No, better -- they'll welcome us with open arms and throw flowers at us!

(In case you're dense, just like the last time we tried to bomb a country into freedumb.)

[oldmanjay]

you seem to have never been taught the lesson that clever wordplay doesn't prove your arguments