The President spoke by phone this afternoon with General David Rodriguez, Commander of U.S. Africa Command (AFRICOM), who provided an update on the U.S. government’s response to the Ebola epidemic in West Africa. The President and General Rodriguez discussed the progress of the response, known as Operation United Assistance, whose Joint Force Command deployed in mid-September. They noted that this Operation is bringing additional speed and scale to the U.S. government’s regional response led by USAID, and the President underscored the pivotal role of American leadership in containing the epidemic at its source.