Haiti - What a mess! Those poor people! If you've ever been there, it's a horrid place. Definitely NOT an intellectual expierence. VERY DANGEROUS for Americans.

If ever a place needed to be invaded and the ruling government displaced, this is it.

If not for the Centers for Disease Control, you'd see this sort of thing here in every metropolitan area. We also have very high population density in some places- and without expensive networks like the CDC, there are some truly horrific possibilities.

Marburg hemorrhagic fever made it to the United States once already- and due to the CDC, it was contained. On average, one in four of those who contract it die. Our worst potential problem is population density. There were experiments done on the East and West Coast involving the release of tailored organisms- harmless, but infectious. The study was conducted without the general knowledge of the medical community as one of several tests of the effectiveness of bioweapons in metropolitan areas. The results were not reassuring- most residents would have died, and worse, the organisms spread worldwide in short order via air travel.

http://www.eutimes.net/2010/06/us-tests-bio-weapons-on-citizens/

http://www.azdhs.gov/phs/edc/edrp/es/bthistor2.htm

http://www.frankolsonproject.org/Articles/BaltSun/BuriedSecrets.html

How is this germane? A site like Haiti is an ideal environment for the experimental deployment of a bioweapon. When something unusual like this happens, and no clear cause like cholera is immediately identified, it's time to pay attention.

The techniques and tactics we developed in the heyday of our technical advantage over the rest of the world are now becoming apparent and available- even to lowly clowns like the Taliban- so, it's time to up the vigilance a bit, just in case.

And...@ screminmimi: Advising us to expand the scope of our international responsibilities under such circumstances is beyond irresponsible- it's potentially terminal. In circumstances where something truly nasty gets out, it may come down to some very grim choices. I leave those to your imagination.