Trump expands battle with World Health Organization far beyond aid suspension

[Zorro]

Source: Washington Post

President Trump and his top aides are working behind the scenes to sideline the World Health Organization on several new fronts as they seek to shift blame for the coronavirus pandemic to the world body, according to U.S. and foreign officials involved in the discussions.

Last week, the president announced a 60-day hold on U.S. money to the WHO, but other steps by his top officials go beyond a temporary funding freeze, raising concerns about the permanent weakening of the organization amid a rapidly spreading crisis.

At the State Department, officials are stripping references to the WHO from coronavirus fact sheets, and Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has instructed his employees to “cut out the middle man” when it comes to public health initiatives the United States previously supported through the WHO.

The United States will now attempt to reroute the WHO funds to nongovernment organizations involved in public health issues, according to interviews with U.S. officials and an internal memo obtained by The Washington Post.

Read more: https://www.washingtonpost.com/national-security/trump-expands-battle-with-world-health-organization-far-beyond-aid-suspension/2020/04/25/72c754e6-856e-11ea-9728-c74380d9d410_story.html

[keithbvadu2]

1. Excuses, blame, scapegoats. "I take no responsibility at all."

Excuses, blame, scapegoats. "I take no responsibility at all."

[Newest Reality]

2. Well,

Now, that's direct and effective action during a global crisis, huh?

The virus doesn't like vindictive and counter productive behavior, so a good hissy fit using our government as a tool of attack makes perfect sense and should have some major impact on the state of affairs...somehow...when we think if what that is. Now, CUT OFF THE WHO! The President never liked that band anyway and says he knew them when they were way too loud, so let's not pay them to do that.

[at140]

3. WHO World Health Organization,

it was their job to sniff out any beginnings of a pandemic due to a virus, especially a new virus.
That is why we pay them 40% of their budget every year.

[yardwork]

13. And they did. WHO warned the Trump administration in November.

[BComplex]

14. It's not the WHO that will suffer from this attack.

The rest of the world knows the value of having them on board and in operation.

[at140]

20. According to Time.com WHO declared covid-19 became pandemic on March 11, 2020

Here is the link for your reading:

https://time.com/5791661/who-coronavirus-pandemic-declaration/

In other words WHO had no idea how serious this covid-19 virus was until March 11, 2020

In mid-January 2020, WHO said that covid-19 was under control in China, and not a problem for other countries.

[The Magistrate]

24. You Are Exceeding the Bounds Of Editorial License, Sir

The first instance is obvious. For a body which confines its pronouncements to established facts of medical science, declaration on a certain date that a contagion has become pandemic does not mean that body had no idea how dangerous the contagion is prior to that date. Pandemic is not a term simply slanged about, it has a definite meaning --- a contagion which is spreading everywhere. Note that meaning does not reference the danger posed by the contagion to persons who contract it. the term has nothing to do with whether a contagion is deadly or relatively benign. It merely refers to how wide-spread it has become.

As for the second instance, here is a link to actual statements of the World Health Organization, which runs back to January (though one must scroll down a good ways to reach the bottom of the page):

https://www.who.int/emergencies/diseases/novel-coronavirus-2019/events-as-they-happen

Some items of note from mid-January:

"WHO issues its first guidance on the novel coronavirus

10 January 2020

Developed with reference to other coronaviruses, such as SARS and MERS, WHO issued a tool for countries to check their ability to detect and respond to a novel coronavirus.

This information is to help with identifying main gaps, assessing risks and planning for additional investigations, response and control actions."



"First case of novel coronavirus outside of China confirmed

13 January 2020

Officials confirmed a case of the novel coronavirus in Thailand. It was not unexpected that cases of the novel coronavirus would emerge outside of China and reinforces why WHO calls for active monitoring and preparedness in other countries."


You are welcome to attempt interpreting these as indication that "In mid-January 2020, WHO said that covid-19 was under control in China, and not a problem for other countries."

[at140]

25. So we can argue about the date of most significant declaration by WHO

From the link presented by you, the first date of significant announcement by WHO was:
"• The outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern on 30 January 2020."

And then the next date of significance was on March 17 from the link I had furnished, when WHO declared covid-19 was declared a pandemic by WHO.

The other date is Jan 13, 2020 for a single case confirmed in Thailand.

The way I look at this covid-19 is that it was a brand new virus, no one really had any existing knowledge or experience with it.
No one except China had the slightest knowledge on Jan 13, 2020 how lethal or contagious covid-19 was.

Based on one case confirmed in Thailand, why would any country take drastic actions on Jan 13th, such as banning travel from China?
Actually even after on January 30, 2020, when the outbreak was declared a Public Health Emergency of International Concern,
president Trump's action of banning travel from China was premature. Neither he or anyone of his medical advisors had a clue on Jan 30, 2020
how lethal or contagious covid-19 was. Banning travel from a major country has serious economic consequences, and therefore Trump's action on Jan 31 was a risky move at best.

Even if any pandemic is determined to be serious or not in terms of deaths, it still causes a lot of serious effects for people who get infected. Even the ordinary influenza and common cold causes one to take days off from work and be miserable at home.

At end of day, all countries depend on WHO to ring the bell loudly when any infectious disease rears it's ugly head. Whether WHO's actions regarding covid-19 were timely will be open for debate with opinions running all over the map.

[The Magistrate]

28. Your Definition Of Significant, Sir, Seems Unusually Cramped

And again falls afoul of ignoring that terms such as Public Health Emergency of International Concern have defined meanings. A good deal has to be already known before the standards for such a declaration are satisfied, so the claim that the date on which an official statement of a defined state's existence should be taken as the first point at which the matter was of concern, or was known of, fails.

As for the rest of this, it is difficult to discern an argument in your comments. You seem to be asserting that the present administration had no knowledge of what impended at the end of January, and further seem to assert that this is the fault of the World Health Organization rather than that of the people who are currently making a murderous botch of things. From this follows your conclusion that there was something risky about declaring a ban on Chinese entering the United States at the end of January, and contrive to do it in a manner suggesting praise --- for surely to say something is done prematurely is to say it is a worthy action at heart, and someone who, in ignorance, grasps up what eventually will be the worthy and necessary action, is generally accounted as praiseworthy, as having gifted instincts. After which you make the incontestable assertions people are discommoded by illness, and that when people seeking a scapegoat for national failings trump up a controversy, argument will persist.

Best to close on something we both a agree on....


"For the Snark was a boojum, you see."

[underpants]

4. Folks, he thinks he's punching down

That’s part of his core.

He can’t in any way align with WHO at this point. That would appear that he had been wrong. That doesn’t happen in that bubble

He thinks he has a WIN against them. This is substantiated in RW media. This is him punching down which he always did in his rise through the real estate world.

[LastLiberal in PalmSprings]

5. Trump will "reroute the WHO funds to nongovernment organizations involved in public health."

How Televangelist Benny Hinn Makes Millions By ‘Curing’ People Through Faith Healing

[keithbvadu2]

19. Healing

[abqtommy]

6. A cornered rat will turn and fight before he disappears into the night. Buh-bye tRUMP.

[ananda]

7. I don't think this will actually hurt WHO.

Other countries will take up the slack.

But it does hurt Trump and the GOP brand,
bigly!

[warmfeet]

8. FUBAR AMERICA.

This country does not resemble, not in any way, the place I thought I was living in. Holy, fucking, shit!

The shitgibbon, of orange color, is determined to eliminate life from this planet and we are enabling him in his quest.

There is no recourse, however. We must stay the course until we die, I suppose. November election, January inauguration, will we make it until then?

I will be voting for Joe Biden, if I am alive in November.

Yep, I am freaking the fuck out. I am not, currently, sanguine regarding our prospects.

[BComplex]

15. I hope you'll stay safe, warmfeet.

You're not in this alone.

[rickyhall]

9. What scares me is how much more damage he can do after he's defeated until he leaves office.

[pazzyanne]

12. There is that!

[iluvtennis]

10. The WHO may not have been fully transparent, but they are NOT TO BLAME for what happened in USA.

trump owns what happened here in US.

trump knew on January 3rd about threat of coronavirus to US - see this Salon article

(Note: there is also evidence that US intelligence agencies informed trump of coronavirus threat in November 2019 - see this ABCNews article)

trump waited 70 days -- from January 3rd until March 1st -- before he declared national emergency for coronavirus. See this white house webpage

trump owns the deaths of the 52,000+ Americans that have died of CV-19.

[at140]

21. Link for your reading..

https://time.com/5791661/who-coronavirus-pandemic-declaration/

[lonely bird]

11. These idiots

Make W, Cheney, Wolfowitz et al look like statesmen.

[BComplex]

16. Well, maybe that's a little over the top.

But I know where you're coming from.

[Thekaspervote]

17. Hey asshole...who do you think is credible?

[Ohiogal]

18. Just watch

He will give those funds meant for the WHO to some koo koo right wing organization that fights to take away reproductive care for women

[maxrandb]

22. WHO Responds

https://m.

[RussBLib]

23. I wonder why Putin wants to destroy the WHO? n/t

[JI7]

27. this is more about trump giving up power to China.

[JI7]

26. he is pretty much giving China more power and influence