Follow the Military on Ebola

The U.S. Army’s top general, Ray Ordierno, has decided that all of his soldiers returning from West Africa’s hot zone must be quarantined for twenty-one days. The Joint Chiefs of Staff are reportedly urging that all of the armed services do the same.

This comes as Ron Klain, Team Obama’s political-operative-turned-Ebola-czar, has government agencies rejecting the idea that such common sense – and the decision of several governors to have their states guided by it – must be rejected.

Rather than decrying quarantines as “unscientific,” or worrying about inconveniencing those who might spread the infection, Team Obama should be guided by one, reality: It’s far safer and efficient to contain the epidemic through confining such folks than it is to try figure out after symptoms are manifest all those with whom they have had contact.