Langbahn Team – Weltmeisterschaft

User:Humanengr/Reporting re Gabbard

On April 22, 2020, the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine stated: "[T]he U.S. Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program works with the Ukrainian Government to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern in Ukrainian government facilities …."[1]

  • OWNERSHIP / OPERATION: U.S. Embassy in Ukraine said: The U.S. "works with the Ukrainian Government to consolidate and secure pathogens …."

On February 24, 2022, Snopes wrote: "Ukraine and the U.S. entered into an agreement in 2005, [to place] safeguards on deadly pathogens dating from a Soviet-era biological weapons program."; and "[T]he U.S. did not install and does not operate biolabs in Ukraine".[2]

  • OWNERSHIP / OPERATION: Snopes said: The U.S. did not install or operate biolabs in Ukraine.
  • OWNERSHIP / OPERATION: Snopes cited an agreement to safeguard "deadly pathogens dating from a Soviet-era biological weapons program."

On February 25, Politifact wrote: "Last year, Russia and China began spreading the false claim that the U.S. has biolabs along each of their borders, …."[3]

  • OWNERSHIP / OPERATION: Politifact said: The U.S. does not have biolabs in Ukraine.

Also on February 25, the Bulletin of Atomic Scientists said: "The US government has worked with 26 facilities in Ukraine. Before the invasion, the program provided direct material support to six Ukrainian labs." and "Some labs, he said, may hold pathogen strains left over from the Soviet bioweapons program, preserved in freezers for research purposes."[4]

  • DANGER: BAS said "Some labs may hold pathogen strains left over from the Soviet bioweapons program.

On February 27, USA Today wrote: (as 1st sub-head) "The claim: There are biolabs in Ukraine funded by the US government"; and stated "Russia has teamed up with China to further amplify the false claim of U.S. labs in Ukraine. … [W]e rate FALSE the claim that there are U.S. biolabs in Ukraine funded by the U.S. government. … The labs are owned and funded by the Ukrainian government. The Security Service of Ukraine and the U.S. Embassy in Ukraine have said the claim is false."[5]

  • OWNERSHIP / OPERATION: USA Today said: The labs are owned … by Ukraine.
  • MISLEADING and WRONG re FUNDING: USA Today said: The labs are … funded by Ukraine. They (at minimum, also) receive funding from U.S.; and the 1st sub-head is, by itself entirely wrong: There are "biolabs in Ukraine funded by the US government".

On March 2, Andrew Weber, a senior fellow at the Council on Strategic Risks and a board member of the nonpartisan Arms Control Association [and] a former assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs, said the Defense Department “has never had a biological laboratory in Ukraine.”[6]

  • OWNERSHIP / OPERATION: Andrew Weber, a former assistant secretary of defense for nuclear, chemical and biological defense programs said: The U.S. "has never had a biological laboratory in Ukraine."

On March 7, the State Department's Victoria Nuland said: "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."[7]

  • OWNERSHIP / OPERATION: Nuland said: "Ukraine has biological research facilities …"
  • DANGER: Nuland said: "Ukraine has … research materials" which the U.S. is "working with the Ukrainians" to "prevent … falling into the hands of Russian forces."

On March 9, Tucker Carlson asked Gabbard: "How concerned are you that Victoria Nuland who is overseeing this war has just admitted there are unsecured bio agents, dangerous bio agents in Ukraine?"

Gabbard responded:

"I'm extremely concerned as should be every American and everyone, one in the world. The seriousness of this situation really can't be overstated.

  • GABBARD: I'm extremely concerned" about 'dangerous bio agents'.

"First of all, she didn't say 'no' when she was asked by Marco Rubio about there being biological or chemical weapons in Ukraine. So if, if there were or are, obviously that would be a violation of the biological weapons convention."

  • GABBARD: Gabbard did not say she was concerned about 'biological or chemical weapons'; she said, "So if, if there were or are [biological or chemical weapons] that would be a violation of the biological weapons convention."

Number two, … they're categorically been trying to hide this as you've laid out very, very well.

  • [Carlson had earlier quoted from USA Today (see above): "Russia has teamed up with China to further amplify the false claim of U.S. labs in Ukraine".]

And then once they were found out, rather than saying, 'Hey, you know what? This is critical, an emergency. It's a crisis. We have these pathogens in the midst of a war zone. Yes. Not just in one location, but between 20 and 30 labs in Ukraine, we, this is a global crisis. We're gonna take action immediately.' This is how a responsible leader would react given the crisis of this moment.

  • GABBARD: Gabbard's concern is re pathogens.

But instead, what did they do? Her response to, to Senator Rubio was immediately start pointing fingers. We're gonna preemptively start the blame game. Should anything happen to these pathogens and, and who knows what is going on in these labs before anything bad happens? Just say, you know what? It's the bad guys. It's the bad guys who are responsible for this. It's the height of irresponsibility —their response to this; the fact that they're covering it up; the fact that they aren't doing really what needs to be done, because if, unless this war in Ukraine ends right now ends tonight, we face a, a very real certainty that one or more of these labs will be compromised, will be breached. And it won't just be the people of Ukraine who are impacted. We could face another global crisis when you look at a pathogen that could be released. We just went through this with COVID. We can't have forgotten this already.

  • GABBARD: Gabbard's concern is re pathogens.

On March 9, per PolitiFact, "U.S. government officials said unequivocally that the U.S. does not have biolabs in Ukraine."[8]

  • OWNERSHIP / OPERATION: Politifact said: "U.S. government officials said unequivocally that the U.S. does not have biolabs in Ukraine."

On March 10, a CNN fact-check reported: "There are US-funded biolabs in Ukraine, that much is true."[9]

  • FUNDING: CNN said: "There are US-funded biolabs in Ukraine …."

On March 10, Rubio asked DNI Avril Haines: "I think the one thing that’s piqued a lot of people’s interest and I hope we can address is [what Under Secretary] Nuland said a couple of days ago in response to my question in another hearing. This is a quote: “The U.S. government is concerned about preventing any of these research materials from falling into the hands of Russian forces should they approach.” People will hear that and say, “Well, that means that there must be something in these labs that’s very dangerous; they possess pathogens or something….” Look, we’re all coming off the trauma of COVID-19, the possibility that there might have been an accident or a leak out of a lab there that we still don’t know the answer to. It’s in that context that people read that statement or hear it and say, “It sounds to me like they have labs, these labs are working on dangerous things….” How should people assess [Under Secretary Nuland’s] statement?"

Haines replied: "[That the Russians might in] fact, misuse some of the material that’s there, that’s not intended for weapons purposes, but nevertheless can be used in dangerous ways or that can create challenges for the local populations."

  • DANGER: Haines said "the material … can be used in dangerous ways.

Rubio asked Director of the CIA William J. Burns: "[Under] Secretary Nuland said there’s these [bioresearch] facilities [in Ukraine] and there’s something in those facilities. It’s dangerous because we’re afraid the Russians will get a hold of it. Now I understand that there’s a difference between a bioweapons facility and one that’s doing research. A bioresearch facility is a totally different thing than a bioweapons facility, because you could have samples of a deadly or serious pathogen, but that doesn’t mean you could weaponize it or that you’re working on weaponizing it. But people ask themselves if there [are] these facilities there…? There’s a lot at play here. This is not on you, but a long time ago, this should have been acknowledged, [that] there are all these labs. A lot of these fact checkers just said, don’t even mention labs, because they don’t even exist. They do. They exist all over the world. There’s labs like that right here. So what I think got some people fired up is when she said we’re worried that the Russians will get a hold of these facilities. Because that implies that there’s something in those [that is] dangerous. I don’t know if you could shed some light on how there can be things in the lab that are dangerous, but they may not be weapons labs?"

Burns replied: "The danger here, it seems to me, is the capacity the Russians have developed and that they’ve used in the past, and their interest in trying to create false narratives here as well. You have to be careful about any of those substances you’ve talked about, which you see in public health or research systems around the world for civilian purposes. While you have to be careful about that, that is in no way akin to the kind of threats that would be posed by weapons research and development or weapons facilities."[10]

  • DANGER: Burns said "You have to be careful about any of those substances you’ve talked about …."

On March 10, a DoD senior official said "[W]e have have invested approximately $200 million" in Biological Threat Reduction Program activities in Ukraine.[11]

  • FUNDING: This, in effect, repeated and elaborated with $ figure, the CNN fact-check above.

On March 10, Reuters reported that WHO said "WHO has strongly recommended to the Ministry of Health in Ukraine and other responsible bodies to destroy high-threat pathogens to prevent any potential spills"; that "The WHO would not say when it had made the recommendation nor did it provide specifics about the kinds of pathogens or toxins housed in Ukraine's laboratories. The agency also did not answer questions about whether its recommendations were followed"; and that "The WHO statement to Reuters referred solely to public health laboratories."[12]

  • DANGER: WHO, in effect, reported the possible existence of "high-threat pathogens".

On March 11, the Pentagon issued a 'Fact sheet' stating "The United States, … has [been] supporting 46 Ukrainian laboratories, ….; Russia illegally took possession of two Ukrainian-owned laboratories that [the U.S.] BTRP upgraded in 2014 ….".[13]

  • FUNDING: This further elaborated with # of labs figure, the CNN fact-check above.

On March 13 at 11:53 UTC, Gabbard reiterated the urgency, posting on Twitter:

There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world. We must take action now to prevent disaster. US/Russia/Ukraine/NATO/UN/EU must implement a ceasefire now around these labs until they’re secured & pathogens destroyed

  • GABBARD: Gabbard's concern is re biolabs and pathogens; she did not express concern re bioweapons.

The tweet was accompanied by a video where she said:

Here are the undeniable facts. There are 25 to 30 US-funded biolabs in Ukraine. According to the U.S. government, these biolabs are conducting research on dangerous pathogens. Ukraine is an active war zone with widespread bombing, artillery and shelling, and these facilities, even in the best of circumstances, could easily be compromised and release these deadly pathogens.

Now, like COVID, these pathogens know no borders. If they are inadvertently or purposely breached or compromised, they will quickly spread all throughout Europe, the United States, and the rest of the world causing untold suffering and death.

So in order to protect the American people, the people of Europe, the people around the world, these labs need to be shut down immediately and the pathogens they hold need to be destroyed.

Instead of trying to cover this up, the Biden-Harris Administration needs to work with Russia, Ukraine, NATO, the UN to immediately implement a ceasefire for all military action in the vicinity of these labs until they're secured and these pathogens are destroyed.

Now, in addition to all this, the US funds around 300 biolabs around the world who are engaging in dangerous research, including gain of function, similar to the lab in Wuhan where COVID-19 may have originated from.

Now, after realizing how dangerous and vulnerable these labs are, they should have all been shut down two years ago, but they haven't.

Now, this is not a partisan political issue.

The administration and Congress need to act now for the health and wellbeing of every American and every person on this planet.

  • GABBARD: Gabbard again expressed concern re pathogens.

At 19:30 UTC, Forbes staff member Derek Saul reported "Tulsi Gabbard shared false information Sunday about U.S. involvement in Ukraine biological laboratories"; paraphrased from Gabbard's video of earlier that day: "Gabbard said there are 25 to 30 American-funded biological laboratories in Ukraine and called for an immediate ceasefire at the laboratories as they could spread dangerous pathogens." Saul followed that with "Gabbard’s concern about the spread of pathogens is supported by fact … but there’s no evidence of the U.S. supporting biological labs in Ukraine and the U.S. has consistently denied doing so."[14]

  • WRONG re FUNDING: Forbes said "there’s no evidence of the U.S. supporting biological labs in Ukraine"; contra CNN and Pentagon above.

At 20:08 UTC, CBS Face the Nation's David Martin said a Pentagon official told him: "The concern is that the Russians will seize one of these biomedical research facilities that Ukraine has where they do research on deadly pathogens … [that] the US has been providing support for …." [15]

  • FUNDING: Per CBS, a Pentagon official said: The US has been providing support for research on deadly pathogens.

At 21:59 UTC, Mitt Romney tweeted "Tulsi Gabbard is parroting false Russian propaganda. Her treasonous lies may well cost lives."[16]

  • ACCUSATION: Romney accused Gabbard.

On March 14, at 02:24 UTC, Rep. Adam Kinzinger remarked “actual Russian propaganda. Traitorous …" in a retweet of Gabbard's video of the prior day.[17][18]

  • ACCUSATION: Kinzinger accused Gabbard.

At 09:01 UTC, when asked by Carlson "What would be your response to Mitt Romney?", Gabbard said:

Well, first of all, I think it's important to point out here that this is not a matter of disagreement or holding a dissenting view. This is about facts. And this is about the truth. So while Senator Romney and all these different talking heads in the mainstream media are regurgitating Hillary Clinton's slanderous talking points, the facts remain.

Number one is: They're accusing me of saying that somehow there are bioweapons labs in Ukraine. I've said no such thing at any point. I have said that there are biolabs in Ukraine that have received U.S. support that contained dangerous pathogens; that if those labs are breached, then we and the world are facing a potential future of pandemics; that this is a dangerous crisis that needs to be addressed immediately. These pathogens need to be destroyed.

The second thing they're saying is they deny — even though there is a plethora of evidence that exists — they deny that these biolabs are even there, which is shocking to me that we've heard over and over. You've played so many clips from people in the mainstream media saying these biolabs — these supposed biolabs — as though there's some fantasy, when over and over and over again, officials from our own government — Department of State, Department of Defense, and so on — are saying these biolabs in Ukraine have dangerous pathogens and we're very concerned that they may be breached. That's the concern that I've continued to raise because it is not left or right, Democrat or Republican. This is serious safety and health and life concern for the American people and people around the world. And so the media is lying. …

And then in response to Carlson saying, "By the way, the U.S. Government has said that there are bioweapons Ukraine, there are Soviet-era bioweapons", Gabbard said Over and over.

  • N.B. See Snopes and BAS, above.

At 10:33 UTC, Ewan Palmer of Newsweek reported "Gabbard had asserted, accurately, that the U.S. funds bio labs in Ukraine, not bio weapons labs."[19]

  • N.B. Newsweek's Palmer correctly reported that Gabbard said that the U.S. funds bio labs in Ukraine, not bio weapons labs.

At 12:01 UTC, on Carlson's show, Gabbard said:

"They're accusing me of saying that somehow there are bioweapons labs in Ukraine. I've said no such thing at any point. I have said that there are biolabs in Ukraine that have received U.S. support that contained dangerous pathogens."[20]

  • GABBARD: Gabbard responded to criticism: she had not said that there are bioweapons labs in Ukraine; she had said "there are biolabs in Ukraine that have received U.S. support that contained dangerous pathogens."

At 12:35 UTC, Gabbard responded to Romney in a tweet:[21]

- .@MittRomney, you have called me a ‘treasonous liar’ for stating the fact that “there are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world” and therefore must be secured in order to prevent new pandemics. Bizarrely, you claim that securing these labs (or even calling for securing these labs) is treasonous and will lead to a loss of life, when the exact opposite is obviously true. The spread of pathogens is what will cause the loss of life, not the prevention of such spread.

- Senator Romney, please provide evidence that what I said is untrue and treasonous. If you cannot, you should do the honorable thing: apologize and resign from the Senate.

- Evidence of the existence of such biolabs, their vulnerability, and thus the need to take immediate action to secure them is beyond dispute:

- #1. State Department’s Victoria Nuland acknowledged such labs containing dangerous pathogens exist in Ukraine in her testimony to the US Senate (March 8, 2022): “Ukraine has biological research facilities which, in fact we are quite concerned that Russian troops may be seeking to gain control of. 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.”

- #2. Pentagon Fact sheet (March 11, 2022) has numerous statements directly & indirectly confirming the existence of such biolabs. https://media.defense.gov/2022/Mar/11/2002954612/-1/-1/0/FACT-SHEET-THE-DEPARTMENT-OF-DEFENSE'S-COOPERATIVE-THREAT-REDUCTION-PROGRAM-BIOLOGICAL-THREAT-REDUCTION-PROGRAM-ACTIVITIES-IN-UKRAINE.PDF

- “The United States, through BTRP, has invested approximately $200 million in Ukraine since 2005, supporting 46 Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities, and diagnostic sites.”

- #3. CBS Face the Nation (March 13, 2022) correspondent David Martin said a Pentagon official told him they’re concerned about the existence of such biolabs in Ukraine: “The concern is that the Russians will seize one of these biomedical research facilities that Ukraine has...

- ...where they do research on deadly pathogens like botulism and anthrax, seize one of those facilities, weaponize the pathogen, and then blame it on Ukraine and the US, because the US has been providing support for some of the research being done in those facilities.”

- #4. In April 2020, in refuting Russia’s accusation that U.S. is using biolabs in Ukraine to develop biological weapons, U.S. Embassy in Ukraine acknowledged there are U.S. funded labs in Ukraine working with pathogens for vaccine & other peaceful purposes https://ua.usembassy.gov/u-s-ukraine-partnership-to-reduce-biological-threats/

- #5. CNN fact-check (March 10, 2022): “There are US-funded biolabs in Ukraine, that much is true.”

- #6. Furthermore, according to the DoD there are two biolabs in Ukraine that have been under Russian control for some time: “Russia illegally took possession of two Ukrainian-owned laboratories that BTRP upgraded in 2014 and continues to deny Ukrainian access to these facilities.”

- So, Senator Romney, you have a choice: out of pride, continue to deny the truth or admit you are wrong, apologize, and resign.

- Aloha.

- And remember that without the truth, we can be neither safe nor free.

  • GABBARD: Gabbard responded to Romney.

At 15:00 UTC, A co-host on The View (former Trump White House communications director, Alyssa Farah Griffin) said "I think Mitt Romney is absolutely right."[22][23]

  • ACCUSATION: A co-host on The View, former Trump White House communications director, Alyssa Farah Griffin, said "I think Mitt Romney is absolutely right."

At 22:01 UTC, Gabbard redid her response to Romney as a video (in response to a request in a reply[24] to her earlier tweet); it is more conversational with different emphases, but covers the same issues:

[prefacing caption:] .@MittRomney and others say that I'm treasonous because I called for a ceasefire around the 25+ biolabs in Ukraine to prevent the breach of such facilities & escape of pathogens, and prevent more pandemics. Romney should resign.

[video:] Senator Romney, you've called me a treasonous liar simply for stating the fact that there are over 25 US funded biolabs in Ukraine, which if breached would release and spread deadly pathogens across the United States and the world, and therefore they must be secured so that we can prevent any new pandemics from occurring. Now bizarrely, you claim that securing these labs, or even calling for securing these labs is treasonous and will lead to a loss of life when the exact opposite is obviously true. The spread of pathogens is what will cause the loss of life, not the prevention of such a spread. So Senator Romney, please provide evidence that what I've said is not true and treasonous. And if you cannot, you should do the honorable thing. Apologize, resign from the US Senate evidence of the existence of these biolabs in Ukraine, their vulnerability, and therefore the need to take immediate action to secure them is beyond dispute. Just the other day, the state department's Victoria Nuland acknowledged that these labs that contain dangerous pathogens exist in Ukraine. In her testimony to the US Senate, 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.

In a Pentagon fact sheet dated March 11th, there are numerous statements that both directly and indirectly confirm the existence of these biolabs. The United States through BTRP has invested approximately $200 million in Ukraine since 2005, supporting 46 Ukrainian laboratories, health facilities and diagnostic sites on CBS faced the nation. On March 13th, CBS National Security correspondent David Martin said that he'd spoken to a Pentagon official just that morning who told him they're concerned about the existence of these biolabs in Ukraine.

The concern is that the Russians will seize one of these biomedical research facilities that Ukraine has, where they do research on deadly pathogens like botulism and Anthrax sees one of those facilities weaponize the pathogen, and then blame it on Ukraine and the US because the US has been providing support for some of the research being done in those facilities.

Now in April of 2020, in refuting Russia's accusations that the US was using labs in Ukraine to develop biological weapons. The US Embassy in Ukraine acknowledge that there are US funded labs in Ukraine working with pathogens for vaccines and other peaceful purposes. In A CNN fact check on March 10th, 2022, there are US funded labs in Ukraine. That much is true. Furthermore, according to the DOD, there are two biolab in Ukraine that have been under Russian control for quite some time. Russia illegally took possession of two Ukrainian owned laboratories that BTRP upgraded in 2014 and continues to deny Ukrainian access to these facilities. So Senator Romney, you have a choice out of pride. Continue to deny the truth or admit that you're wrong. Apologize and resign.

Aloha, and remember that without the truth, we can be neither safe nor free.

On March 15 at 04:51 UTC, Gabbard tweeted:

I'm not convinced there are biological weapons labs or biological weapons in Ukraine—that's not what I'm concerned about. I'm concerned about the existence of the 25+ biological labs in that warzone. As i said 2 days ago: There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world. We must take action now to prevent disaster. US/Russia/Ukraine/NATO/UN/EU must implement a ceasefire now around these labs until they’re secured & pathogens destroyed. “Biolabs”, “bioweapons labs”, and “bioweapons” are 3 very different things. But because these phrases are so similar, there is sometimes miscommunication and misunderstanding when discussing them. I recently experienced this myself. So let me clarify: “Biolabs” are facilities which contain and experiment with dangerous pathogens, ostensibly for the purpose of serving the public good (i.e. vaccines, etc.). “Biological weapons labs” are facilities which exist for the purpose of turning pathogens into weapons so they can be used against an enemy (i.e. “bioweapons”). The danger of pathogens being released from biolabs in Ukraine is very real, and we need to take action immediately to prevent an impending catastrophe.[25][26]

  • GABBARD: Gabbard repeated that her concern is with pathogens, not with bioweapons.

At 12:37 UTC, Ewan Palmer of Newsweek, in an article headlined "Tulsi Gabbard Clarifies Ukraine Bio Labs Remarks After Widespread Outrage" said "Former congresswoman Tulsi Gabbard has clarified her comments about bio labs in Ukraine after she was accused of lending credibility to Russian propaganda."

  • WRONGLY asserted that GABBARD CLARIFIED: Newsweek's Palmer claimed Gabbard had "'clarified' her comments about bio labs in Ukraine"; she repeated, she didn't clarify:
    • On March 9, she said "This is critical, an emergency. It's a crisis. We have these pathogens in the midst of a war zone. Yes. Not just in one location, but between 20 and 30 labs in Ukraine, we, this is a global crisis. We're gonna take action immediately."
    • On March 13, she said "There are 25+ US-funded biolabs in Ukraine which if breached would release & spread deadly pathogens to US/world. We must take action now to prevent disaster."

[cont'd] In a series of tweets on Monday, the 2020 Democratic presidential hopeful responded to the fierce criticism she has received for a video about the threat of Moscow targeting "U.S.-funded bio labs" in Ukraine and spreading "deadly pathogens."

  • N.B. Palmer states that the criticism was re the 3/13 video.

[cont'd] Gabbard's video, posted on March 13, was accused of echoing false claims made by the Kremlin to justify its invasion of Ukraine—that the country is housing labs funded by the U.S. military that are developing chemical or biological weapons.

[cont'd] The former Hawaii congresswoman also recently told Fox News' Tucker Carlson that she was "deeply concerned" over claims about biological weapons in Ukraine.

  • KEY MISTAKE —> WRONG re WHAT GABBARD SAID: Palmer misstated what Gabbard said in the 3/9 interview. She was concerned about "dangerous bio agents" (aka pathogens); she didn't say she was concerned about "biological weapons". And she used the phrase "extremely concerned", not "deeply concerned".

[cont'd] On Twitter, Gabbard explained that she doesn't believe there are biological weapons labs or biological weapons in Ukraine

  • WRONG re WHAT GABBARD SAID: Palmer created the impression Gabbard had previously indicated she believed "there are biological weapons labs or biological weapons in Ukraine". She didn't believe there were biological weapons labs or biological weapons in Ukraine. What she had said on 3/9 was "if, if there were or are [biological or chemical weapons], obviously that would be a violation of the biological weapons convention."

[cont'd] —as Russia would have it—but was expressing concern about the fact that there are labs researching pathogens in an active warzone.

  • MISLEADING: Gabbard had first said this on 3/9.

[cont'd] She suggested that there might have been some "miscommunication and misunderstanding" about the terms bio labs and bio weapons labs. …

  • MISLEADING re WHAT GABBARD SAID: There was "miscommunication and misunderstanding" in what others had said, not in what she had said. (E.g., USA Today saying 'biolabs' when they should have said "Biological weapons labs".)

At 17:18 UTC, The Washington Post said Gabbard falsely claimed the U.S. was "trying to cover this up" and "Gabbard is generating attention and engagement while she is amplifying this negative and misleading assertion about the U.S. government."[27]

  • ACCUSATION: Gabbard's claim that the U.S. was "trying to cover this up" was true. See USA Today saying on 2/27: "The U.S. does not fund biolabs in Ukraine".[5] Or other statements speaking only to 'ownership' of the labs such as Politifact on 2/25: "Last year, Russia and China began spreading the false claim that the U.S. has biolabs along each of their borders");[3] USA Today on 2/27: "[W]e rate FALSE the claim that there are U.S. biolabs in Ukraine funded by the U.S. government."[5]

At 23:40 UTC, The Daily Mail claimed that "Gabbard sought to 'clarify' her remarks on [March 15]" and "Gabbard tweeted that her points were being misconstrued."[28]

  • WRONGLY asserted that GABBARD CLARIFIED: Daily Mail claimed that "Gabbard sought to 'clarify' her remarks". She wasn't clarifying her remarks; she was clarifying terminology others' had misused.
  • [CORRECT: Daily Mail tweeted that "her points were being misconstrued" — if this means others were wrongly interpreting something she said.]

On March 18, The Independent wrote "Ms Gabbbard [sp] has since 'clarified' her remarks …".[29]

  • WRONGLY asserted that GABBARD CLARIFIED: She wasn't clarifying her remarks; she was clarifying terminology others' had misused.

On August 30, 2024, Dana Milbank, in a Washington Post op-ed wrote: "Gabbard endorsed Russian propaganda in falsely claiming the United States was funding biological laboratories in Ukraine that could spread dangerous pathogens."[30]

  • WRONG re FUNDING: "[T]he United States was funding biological laboratories in Ukraine that could spread dangerous pathogens" is a true statement.

On November 13, 2024, Trump nominated Gabbard for DNI.

That same day, Politico said Gabbard "caused an uproar by suggesting Ukraine housed U.S.-funded bioweapons labs."[31]

  • WRONG re WHAT GABBARD SAID: She didn't suggest Ukraine housed U.S.-funded bioweapons labs.

On November 14, 2024, The Atlantic said Gabbard "has repeated Russian propaganda claims that the U.S. has set up secret bioweapons labs,"[32] citing a writer on Russian security and intelligence.[33]

  • WRONG re WHAT GABBARD SAID: As indicated above, she hadn't repeated any claims about bioweapons labs.

On November 14, a reporter for NBC's Investigative Unit said Gabbard "sought to clarify" what she had said.[34][35]

  • WRONGLY asserted that GABBARD CLARIFIED: She wasn't clarifying her remarks; she was clarifying terminology others' had misused.

The Wall Street Journal said "She later clarified her remarks …".[36]

  • WRONGLY asserted that GABBARD CLARIFIED: She wasn't clarifying her remarks; she was clarifying terminology others' had misused.

On November 16, 2024, The Guardian said Gabbard "had accused the US of running bioweapons laboratories in Ukraine.[37]

  • WRONG re WHAT GABBARD SAID: She didn't accuse the US of running bioweapons laboratories.

On November 21, The Guardian said "In 2022, she endorsed a Russian claim [re] the existence of US-funded laboratories on Ukrainian soil, supposedly creating bioweapons …."[38]

  • WRONG re WHAT GABBARD SAID: She didn't endorse any claim about labs created bioweapons.

On December 4, 104 former diplomats, national security officials and intelligence officials[a] wrote to Senate leaders accusing Gabbard of "insinuating that U.S.-funded labs in Ukraine were developing biological weapons."[39][40][41]

  • WRONG re WHAT GABBARD SAID/INSINUATED: Gabbard expressed concerned with pathogens" in labs, not with "biological weapons".

---

  1. ^ Kyiv, U. S. Embassy (2020-04-22). "U.S.-Ukraine Partnership to Reduce Biological Threats". U.S. Embassy in Ukraine. Retrieved 2024-12-14.
  2. ^ Evon, Dan (2022-02-24). "Ukraine, US Biolabs, and an Ongoing Russian Disinformation Campaign". Snopes. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
  3. ^ a b Cercone, Jeff (2022-02-25). "Disinformation claims US-run biolabs in Ukraine". @politifact. Retrieved 2024-12-29.
  4. ^ Field, Matt (2022-02-26). "US official: Russian invasion of Ukraine risks release of dangerous pathogens". Bulletin of the Atomic Scientists. Retrieved 2024-12-31.
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Quelle: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Humanengr/Reporting_re_Gabbard