Bioweapons, Labs, And Conspiracies, Crazy And Real

Bioweapons labs run by the US inside Ukraine? Why not? After all, from "safe escape corridors" actually being bombed by Russian troops, claiming that Ukrainians are kidnapping Indian students and using them as shields, through to Putin's stated goal to "denazify" Ukraine, it seems that all's fair in non-consensual love and war?

By the way: Ukraine does have a "Nazi" issue, but not one that requires or justifies an invasion, I agree, though awareness of this is important and shouldn't be treated in the manner that some outlets, such as The Young Turks, are treating it, which is as a reason to assert aspects they can't possibly know to be facts, using that to elevate themselves above all to attack others in a manner that contradicts anything they claim to be, all whilst betraying how grossly bigoted they invariably show themselves to be regarding anyone outside their sphere of thinking or of behaviour, often getting major stories wrong simply because they're seriously stuck in the partisanship game in a way that truly annoys me—which I've continually voiced, needing to do so again after watching half of their latest episode—and which is made all the more annoying with their constant self-congratulatory remarks, calling themselves the only 'true journalists.' (Ha!)    

I have to agree with Roger Waters (of Pink Floyd fame) who trashed them pretty badly in May 2021, finding them pointless and offensive following their clear-cut assertion of what were clear falsehoods regarding the Assad regime and Syria, as this parallels their take on anyone examining the Nazi aspect, albeit in a serious manner, as they believe it is irrelevant. Now that's just as black or white and as asinine as anyone seeing real reason and finding validity for an invasion in Putin's "denazification" claim. 

As I've stated several times, the rise of the extreme-Right as a whole, across the globe, is a serious issue, and understanding how this is playing out and how the dynamics of such labels are exploited by all sides has far more to do with what being a journalist is all about, not what the two TYT hosts are doing, but I digress. 

Now, as for those labs...   

The US biolabs in Ukraine. This is actually an old story that was revived right before the Russian invasion of Ukraine, mentioned by some as a reason why the US is eager to keep Russia out of Ukraine, as they don't want their 'nasty little secret' being revealed. After the invasion, it was mentioned again with claims that Russia was specifically targeting these biolabs, and had managed to destroy seven out of the eleven labs located within Ukraine, though some sources claim that there are 15 of these labs in the country.

But wouldn't sending a missile on a lab be the least desirable thing to do if one truly believes that there are deadly pathogens inside; seems like a sure way to release a few of them into the wild... 

Actually, there's nothing secret about these facilities; US involvement in these labs are part of a global effort carried under the name of "Biological Threat Reduction Program" led by the US Department of Defense; the US and Ukraine governments partnered in 2005 to "prevent the proliferation of dangerous pathogens and related expertise and to minimize potential biological threats," according to the treaty.  

Biological Threat Reduction Program | U.S. Embassy in Ukraine (usembassy.gov)

In August of 2005, the Ukrainian Ministry of Health and the US Department of Defense signed an “Agreement Concerning Cooperation in the Area of Prevention of Proliferation of Technology, Pathogens and Expertise That Could Be Used in the Development of Biological Weapons.”

The following explainer is from the US Embassy in Ukraine's website (link above or click on image, right):

The U.S. Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program collaborates with partner countries to counter the threat of outbreaks (deliberate, accidental, or natural) of the world’s most dangerous infectious diseases.  The program accomplishes its bio-threat reduction mission through development of a bio-risk management culture; international research partnerships; and partner capacity for enhanced bio-security, bio-safety, and bio-surveillance measures. The Biological Threat Reduction Program’s priorities in Ukraine are to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern and to continue to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats.

The facilities are located in the following Ukrainian cities: Odessa, Vinnytsia, Uzhgorod, Lviv (three), Kharkiv, Kyiv (four), Kherson, Ternopil.

Of note: All the links to the "fact sheets" offered in the right-hand sidebar of that embassy website lead to a "page can't be reached - check for a typo" browser warning.

These two websites offer fact checking on the issue that's entirely in line with my own findings:

Fact check: Claim of 'US biolabs' in Ukraine is disinformation | USA Today (usatoday.com)

There are no US-run biolabs in Ukraine, contrary to social media posts | PolitiFact.

In 2015, Alex Jones' InfoWars accused the Pentagon of developing new types of biological weapons in secret military laboratories in Ukraine. The facilities were constructed under the terms of the bilateral agreement signed between the Ministry of Health of Ukraine and the Department of Defense in 2012.

In 2017, OrientalReview repeated the following claims as the 'real' motivation behind these labs:

As a matter of fact, the real purpose of these [Central Reference Laboratory] has been described by the journalist Jeffrey Silverman. He claims that the laboratories’ goal is to study biological weapons at a location far from the US.  In addition, the materials from the laboratories will make it possible to:

1. Circumvent the Geneva Convention’s 1972 prohibition on bacteriological and toxin weapons, as well as the additional protocol to this convention, drawn up in the 1990s, that would verify efforts by the treaty’s signatories to comply with its provisions (and which, by the way, the US refused to ratify in 2001).
2. Test biological agents in the field, making them more virulent, tracking how they spread, and adjusting their attributes.
3. Expand their base of knowledge, develop the technology to attack biological-weapons facilities, and improve the capabilities of the pharmaceutical industry by developing medicines and vaccines against a variety of pathogens.
4. Carry out sabotage operations intended to cause economic damage to the countries near the sites of these laboratories.
   Pentagon Setting Biological Bombs Against Europe? | OrientalReview.org

This wild, conspiracy angle was re-opened in 23-Apr-2020 and in 28-Mar-2021: The secret US biolabs in Ukraine | Seemorerocks

And now China has joined Russia in calling for a review of US involvement and operations in these labs: China urges U.S. to release details of bio-labs in Ukraine-Xinhua | (news.cn)

But, the US... What If?

Indeed, given the constant lies by the US Establishment folks and their 'Intelligence' services, there could very well be some truth to some of these claims and there could be shady goings on happening, but in all labs, and to the degree promoted by the usual conspiracists?

What is troubling, however, are what appears to be a slew of outbreaks of very specific contagious diseases in the areas where these labs exist, occurring not long after US involvement was confirmed. But, as with all else that falls within this sphere, it's hard to confirm all of these outbreaks and the extent of genuine cases, nor is there anything that would satisfactorily link cause and effect, though one shouldn't expect neon signs and arrows pointing to these labs if these outbraks are real, the efforts within these labs are nefarious, and any of these events are related to these facilities.

The Rationale - The Approach, Explained

Dated 3-Dec-2010 - BMC Public Health 

The following paper focuses on Georgia's efforts to enhance biosafety and biosecurity. Certainly, the bio facility located at Lugar in Georgia gets much mention in any conspiracy theory that pushes the US bioweapons narrative; the paper explains the real whats and whys which also apply to Ukraine.

Online version: Biosafety and biosecurity as essential pillars of international health security and cross-cutting elements of biological nonproliferation | BMC Public Health | Full Text (biomedcentral.com)