Robert Bridge
The Russians' argument for opening a 'special operation' in Ukraine just got a massive boost, Robert Bridge writes.
As Russia confirms the existence of biological research laboratories on Ukrainian soil, one of the primary architects of the 2014 Ukrainian coup, Victoria Nuland, has sounded the alarm. With yet another 'conspiracy theory' debunked as reality, does the shocking revelation provide Russia with the ultimate casus belli?
The fog of war is clearing fast in Ukraine, and what's being discovered is profoundly disturbing.
That much became obvious this week when the Republican Marc Rubio asked U.S. Deputy Secretary of State Victoria Nuland during a Senate Committee hearing: "Does Ukraine have chemical or biological weapons?" The response was every bit as unexpected as it was unnerving. First, the unexpected part: Nuland the inveterate neocon actually confirmed the existence of these previously denied labs.
Choosing her words as though the jobs of millions of fact-checkers hung in the balance, Nuland said: "Uh, Ukraine has biological research facilities, which, in fact, we are now quite concerned Russian troops, Russian forces may be seeking to, uh, 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, uh, Russian forces should they approach."
Despite all the previous talk about the 'Ukrainian labs' story being a fever dream of QAnon chat rooms, Russian media was reporting on the existence of these facilities over two years ago, just as Covid viral symptoms were sweeping a locked-down planet.
"Eight laboratories... were built and modernized with the participation of the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA) as part of the 'Program of Involvement in Special Biological Activities' in the period from 2005 to 2014," Izvestia reported in March 2020 to the sound of crickets in the West. "Laboratories were built in Vinnytsia, Dnipropetrovsk, Transcarpathian, Lviv, Kharkiv, Kherson, Ternopil regions..."
So much for 'Russian disinformation.'
Although it has become unfashionable these days to dabble in coincidence theories, one reason for Washington coming clean about the dirty labs was likely connected to the Russian Ministry of Foreign Affairs releasing a statement - the very same day as Nuland's confessional - confirming the existence of these facilities, as well as the toxic research being conducted there.
"We confirm that, during the special military operation in Ukraine, the Kiev regime was found to have been concealing traces of a military biological program implemented with funding from the United States Department of Defence," Foreign Ministry Spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said in a statement.
"Documentation on the urgent eradication of highly hazardous pathogens of plague, anthrax, rabbit-fever, cholera and other lethal diseases on February 24 [the same day the Russian 'special operation' kicked off] was received from employees of Ukrainian biolaboratories," she continued. "This included an instruction from the Ministry of Health of Ukraine on the urgent eradication of stored reserves of highly hazardous pathogens sent to all biolaboratories."
And now for the unnerving part. Of all the possible things the daft Republican Senator could have asked Nuland next - especially in a crucial election year - Rubio opted for a scene straight out of the Keystone Cops.
"I'm sure you're aware that the Russian propaganda groups are already putting out... information about how they've uncovered a plot by the Ukrainians to release biological weapons in the country, with NATO's coordination," Rubio ruminated, before delivering Nuland one of those limp-wristed underhand volleyball serves one normally gives to a child. "If there is a biological or chemical weapons incident or attack inside of Ukraine, is there any doubt in your mind that 100 percent it would be the Russians that would be behind it?"
To which Nuland responded: "There is no doubt in my mind, Senator, and it is classic Russian technique to blame on the other guy what they are planning to do themselves."
FACT: The Federal gov. has a documented paper trail of *funding* biolabs in Ukraine
FACT: The fed is now deleting documentation of this funding
We need to know more- NOW
It is certainly strange that the bipolar American establishment, which trembles at the thought of a few Proud Boys, has given judicial carte blanche powers to a Ukrainian government that has proven to be infiltrated by neo-Nazi ideology. But since we're talking about the Russians, it seems that everything is fair game, up to and including Facebook endorsing hate speech against Russians. Whatever nefarious actions the fascists may undertake, the gavel of justice will fall heavy against the Russians. Case already closed.
A similar thing happened with Hillary Clinton's disappeared emails. The main subject of inquiry is not possible criminal behavior on the part of U.S. officialdom, but rather that the Russians will somehow capitalize on it. So let's not waste time questioning what damaging information were on Clinton's servers or brewing inside of those Ukrainian labs, because the intentions of the United States and its allies are always beyond suspicion! This is sheer madness, of course, and the very same dirty tactics were used against the Syrian government of Bashar al-Assad in its fight against 'moderate' rebel groups.
Does Moscow have grounds for concern over these developments happening on its border? All things considered, yes, they most certainly do. Suffice it to recall that in July 2017 the U.S. Air Education and Training Command (AETC), one of the nine Major Commands of the United States Air Force, issued a tender to collect samples of ribonucleic acid (RNA) and synovial fluid from the Russian population. The advertisement specifically mentioned that the samples "shall be collected from Russia and must be Caucasian." It is particularly interesting that the Air Force specifically emphasized - yet never explained - that it would not consider tissue samples from Ukrainians.
The DNA work was startling enough to get a mention from the Russian president.
"Do you know that biological material is being collected all over the country, from different ethnic groups and people living in different geographical regions of the Russian Federation," Vladimir Putin asked the Russia's Human Rights Council. "We are a kind of object of great interest."
Then, with a hint of things to come, the Russian leader said: "Let them do what they want, and we must do what we must."
In October 2017, Franz Klintsevich, the first deputy chairman of the Federation Council's Committee for Defense and Security, commented on Putin's remarks on his Facebook page: "This kind of activity has been going on for quite some time. But lately it has taken quite"indecent"forms," Klintsevich wrote. "I do not claim that it is directly about preparing a biological war against Russia. But her scripts are undoubtedly being developed."
So how did the Western establishment respond to the news of biological weapons being developed on the territory of Ukraine? With a lockstep clampdown on Russian news agencies. Even DuckDuckGo, the alternative website that millions of users trusted not to rig algorithms to any ideology, said they would, exactly like Google, down rank Russian news stories. This egregious tampering and censorship, coming at a time when the Russians are on the ground in Ukraine, gaining access to the most disturbing revelations, looks like Big Tech is working directly with the government to bury news on weapons of mass destruction - incidentally, the pretext that the United States and its allies used when they attacked Iraq in March 200.
Now that the Russians seem to have discovered yet another smoking gun in Ukraine in the form of chemical WMDs, their argument for opening a 'special operation' there just got a massive boost.