3 Reasons the US military should not be fighting Ebola

President Obama is sending thousands of U.S. troops to West Africa to fight the deadly Ebola virus. Their mission will be to construct treatment centers and provide medical training to health-care workers in the local communities.

Here are 3 reasons why militarizing humanitarian aid is a very bad idea, according to a Reason.TV piece:

1. Militarized Aid Erodes Humanitarian Principles – Humanitarian aid must be perceived as neutral and not driven by political or military objectives. Using the military in a humanitarian crisis works against that and potentially instigates further unrest.

2. Militarized Aid is Ineffective in the Long Term – Militarized aid is often backed by huge budgets that are supposed to be spent quickly. The pressure to spend massive amounts is often coupled with pressure to achieve short-term political goals. That in turn translates into an ineffective use of funds.

3. Militarized Aid Diminishes the Supply of Civil Aid – By constantly relying on the military for humanitarian efforts, we’re stifling efforts to grow civilian-led organizations that can handle the complicated logistics necessary to address large-scale humanitarian crises.

This entry was posted in Humanitarian Aid, International Cooperation by Grant Montgomery.