[Deep] State Department underlings, my ass. They did it on higher orders. Identify that official!
Identify them and fire them, if they can be fired under the laws governing the Foreign Service. We might want to put the military in charge of this entirely so that the next time something like this can happen the persons responsible can be prosecuted under the UCMJ.
Right you are!
Somebody (-ies) are kicking at the legs of the chair our POTUS is sitting on
Come November, the gloves on our side HAVE to come off!!!
I heard somewhere that it was Ian Brownlee... here’s his background:
Ian G. Brownlee became the Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary for Consular Affairs in February 2019. Previously he had served as an Inspector in the Office of the Inspector General.
Mr. Brownlee’s previous experience includes serving as the Minister Counselor for Consular and Consulate Affairs in Mexico, where he was responsible for coordination of consular operations across Mission Mexico’s nine consulates general and the embassy.
Prior to that, he was the Director of the State Department’s Office of Central American Affairs, where he was responsible for the implementation of the U.S. Strategy for Engagement in Central America. From 2012-2015, Mr. Brownlee was the Principal Officer at the U.S. Consulate General in Ciudad Juarez, Mexico.
Mr. Brownlee’s previous tours in the U.S. Foreign Service include as the Deputy Director of the State Department’s Office of Mexican Affairs, as Executive Assistant to the Assistant Secretaries for Western Hemisphere Affairs and Consular Affairs, and in consular management positions in Tegucigalpa, Honduras and San Jose, Costa Rica. He also served in Matamoros, Mexico and Santiago, Chile.
One of the officials arguing they should all be flown home together was Robert Kadlec, assistant secretary for preparedness and response for the Department of Health and Human Services and a member of the task force.
“It was like the worst nightmare,” said a senior U.S. official involved in the decision, speaking on the condition of anonymity to describe private conversations. “Quite frankly, the alternative could have been pulling grandma out in the pouring rain, and that would have been bad, too.”
Eventually the buses arrived at the airport, and once again, everyone waited while top officials in Washington argued about the test results, according to a senior administration official.
“Nobody anticipated getting these results,” said another U.S. official involved in the evacuation.
During one call, the CDC’s principal deputy director, Anne Schuchat, argued against taking the infected Americans on the plane, according to two participants. She noted the U.S. government had already told passengers they would not be evacuated with anyone who was infected or who showed symptoms. She was also concerned about infection control.
Anthony Fauci, head of the National Institute of Allergy and Infectious Diseases, who was also on the calls, recalled saying her points were valid and should be considered.
But Robert Kadlec, assistant secretary for preparedness and response for the Department of Health and Human Services and a member of the coronavirus task force, pushed back: Officials had already prepared the plane to handle passengers who might develop symptoms on the long flight, he argued. The two Boeing 747s had 18 seats cordoned off with 10-foot-high plastic on all four sides. Infectious disease doctors would also be onboard.
“We felt like we had very experienced hands in evaluating and caring for these patients,” Kadlec said at a news briefing Monday.
“It’s important to remember this was an emerging and unusual circumstance,” said Principal Deputy Principal Deputy Assistant Secretary of the Bureau of Consular Affairs, Ian Brownlee.
sources: various ZeroHedge and Washington Post articles.