Something is deeply, dangerously wrong with US biological research overseas

 

One of the pretexts offered by Russia for its invasion of Ukraine was to neutralize biological weapons in that nation.  For several weeks, allegations from Russia to that effect have been denied, poo-poohed and played down by the West, most particularly the USA.

It begins to appear as if the Biden administration has been lying through its teeth, to Russia, to its NATO partners, and to the people of the United States.

I have no idea what's actually going on, but it looks like a monstrous scandal is unfolding.  Consider these headlines in chronological order from and since March 8th, and click over to them if you'd like to read them for yourself.  (I highly recommend you read the last one in full.  It's a doozy.)

China Pushes Conspiracy Theory About U.S. Labs in Ukraine

China accused the U.S. military of operating “dangerous” biolabs in Ukraine ... “U.S. biolabs in Ukraine have indeed attracted much attention recently,” Chinese Foreign Ministry spokesman Zhao Lijian said Tuesday ... He added that “all dangerous pathogens in Ukraine must be stored in these labs and all research activities are led by the U.S. side” ... Zhao called on “relevant sides to ensure the safety” of the facilities and said “the U.S., as the party that knows the labs the best, should disclose specific information as soon as possible, including which viruses are stored and what research has been conducted.”

Biden official says US working with Ukraine to prevent bio research facilities from falling into Russian hands

"Ukraine has biological research facilities, which in fact we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to gain control of, so we are working with the Ukrainians on how they can prevent any of those research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach," Nuland told the US Senate Foreign Relations Committee in a hearing.

Deleted Web Pages Show Obama Led an Effort To Build a Ukraine-Based BioLab Handling ‘Especially Dangerous Pathogens’

A 2011 report from the U.S. National Academy of Sciences’ Committee on Anticipating Biosecurity Challenges of the Global Expansion of High-Containment Biological Laboratories explained how the Odessa-based laboratory “is responsible for the identification of especially dangerous biological pathogens.”

“This laboratory was reconstructed and technically updated up to the BSL-3 level through a cooperative agreement between the United States Department of Defense and the Ministry of Health of Ukraine that started in 2005. The collaboration focuses on preventing the spread of technologies, pathogens, and knowledge that can be used in the development of biological weapons,” the report continues.

Russia Tells the US “We Have Found Your Biological Weapons”

“We have found your own products. We have found your biological material. As it turns out it was all happening in Ukraine,” RT, Russia state-affiliated media reported ... Russia now demands the US to explain bio labs in Ukraine.

Russia accused the U.S. of violations of the 1972 Biological Weapons Convention and has covered it up.

Documents Reveal US Department of Defense Was Funding Ukrainian Biolabs — Russia Releases List of Biological Agents Tested in US BioLabs in Ukraine, Including Salmonella and E. Coli

The Ministry of Health in Ukraine ordered the biological agents be destroyed in a February 24 memo ... Russia also released a list of the biological agents allegedly be stored in the lab for testing. The list included Salmonella and E. Coli.

Victoria Nuland: Ukraine Has "Biological Research Facilities," Worried Russia May Seize Them

The only reason to be “quite concerned” about these "biological research facilities” falling into Russian hands is if they contain sophisticated materials that Russian scientists have not yet developed on their own and which could be used for nefarious purposes — i.e., either advanced biological weapons or dual-use “research” that has the potential to be weaponized.

What is in those Ukrainian biological labs that make them so worrisome and dangerous? And has Ukraine ... had the assistance of any other countries in developing those dangerous substances? ... did the U.S. assistance extend to the construction and development of the "biological research facilities” themselves?

. . .

This joint US/Ukraine biological research is, of course, described by the State Department in the most unthreatening way possible. But that again prompts the question of why the U.S. would be so gravely concerned about benign and common research falling into Russian hands.

. . .

That a neocon like Nuland is admired and empowered regardless of the outcome of elections illustrates how unified and in lockstep the establishment wings of both parties are when it comes to questions of war, militarism and foreign policy.

Someone needs to explain why there are dangerous biological weapons in Ukraine.  The Pentagon is lying about this - why?

(Bold, underlined text below is my emphasis)

What exactly are they doing in these secret Ukrainian bio labs? Ukraine is the poorest country in Europe. It's hardly a hotbed of biomedical research. We're assuming these weren't pharmaceutical labs, probably not developing new Leukemia drugs. From your answer, Toria Nuland, we would assume because you all but said it, that there's a military application to this research, that they were working on bioweapons. Again, your answer suggests that.

Why would we fund something like that in Ukraine, and why didn't you secure the contents of these bio labs before the Russians arrived as you knew they would? And then why did you go out of your way to lie to the American public about all of this? If the "research materials" in these labs were to escape somehow and you seem very concerned about that, what would be the effect on Ukraine and then on the rest of the world? How can we prepare for the consequences of that, this thing that you're worried about? Shouldn't we be preparing? Because as it turns out, we've just spent the last two years living with the pathogen that began in another foreign bio lab funded by the United States government secretly.

. . .

The interesting thing, the telling thing, is that the U.S. Embassy's website also contains links to fact sheets about America's support for biological research in Ukraine, but all those links are now dead. That's weird. It's our government. We pay for it. Again, they're there in our name, in the name of American citizens, but we can no longer read their web page. How does that work, exactly? They have no right to lie to us.

The web page is archived, thankfully, and the fact sheets show Defense Department funding to laboratories in Ukraine. So that looks like proof. It's not Russian disinformation. It's totally real.

. . .

We're going to the Foreign Ministry of China, a country we despise. Here's what they said today. They're calling on weapons inspectors to take a look at these facilities in Ukraine right away.

ZHAO LIJIAN: Over the past two decades, the United States has been blocking the establishment of a verification regime to the Biological Weapons Convention and refused to accept the inspection of biological facilities within and outside its borders. The move has further aggravated the concern of the international community. We, once again, urge the U.S. to provide full clarification of its bio militarization activities within and outside its borders and accept multilateral verification.

... We never agree with the Chinese government on anything, but in this case, they make a fair point.

. . .

Dangerous biological agents remain, thanks to the Biden administration, unsecured in a chaotic war zone. At some point we need to know how that happened, who made those decisions. We have a right to know ... in the meantime, we pray that somewhere, in the United States government, there as an adult who cares enough to get this situation under control immediately.

They do say that there's no smoke without fire.  In this case, there's so much smoke that I can only assume there's a raging conflagration beneath it all.  We need answers - public, honest, no-evasion answers - and those responsible for getting us into this mess need to pay for their mistakes and (probable) misdeeds.  Certainly, the least they should suffer is dismissal from their jobs and a permanent prohibition against ever again working for any branch of any government whatsoever - national, regional or local.

Peter