Malaria, the Terrorist's Friend

“When the United States Marine Corps went ashore in Liberia in August, it discovered an enemy that had no ties to the various factions in the civil war there. More than 50 of the 225 service members, roughly a quarter, who landed in Liberia last month were hospitalized because of a longtime scourge of mankind: malaria.”

Malaria, the Terrorist’s Friend – By Amir Attara NY TIMES 9/25/2003
This figure reveals a troubling gap in the military’s preparations for dealing with unrest and terrorism overseas. Existing medicines for malaria are so ineffective or have such unpleasant side effects that they offer little real protection, yet many of the places terrorists could hide are rife with the disease.

For the remainder of this story see http://www.nytimes.com/2003/09/25/opinion/25ATTA.html

For related articles in the Times visit their website and do a search for “malaria” for some surprsing results.

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