A New Org Chart Won’t Stop the Next Pandemic
Civilian U.S. government agencies have the authority they need to act, but their personnel need the kind of investments and training that have made the U.S. military second to none.
Cabinet of blunders.
Photographer: Oliver Contreras/Sipa USA/Bloomberg
As the coronavirus pandemic continues, Bloomberg Opinion will be running a series of features by our columnists that consider the long-term consequences of the crisis. This column is part of a package on how to strengthen three pillars of national security: defense, diplomacy and strategy. For more, see Hal Brands on a framework for U.S. foreign policy and see James Stavridis on the U.S. military’s role in fighting pandemics.
Just as the 9/11 attacks changed the definition of national security and redirected the course of U.S. policy for two decades, so likely will the dire consequences of America’s unpreparedness for the global pandemic cast a long shadow across government policy. And they should.