Ebola: First, do no Harm

Good article in the American Thinker about the CDC and Thomas Friedman.

In response to repeated inquiries about travel bans to and from Ebola-riddled nations, Dr. Tom Frieden has said from his very first appearances onward, that our highest moral obligation is “to first, do no harm.” He claims that implementing travel bans would harm the very people we are trying to help -- that bans and quarantines would restrict humanitarian aid (despite the fact that exceptions can be made for charter and/or military flights to bring supplies and care in and out of the region) and disrupt economic and political stability in the region. Moreover, he and other experts claim that there would be a negative impact on the economies of these already faltering nations.

In fact, Representative Tim Murphy personally spoke to Dr. Frieden about travel bans and he responded that “cutting commercial ties would hurt these fledgling democracies.” Murphy further questioned the good doctor at congressional hearings about the source of his comment -- whether it was his opinion, the CDC’s, or advice from the administration or one of its agencies -- a question he conveniently ducked. But a quick perusal of the CDC’s Mission Statement at CDC.gov, proves that it is not tasked with the job of nation building or ensuring the economic success of any country. There is no way one could recast the words in its “Pledge to the American People” or the bullet points about the Role of the CDC, to read “Thou must first do no economic or political harm to any fledgling democracies.” The Mission Statement is ironclad about the tasks of the CDC -- even Obama himself, the Master of Slick Talking -- couldn’t make these words fit Frieden’s assertions:

CDC works 24/7 to protect America from health, safety and security threats, both foreign and in the U.S. Whether diseases start at home or abroad, are chronic or acute, curable or preventable, human error or deliberate attack, CDC fights disease and supports communities and citizens to do the same.

CDC increases the health security of our nation. As the nation’s health protection agency, CDC saves lives and protects people from health threats. To accomplish our mission, CDC conducts critical science and provides health information that protects our nation against expensive and dangerous health threats, and responds when these arise.

The bottom line: the CDC's responsibility is to protect America, not the rest of the world. Read the whole thing.