Martial Law and the Avian Flu Pandemic

The threat of the avian flu pandemic is real. Until recently, national governments and the WHO have dismissed the seriousness of the crisis. The public has been misinformed. The issue has been barely mentioned by the media.

Why all of a sudden is avian flu on the presidential agenda?

The issue was placed on the agenda of the President's White House Press Conference (October 4, 2005). There was nothing spontaneous in the White House journalist's question to President Bush, which explicitly pointed to a role for the country's "defense assets" in the case of a pandemic.

We are not dealing with an off-the-cuff statement. Both the question as well as Bush's response calling for a greater role of the Military, had been prepared in advance: