Photo credit: www.yahoo.com
NEW YORK (Reuters) – The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has reached a conclusion suggesting that the COVID-19 pandemic is “more likely” to have originated from a laboratory rather than from natural sources, according to a spokesperson from the agency.
For an extended period, the CIA maintained that it could not definitively determine if the virus was the result of a lab incident or from natural transmission. However, during the closing weeks of the Biden administration, former CIA Director William Burns directed analysts and scientists to arrive at a decisive evaluation, emphasizing the importance of the pandemic’s historical context, as shared by a senior U.S. official.
The CIA’s current report expresses “low confidence” in the assertion that a lab-related cause is more probable for the pandemic’s origin, while simultaneously indicating that both possibilities—laboratory-related and natural emergence—remain viable scenarios.
A request for comment sent to the Chinese embassy in Washington went unanswered.
It is not clear whether the CIA has gathered new intelligence regarding the origins of COVID-19 and if such information influenced the latest evaluation.
The government of China asserts that it has engaged in and supports ongoing research to uncover COVID-19’s origins, while accusing the United States of politicizing the investigation, particularly in light of U.S. intelligence agencies’ scrutiny.
Beijing has consistently claimed that allegations of the pandemic stemming from a laboratory leak lack credibility.
In a recent interview with Breitbart after his confirmation by the U.S. Senate, CIA Director John Ratcliffe highlighted that one of his top priorities is for the agency to publish an assessment pertaining to the origins of the pandemic.
“That’s a day-one thing for me,” Ratcliffe stated. “I’ve been on record as you know in saying I think our intelligence, our science, and our common sense all really dictate that the origins of COVID was a leak at the Wuhan Institute of Virology.”
Source
www.yahoo.com