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See the sources for this article and more research in the Additional Reading section.
In rapid response to the spreading COVID-19 virus, President Trump set up a task force in late January, 2020, headed by Alex Azar, Secretary of Health and Human Services (HHS), to monitor, contain, and mitigate the spread of the virus. One month later, on February 27, President Trump elevated the stature of the task force, by appointing Vice President Mike Pence to manage the effort.
This task force brings together the full power of the federal government, to operate in a concerted manner, instead of the traditional, slow moving silos of bureaucracy. Either directly or indirectly, all key departments were brought under centralized management, including:
- Department of State
- Center for Disease Control & Prevention (CDC)
- Health & Human Services (HHS)
- Department of Homeland Security (DHS)
- Department of Defense (DOD)
- Department of Treasury
- National Security Council
- Office of Management & Budget (OMB)
- National Economic Council
- Surgeon General
- National Institute of Allergy & Infectious Diseases
Policy decisions will be shared among all federal agencies, as well as their state-level counterparts, with input from the critical industries with whom both will partner:
Although this change was fostered by the Covid-19 virus crisis, such information-sharing should have been implemented immediately after the 9/11 attacks.
This new task force should:
- Close the managerial gap between governments and corporations, which have long operated on a centralized basis
- Allow the government to dramatically shorten the virus’s medical crisis, and mitigate the resulting economic damage
Once the virus is contained, hopefully in 2-4 months, we need to set up two new task forces, based on the managerial structure that has just been created, to focus on containing the the two dominant ideological threats facing America, and all free nations:
- The Reds: Communist and socialist tyrannies: China, North Korea, Venezuela, and Cuba, and authoritarian Russia
- The Greens: Islamist tyrannies, including Iran, and Muslim Brotherhood-ruled nations, led by Turkey and Qatar, as well as ISIS
Learn more about these threats in previous articles at SaveTheWest:
Ken’s Thought of the Week: Dealing with America’s most lethal adversaries
Ken’s Thought of the Week: “Endless war” is inevitable, manageable, and winnable
After the virus task force winds down, and after we ramp up the Red and Green task forces, President Trump should make VP Pence the Chief Operating Officer of the whole country, again, in line with the practices of major corporations.
Only then will we have a government that is capable of playing policy offense, and is not destined to play reactive defense all the time.
Coronavirus: What we know about Mike Pence and the task force – USA Today
Trump puts Pence in charge of coronavirus response – POLITICO
Ken’s Thought of the Week: Dealing with America’s most lethal adversaries
Ken’s Thought of the Week: “Endless war” is inevitable, manageable, and winnable
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