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The potential spread of Ebola into Central and Southern America is a real possibility, the commander of U.S. Southern Command told an audience at the National Defense University here yesterday. “By the end of the year, there’s supposed to be 1.4 million people infected with Ebola and 62 percent of them dying, according to the [Centers for Disease Control and Prevention],” Marine Corps Gen. John F. Kelly said. “That’s horrific. And there is no way we can keep Ebola [contained] in West Africa.” If it comes to the Western Hemisphere, many countries have little ability to deal with an outbreak...

When an earthquake ravages a country as poor and urbanized as Haiti, it produces the cruelest kind of synergy, as poverty breeds cramped living quarters that are left even more vulnerable by substandard construction work.

The Nimitz-class aircraft carrier USS Carl Vinson (CVN 70) arrived off the coast of Port-Au-Prince, Haiti Jan. 15 to commence humanitarian assistance and disaster relief operations. Carl Vinson received orders from U.S. Southern Command to deliver assistance to the Caribbean nation following a 7.3 magnitude earthquake which caused catastrophic damage within the capital city Jan. 12. The aircraft carrier's speed, flexibility and sustainability make it an ideal platform to carry out relief operations. "Our initial focus is to concentrate on saving lives while providing first responder support to the people of Haiti. Our assistance here reflects our nation's compassion and...

(English-language translation) The National Hostosiano Independence Movement (MINH) severely criticized the position taken by Puerto Rico Governor Luis Fortuño to subordinate Puerto Rican aid to the population of Haiti to orders from the United States Army's Southern Command. "It hurts that Governor Fortuño conditions our aid to the dictates of the Southern Command. The militarization of humanitarian aid to Haiti which United States President Barack Obama promotes is an attempt to have the United States Army save face, something that is worthy of condemnation from our point of view," MINH Co-President Héctor L. Pesquera said. "Brazil, Venezuela, Cuba, and the...

Here is a video report on the plan for close to 10,000 U.S. Military Personnel to be on the ground in Haiti, or on ships just offshore by Monday. The speed with which everything can be put in place is being hampered there by the fact that the Port-Au-Prince Airport has only one usable runway, and there are so many planes needing to use it. An entire brigade of 3,500 from the 82nd Airborne is expected to be on the ground by this weekend to provide security in the devastated area. The Aircraft Carrier U.S.S. Carl Vinson should arrive on...

Washington (CNN) -- The retired general who took charge of relief efforts in New Orleans, Louisiana, after Hurricane Katrina said Thursday that the U.S. military should have arrived in earthquake-devastated Haiti 24 hours earlier. "The good Samaritans who moved early on the first day are to be applauded. They made a difference," said Lt. Gen. Russel Honore, a CNN contributor. "What we've got to do now is get the heavy equipment in. I thought the U.S. military could have been there a day earlier. They're on the ground now, and they have a brigade en route, and that's going to...

The US is sending up to 3,500 soldiers and 2,200 marines to Haiti to help rescue efforts in the wake of the devastating earthquake. President Barack Obama pledged one of the biggest relief efforts in recent US history and said Haiti would "not be forgotten" in its hour of need. The search for survivors continues but rescuers lack heavy lifting equipment and many are using their bare hands. The Red Cross estimates 45,000-50,000 people are dead and up to 3m affected. BBC correspondents say the situation is increasingly desperate, with aid only trickling in. Mr Obama confirmed that some US...

Obama this morning announced that "the U.S. response to the disaster in Haiti will require 'every element of our national capacity,' including military and civilian forces, to deliver aid" as reported by Roger Runningen and Hans Nichols for Bloomberg: The president, making a statement at the White House, said he told government agency and department heads that rescue and relief efforts in Haiti "must be a top priority." The U.S. will put $100 million into relief efforts, Obama said. Spreading generosity and compassion thoughout the world is all well and good but what about making the disasterous American economy --...

"...more than four years into the war in Iraq, our troops are stretched thin, our equipment is deteriorating, and the patience of our nation is wearing thin. We have seen 3,600 service members die. Thousands upon thousands more have been injured. "

The National Guard is stretched so thin by simultaneous assignments in Iraq and the hurricane-ravaged Gulf Coast that leaders in statehouses and Congress say it is time to reconsider how the force is used.

Disaster Relief: Tuesday's earthquake in Haiti was its worst since 1770, leaving the capital in ruins and a death toll that may top 100,000. But help is on its way, and it's America leading the effort. Our tiny tragic neighbor was already in bad shape when the 7.0 earthquake struck the capital of Port-au-Prince. It wasn't just any 7.0 quake, as if that were not bad enough, but a shallow one, meaning it shook harder. Worse still, it hit the most populated area of the country, where 3 million of the country's 9 million citizens live — and left thousands...

Capability One, Airfield "We are scheduled to be among the first people on the ground over there and we don't know the extent of damage done to the airfield," said Major Daniels. "Our goal is to have the airfield ready to take on full traffic by tonight. We bring our own lights and communication equipment so we are prepared." In addition to opening up the International Airport at Port-au-Prince, combat controllers are trained to survey other areas to look for potential airdrop and landing zones so other cargo and personnel can be accepted into the country if required. Capability Two,...

Remember when the liberals ripped Bush apart because there weren't enough National Guardsmen to help in disasters because they're off in Iraq/Kuwait? Now Hussein has promised an all-out effort to help Haiti. We just had the biggest national guard deployment since World War II in Florida...the state closest to Haiti. So when will the liberal media (national and local) ask if Hussein's troop surge is hindering our efforts to help our neighbors?

U.S. officials are laying out a massive military response to the Haiti earthquake, saying that ships, helicopters, transport planes and a 2,000-member Marine unit are either on the way or likely to begin moving soon. Gen. Douglas Fraser, head of U.S. Southern Command, said Wednesday that one of the U.S. Navy's large amphibious ships will likely head to Haiti with a Marine expeditionary unit aboard. Fraser said other U.S. military forces are on alert, including a brigade, which includes about 3,500 troops. Fraser said during a news conference with other U.S. officials that the Pentagon is "seriously looking at" sending...

Iran's growing influence in Latin America is a "potential risk" to the region, the newly-appointed head of the US Southern Command, General Douglas Fraser has warned. Fraser, who on Thursday takes charge of US military operations in 31 countries across Latin America and the Caribbean, expressed "real concern" about the Islamic Republic's links with "extremist organizations" in the region. "The real concern is not a nation-to-nation interaction, it is the connection that Iran has with extremist organizations like Hamas and Hezbollah and the potential risk that that could bring to this region," Fraser told journalists ahead of taking up the...