Lt. Gen. Richard Newton said the key to winning the war against the coronavirus is fighting it with a “truly global response.”
The former assistant vice chief of staff of the Air Force penned an opinion for Fox News discussing how the U.S. can combat the “stealth invader” that “respects no border or boundary."
“Our battle with it may not be the kind of war we are used to fighting, but when an enemy has killed tens of thousands of our fellow Americans, severely damaged our economy and upended our daily society – make no mistake we are at war,” he wrote.
And he said the strategy used to fight the coronavirus needs to be one that includes an investment in global health in order to protect the homeland. The U.S. response should also help "countries already teetering on the edge of collapse," he said.
"If these states fail, dangerous actors can fill the power vacuum, leading to refugee crises and creating breeding grounds for terrorism that can end up knocking on our front door," Newton wrote. “To win this war, we must approach this national security crisis with a truly global response."
He said President Donald Trump has addressed the need for a global health strategy during a recent coronavirus briefing, suggesting the U.S. may need to provide more support to countries fighting the coronavirus.
“When we do not act to stop the spread of disease around the world, we not only put the health and safety of our people at risk, we put the primacy of American power in danger,” Newton said. “Throughout my career and beyond, I have seen how American intervention in the world responding to national security threats has made us stronger and safer at home.”
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