The truth of COVID-19 and demand for accountability
By Lieutenant General (Ret.) Keith Kellogg and Heidi Overton and M.D. - - Sunday, June 6, 2021
ANALYSIS/OPINION:
Two weeks ago, in response to the mounting evidence of the plausibility of the theory that SARS-CoV-2 may have leaked from a Chinese lab, President Biden ordered an investigation into the origins of COVID-19 by the U.S. intelligence agencies and called for a full report within 90 days. But what will the Biden Administration do with the findings of the report? There is credible concern that the window to find objective evidence is closing. If the report comes back with more evidence like that which the intelligence community has had for over a year, will President Biden take action?
The federal government has already been investigating the possibility of a man-made origin of COVID-19 for over a year now. In fact, U.S. intelligence agencies confirmed last April that they were examining the possibility of a lab leak from the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV). Former President Donald J. Trump and former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo told the public in late April 2020 that there was significant evidence to support the lab leak hypothesis and began discussing ways to hold China accountable for intentionally misleading the world.
Unfortunately, until last month both the hypothesis and any individual promoting it received an anti-science and conspiracist label. This labeling was applied to Senator Tom Cotton, a member of the Senate Intelligence Committee, who was among the first to voice concern about the origin of the virus. Elected Republican lawmakers weren’t the only ones raising these questions. For example, Mr. Jamie Metzl, a former Clinton Administration National Security Council official with expertise in genetic engineering, explained why involvement of the WIV was the most plausible explanation of SARS-CoV-2’s origination back in July 2020. He presented similar evidence to what is circulating now—that the WIV had been in possession of the virus most genetically similar to SARS-CoV-2 since 2012 and was doing “gain of function” experiments—but these revelations did not change popular opinion last summer.
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READ MORE: https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2021/jun/6/truth-covid-19-demand-accountability/
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The WHO should also be held accountable. The global success of future pandemic responses depends on its reform. Doing so offers an opportunity to rethink global health and to evaluate America’s return on investment for the sizable contributions to the multilateral institution. The breakdown of the global-health infrastructure and use of ad hoc bilateral and private sector cooperation in addressing COVID-19 outbreaks around the world suggest that the U.S. can use its resources more effectively.
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Following the previous administration’s efforts over 2020 to both study and report on the origins of COVID-19, today the Biden Administration must focus on what must be done in light of those findings, not just produce another report that restates them. The world needs accountability from China—we cannot afford another cover-up.
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