Gen. Anthony Zinni: Ebola More Of A Threat Than ISIS

Former CENTCOM Commander Gen. Anthony Zinni expressed concern for the spread of Ebola on Friday's broadcast of HBO's Real Time with Bill Maher.





BILL MAHER: We've spent $800 billion on homeland security since 9/11. We've spent almost a trillion dollars a year on defense -- probably we spent $3 trillion on the two wars. The U.N. is trying to fight -- how much is it -- $1 billion to fight ISIS which by the way Obama said at the U.N., 'Ebola is an epidemic of the likes we have not seen before. We're looking at profound political and economic and security implications for all of us.' Aren't we always scared of the wrong thing, General?



RET. GEN. ANTHONY ZINNI: I think it depends whether you live in Anbar province or Sierra Leone right now. But I would say Ebola is the greater global threat.



MAHER: You would?



ZINNI: I think ISIS certainly is a regional threat. I think its tentacles can reach out and create problems in our country and other countries, but it's not an existential threat. Ebola can become an existential threat on a global level. So, I think both are threats. I wouldn't take away from one to deal with another, but I don't think we fully understand the impact of Ebola and how fast it can travel.