Posted on 10/04/2005 12:02:27 PM PDT by areafiftyone
WASHINGTON, Oct 4 (Reuters) - President George W. Bush asked Congress on Tuesday to consider giving him powers to use the military to enforce quarantines in case of an avian influenza epidemic.
He said the military, and perhaps the National Guard, might be needed to take such a role if the feared H5N1 bird flu virus changes enough to cause widespread human infection.
"If we had an outbreak somewhere in the United States, do we not then quarantine that part of the country? And how do you, then, enforce a quarantine?" Bush asked at a news conference.
"It's one thing to shut down airplanes. It's another thing to prevent people from coming in to get exposed to the avian flu. And who best to be able to effect a quarantine?" Bush added.
"One option is the use of a military that's able to plan and move. So that's why I put it on the table. I think it's an important debate for Congress to have."
Bird flu has killed more than 60 people in four Asian nations since late 2003 and has been found in birds in Russia and Europe.
Experts fear that the H5N1 bird flu virus, which appears to be highly fatal when it infects people, will develop the ability to pass easily from person to person and would cause a pandemic that would kill millions.
"And I think the president ought to have all ... assets on the table to be able to deal with something this significant," Bush said.
He noted that some governors may object to the federal government commandeering the National Guard, which is under state command in most circumstances.
POLICE DUTIES BANNED
"But Congress needs to take a look at circumstances that may need to vest the capacity of the president to move beyond that debate. And one such catastrophe or one such challenge could be an avian flu outbreak," Bush said.
The active duty military is currently forbidden from undertaking law enforcement duties by the federal Posse Comitatus Act.
That law, passed in 1878 after the U.S. Civil War, does not prohibit National Guard troops under state control from doing police work. But, unless the law is changed, it would keep them from doing so if they were activated by Washington under federal control.
While the law allows the president to order the military to take control and do police work in an extreme emergency, the White House has been traditionally reluctant to usurp state powers.
Pentagon spokesman Bryan Whitman told reporters he was not aware of any current planning by the military to help respond to a flu pandemic.
But he noted that after Hurricanes Katrina and Rita devastated the Gulf region, Bush had asked Congress to consider giving the military control over initial response in dealing with major natural or other domestic disasters.
"Obviously the (Defense) Department has a tremendous amount of capability in a lot of areas. And we are a large force," Whitman said, noting also that the military had deployed field hospitals to Louisiana after the hurricanes.
Health experts are working to develop vaccines that would protect against the H5N1 strain of flu, because current influenza vaccines will not.
And countries are also developing stockpiles of drugs that can reduce the risk of serious disease or even sometimes prevent infection -- but supplies and manufacturing capacity are both limited.
Bush said he was involved in planning for an influenza pandemic, which experts say will definitely come, although they cannot predict when, or whether it will be H5N1 or some other virus. (Additional reporting by Maggie Fox)
I have been called to defend the Constitution
"I do solemnly swear (or affirm) that I will support and defend the Constitution of the United States against all enemies, foreign and domestic; that I will bear true faith and allegiance to the same; and that I will obey the orders of the president of the United States and the orders of the officers appointed over me, according to regulations and the uniform code of military justice. So help me God. "
Note the first part of the oath is with out qualification
Protagoras: Proof please.
You can't be serious. (The Evidence That HIV Causes AIDS)
From the article: "For example, in a 10-year study in the Netherlands, researchers followed 11 children who had become infected with HIV as neonates by small aliquots of plasma from a single HIV-infected donor. During the 10-year period, eight of the children died of AIDS. Of the remaining three children, all showed a progressive decline in cellular immunity, and two of the three had symptoms probably related to HIV infection (van den Berg et al. Acta Paediatr 1994;83:17)."
That is not my understanding of what he is requesting. And certainly if the locals could handle the response, it should be left to them. I just don't think any locale could handle something like this on their own.
You might try reading Clancy's "Executive Orders". It deals with a coordinated biological attack, but the scenario would apply to a natural pandemic. "White Plague" by Frank Herbert is also a very chilling worst case scenario.
I won't miss them.
He will die of an AIDS related illness (barring a car wreck, or a heart attack, or something similar). Anybody that thinks otherwise is deluding themselves.
I wouldn't worry about what the Gov. is going to do in an emergency........Worry wheather you and your family are prepared to defend, feed and shelter yourselves. When the Big One comes (what ever that might be), don't think anyone will help you.
"75% mortality rate!"
If 60 have died and there is a 75% mortality rate, does that mean that there have only been 80 cases?
It is without qualification. But I often think of what Lincoln when he had to suspend Const liberties in order in his view to perserve the Const. This wasn't just in South either. Its curious but I don't think any Court has gone into the legality of what Lincoln did. Of course we imprisioned tens of thousands of japanese americans in our Fathers and mothers lifetimes so I am very distrustful of Govt in a crisis when it listens to the mob. I guess my point is that a discussion should take place if this was to happen. I think the Const is one most important documnets as well as giving us a form of Govt nots above all. I guess my use of 'holy writ" was that I think there is a difference between the commands of the electoral college and thou shall not commit adultry
Q: How many people have been affected?
The World Health Organization said that, since December 2003, there had been 115 confirmed cases of avian flu and 59 deaths in Cambodia, Vietnam and Thailand and Indonesia.
Avian flu does have a high fatality rate. In comparison, Sars has killed around 800 people worldwide and infected at least 8,400 since it first emerged in November 2002.
Q: Can avian flu be passed from person to person?
There are indications that it can, although so far not in the feared mutated form which could fuel a pandemic.
A case in Thailand indicated the probable transmission of the virus from a girl who had the disease to her mother, who also died.
The girl's aunt, who was also infected, survived the virus.
UK virology expert Professor John Oxford said these cases indicated the basic virus could be passed between humans, and predicted similar small clusters of cases would be seen again.
It is not the only instance where it has been thought bird flu has been passed between humans.
In 2004, two sisters died in Vietnam after possibly contracting bird flu from their brother who had died from an unidentified respiratory illness.
In a similar case in Hong Kong in 1997, a doctor possibly caught the disease from a patient with the H5N1 virus - but it was never conclusively proved.
Q: Does this mean there is likely to be a large outbreak of bird flu?
Experts are concerned that this could happen. But in the Thai case, the virus was only been passed to close relatives and spread no further.
In addition, it had not combined with a form of human flu.
This is the real fear. Experts believe that the virus could exchange genes with a human flu virus if a person was simultaneously infected with both.
The more this double infection happens, the higher the chance a new virus could be created and be passed from person to person, they say.
Q: What would be the consequence if this did happen?
Once the virus gained the ability to pass easily between humans the results could be catastrophic.
Worldwide experts predict anything between 2m and 50m deaths.
Too late now.
Thanks! I thought I was well grounded in my claim.
*** DING DING DING *** No more calls; we have a winner.
My fault, I was responding to your #12 post. The quoted comment actual came from the article.
The details for the use of martial response to emergencies has been in law for two hundred years. There was no need for the president to even mention it, if his notion was what has always been considered.
If the locals can't handle the problem, it is the civilian authorities who call in the feds. Giving a president authority to act outside of state authority is dangerous. One president may be intelligent about it, but another may use it for ends not in the interests of the people of the US. 
I've been worried about this thing for many many months. I'm surprised that Bush hadn't started making plans sooner. I was worried that he didn't think it was important. I'm glad he proved me wrong.
No. It's just not you.
The problem is, that once George is out of office and working on his library, the next occupant - possibly Hildebeast, can use the authority granted under any statutes to W, as they see fit.
I trust George (althought after yesterday, I'm not quite sure) but I sure don't trust any dim - especially Horse Face Hilly!
The ability of bird flu viruses to infect humans throws up this worrying possibility. A bird flu virus could merge with a human flu virus to create a new virus. This new virus could then be passed between humans. If this happens with a highly pathogenic avian influenza virus, the result could be a pandemic of highly contagious flu.
The following is from the National Institute of Health and it also has qualifiers. A lot of "ifs" and "coulds".
IF cases of human infections increase, people simultaneously infected with human AND avian influenza strains could become a 'mixing vessel' for the disease. The result could be the emergence of a lethal H5N1 influenza virus that is easily transmitted from person to person. Such an easily transmissible virus could trigger a worldwide influenza pandemic.
Information about the H5N1 vaccine development process can be found here.
Information from the CDC is here.
It has already been passed from human to human. What they are worried about is that once it mutates to a final stage, it will spread more quickly. As it stands, it's slow from human to human, but, it won't remain slow. It will pick up speed, sorta like a sled going down a mountain. Then, we'll be screwed.
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