The President of the United States Barack Obama spoke on Tuesday about the country's plans to fight West Africa's Ebola epidemic while at the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention headquarters in Atlanta. 

Calling the outbreak a "global security threat", Obama announced a heightened response and an overall larger role of the United States in combating the outbreak. Beginning with 3,000 US military personnel deployed to the region and the establishment of healthcare facilities, the country is ready to provide massive emergency aid to fight the virus, noted BBC.

With 5,000 overall cases and nearly 2,500 killed by the virus this year alone, the grim reality, according to the World Health Organization, is that the virus is spreading so rapidly. The number of Ebola cases could begin to double every three weeks, noted ABC News. 

"If the outbreak is not stopped now, we could be looking at hundreds of thousands of people affected, with profound economic, political and security implications for all of us," pressed Obama after briefings in Atlanta, per ABC News. 

On the same day, the administration asked Congress to reprogram a fund of $500 million from the Pentagon's budget to the caus--bringing the US contribution to stopping the outbreak at $1 billion dollars. The president has also pressed upon other nations to contribute efforts by way of personnel, equipment or financial support. 

Since the breakout in March, the states of Sierra Leone, Guinea and Liberia have been the most affected by the epidemic. "It's a potential threat to global security if these countries break down," Obama warned.

Under the Obama plan for Ebola are 500 heathcare workers a week, the construction of 17 healthcare facilities which are equipped with 100 beds each, the distribution of home health care kits and local training of how to handle new Ebola-infected patients, summarized USA Today.

"This massive ramp-up of support from the United States is precisely the kind of transformational change we need to get a grip on the outbreak and begin to turn it around," praised Dr. Margaret Chan, WHO's director-general, following the announcement of Obama per Reuters, .

Major General Darryl A. Williams

NBC News reported that the man leading the way for the United States on this epidemic is Major General Darrly A. Williams, commander of the U.S. Army Africa since June. 

Williams, a graduate of West Point, New York, will be setting up command in Monrovia, Liberia to oversee the operationalization of the measures announced. 

"He just arrived today and is now on the ground in Liberia," revealed Obama, as quoted by NBC News. "And our forces are going to bring their expertise in command and control, in logistics, in engineering."