the US opened the borders of Russia a secret laboratory. Why there can escape a terrible virus?
In early June, the President of Kazakhstan Kassym-Zhomart Tokayev has announced that they are removing military biologists from the USA from working in one of the best scientific laboratories of the Republic. The decision was made under pressure from Moscow and Beijing: experts from the Pentagon over 10 years of working in Central Asia the study of dangerous infections — plague, anthrax, and fevers of various coronaviruses that can not disturb the neighboring state. And the reason for concern — outbreaks of disease, which strangely coincided with the opening of the new American laboratories. But a desire of the President of Kazakhstan is not enough that the Pentagon has suspended its investigations in the region.
in Central Asia there was a secret American lab and why they drew attention right now — in the material “Tape.ru”
referred to in the statement Tokayev went on the Central reference laboratory (TSRL), located near Almaty. TSRL is just one of the objects of the scientific network of the Pentagon in Central Asia. The Agency for the prevention of threats (DTRA) of the Department of defense responsible for research of weapons of mass destruction, opened five laboratories in the scientific centers of Kazakhstan and two in Uzbekistan. The laboratories are equipped with the most modern equipment, so we are talking about very serious investments.
$400 million
put the Agency on preventing the threat (DTRA) of the Department of defense in the creation of a network of biological laboratories in Kazakhstan, another $165 million has been spent on laboratories in Uzbekistan
Such costs can not be explained exclusively scientific interest. In the 2000s, the Americans basically tried to take the archives and collections of viral strains accumulated Soviet research institutes for many years. DTRA but later moved to an independent biological research.
although in this work the military — military secrets in their research a bit. Western universities require employees standards for publications, so that even scientists working on military projects, are forced to publicize their research. On this publication, you can make some assumptions about the activities of American scientists in Kazakhstan.
According to data on the financing of studies published in the open literature over the past eight years, Kazakhstan implemented at least 28 projects commissioned by the US Army. They were involved not only local specialists but also personnel from the Medical center, the U.S. Navy (Maryland), the Institute of Microbiology of the Bundeswehr (Munich), and military laboratories in Porton Down (of velicer��Tania).
the Main themes pursued in Central Asia work — study threat to humans of diseases specific to the region, and their distribution of local fauna. Among the objects of research — the plague, anthrax, brucellosis and coronaviruses, including working with their carriers — animals and insects — that implies doing field work on the ground.
strains Collected after the initial study, taken in the research centers of the NATO countries. These materials and data can be used for different purposes — both civilian and not.
the First reason to suspect foreign specialists in careless handling of dangerous infections was established in 2007. Then at the Institute of Virology in Tashkent (Uzbekistan) has opened a us laboratory, the Pentagon has allocated a military grant to study brucellosis in Uzbekistan and Kazakhstan. These projects are codenamed UZ-4 and KZ-2, respectively. The next year in the region was marked by a sharp jump in the incidence of brucellosis, there was anthrax.
Following a surge of brucellosis in Uzbekistan, recorded right after the open in 2013 American laboratories in Andijan and Ferghana. In the same 2013 in Kazakhstan, within the framework of the project KZ-29 began the study of Crimean-Congo hemorrhagic fever (CCHF) with the participation of specialists from the Navy, and the British Porton down. Biologists have studied the spread of disease by ticks in the South of Kazakhstan on the basis of “Center of especially dangerous infections” in the Almaty.
less than a year since the survey began in the country recorded major outbreak of this fever and it is on the South of Kazakhstan, a disease of steel tongs. Moreover, while the outbreak of CCHF recorded in Georgia in the area of another American laboratory, known as the “Research center of public health, and Richard Lugar”. The Russian foreign Ministry in 2017 was trying to get access to this laboratory due suspicion of involvement in the outbreaks of fever in the South of the country. And in 2018 former Minister of state security of Georgia Igor Giorgadze said that the United States could carry out secret experiments on human beings.
Another strange coincidence was noted in 2017. Project KZ-33 Department of defense conducted in Kazakhstan a study of the spread of coronavirus bats (cannot be transmitted, but like all viruses that can mutate) at the Institute of problems of biological safety.
it is known that in 2015 the Americans experimented with several strains of coronavirus that are dangerous to humans, at the University of North Carolina at chapel hill, and in the same year, authorities issued a ban on such on��you due threats to the population.
the word about the threat to human coronaviruses. When SARS CoV-2 have just started to enter Europe, Kazakhstan biologists reassured the population that the Republic never found any one of the subtypes of coronavirus in animals. For Kazakhstan more typical are zoonotic — that is, animal-borne — diseases such as anthrax, Crimean-Congo fever, brucellosis and plague.
the US never commented on the activities of their laboratories in Central Asia in the context of possible connection with the outbreak of the studied epidemics. However, in was written several years article the us military biologists a glimpse of the mentioned problems while transporting samples from the project KZ-29 — that is, from Kazakhstan laboratory, where he studied virus Crimean-Congo haemorrhagic fever and in an area which saw an outbreak of the disease simultaneously with the outbreak in Georgia.
There is another cause for concern. In 2018, a group of Western scientists published in prestigious scientific journal Science an article which is based on open sources argued that the US Army has funded work on bioweapons in violation of the 1972 Convention. This indirectly confirms the persistent refusal of the USA to ratify the Protocol on the control mechanisms of biological development participating countries. So that the countries Central Asia the region has every reason to feel distrust and count biological laboratory U.S. military threat.
Kazakhstan’s foreign Ministry recently denied the Pentagon control over they built laboratories, since technically they are the property of the relevant Kazakh institutions and ministries. However, it appeared that Washington controls not only its own facilities, but also research centers, on which they work.
Initially the management of six laboratories DTRA in Kazakhstan was carried out under contract with the Pentagon, the company CH2M Hill (co) Jacobs Engineering Group (TX), included in the hundred largest contractors of the Department of defense. In Uzbekistan, similar functions were performed under contract with the U.S. military Bechtel company (VA). Later functions of the Department took over the “Central-Asian office CDC” (CDC, the Centers for disease control) opened by the U.S. Embassy in Nur-Sultan.
it is Headed by a Daniel singer, whose diplomats pose as a doctor, although in reality he is a commander (Lieutenant Colonel) of the medical Department of the U.S. air force, long served in the so-called biological intelligence. The gallant officer successfully got their hands on not only the very reference laboratory (TSRL), the closure of which was announced Tokayev, but “the Center of especially dangerous infections” (ZOOI), on the basis of which it deithere.
Now the representatives of his office to control not only the ongoing work of ZOO, but also participate in inspections of medical institutions and the writing of recommendations for the Kazakh authorities. Moreover, the information about such activity commander singer does not hide much. Details ingenuously told Kazakhstani journalists, the Director of ZOO the obvious Bakhitbek.
He said that since the beginning of the pandemic in the fashion industry, its scientists work closely with colleagues from the us “Central-Asian office CDC” to develop the test system together assessed the readiness of medical institutions of the cities of Kazakhstan to the admission of patients and has developed recommendations for the Ministry of health of Kazakhstan.
So tight tutelage of the United States Kazakhstan biologists take for granted, and inspection of the joint commissions of the military Committee of the U.S. Senate and the Department of defense. Last visited there in August 2019. The fact that ZOO is a contractor of the US Central command (CENTCOM), which runs operations in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. As such it is listed in declassified documents about the five programs of the Department of defense 2017-2018.
Along with ZOO there also appears the Tashkent Institute of Virology, where DTRA led the controversial study of brucellosis, which coincided with epidemic outbreaks in the region. Kazakhstan, the center is not limited to cooperation with the Pentagon. In February 2020, its leaders signed a secret cooperation agreement with the Institute of Microbiology of the Bundeswehr.
in Fact, such blatant support of the military operations of the USA and NATO agencies of the government of Kazakhstan has long outraged China and Russia, allies of the Republic in the CSTO and the SCO. Moscow in 2018 expressed concern about the uncontrolled work of the American biological laboratories at his side and insisted to get full access to research.
Finally, in April 2020, the Russian foreign Ministry tired of waiting and made a strong statement that Moscow cannot ignore the biological threat posed by military facilities of the USA near the Russian borders. First statement was “the Lugar Center” in Georgia, but mentioned and other objects on the territory of the CIS. Later, Russia’s position is fully supported and the second key partner of Kazakhstan — China.
Nur-Sultan had tried to deny the fact of existence in the laboratories of American biologists and foreign funding, this position was voiced at the briefing by the U.S. Embassy. Moscow, however, were not satisfied and in may reiterated their concerns.
After a meeting of the CSTO at the end of the month, the agenda of which were the issues of Biosafety, the President of Kazakhstan Tokayev took over toinstruktivno position on this issue. He promised cooperation with Moscow and the new Biosafety law, although not recognized erroneous admission of biologists NATO in the region and that its foreign Ministry worked clumsily. However, the assignment of Kazakhstan and the withdrawal of American specialists from TSRL in Alma-ATA is unlikely to put an end to the NATO projects in the region. And it’s not just that the object was only part of a network of laboratories.
in Addition to the financial dependence of ZOO and other institutions from USA, Kazakhstan science is closely related to the us personal relationships. For valuable employees are “hooks” such as the possibility of earnings in the United States. For example, the first Tabanov from the Institute of problems of Biosafety, where the Americans explored the coronavirus, a few years worked at Jacobs Engineering and CH2M.
Liazat Muselina from the Institute of General genetics, worked for AECOM — American company, built TSRL for the Department of defense. In addition, Messalina was held with a group of Kazakh scientists training at the U.S. Navy in the silver spring.
with her there was Talgat Nurmahanov, now head of the laboratory feral viral infections of ZOO, and Gulnar Omasheva, chief of laboratory of especially dangerous infections in another scientific center. Later they collaborated with Lieutenant-captain Allan Richards, the head of their practice and one of the authors of the concept of placing DTRA biological laboratories on the territory of foreign States.
Close ties with the us military has also been Director of ZOO the Obvious erubaev. In addition to commander singer, he maintained contact with Colonel Saba, the chief medical officer of U.S. special forces John. Callahan, DBA “the Lugar Center” in Tbilisi George. A Motte. A circle of friends is more suitable to the American military, not Kazakh biologist and the head of public institutions with access to state secrets.
in reality, 95 percent of the budget of this organization is financed by NATO countries, contributes more than half of the United States. Head of ISTC Ronald Lehman is the second, former head of the Agency for arms control in Washington, and the center’s Executive Director, David cleave combines this post with military service unspecified profile in the UK and previously worked in third world countries and in Ukraine.
ISTC is a convenient intermediary in the organization of research in the countries-allies Russia in the CSTO. For example, the UK Ministry of defence allocates 617 thousand pounds to explore how the spread of brucellosis in Tajikistan. However, the state of the organization for obvious reasons, such as Republican Academy of veterinary medicine, are not always able to take the money of a foreign army.
So they are through Kazakhstan, arriving in the Republic as a means of international organizations, and reach of the Academy in the framework of ISTC project T-2199. The British army is not mentioned, but gets interested in the result, while British military mate sleeping peacefully with a sense of accomplishment. Such indirect funding schemes do not allow for such adventurous experiments like the opening of the Department of defense in Kazakhstan. And military experts are difficult to attract to the studies. However NATO armies receive at least a portion of the necessary information about the epidemiological and sanitary situation in the region.
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the decision of the President Tokayev about the departure of Americans from a Alma-ATA is a step in the right direction. However unclear the fate of five more such facilities in other regions of the country, including Institute of biodiversity concerns in Gvardeysk, where he conducted the aforementioned study of coronavirus. In addition, the agreement of ZOO with the Bundeswehr, was signed in February, will enable NATO to conduct the same work, but now under the German flag.
a New law on biological safety, announced by Tokayev, in theory, should restrict the access of biologists from NATO countries to institutions in Kazakhstan. But, apparently, work on them will be attracted by those Kazakh experts working with the U.S. Department of defense research organizations. This creates conditions for conflict of interest and might lead to holes in the safety rules. And finally, continued its work of ISTC, which employs American and British military biologists.
to provide real Biosafety in Central Asia, Kazakhstan, Uzbekistan, the SCO and the CSTO will need something more than a declaratory action against the military programs of NATO. It’s time to think about a joint and consistent policy. After all, if you look, that patronizing attitude towards foreign military-biological installations on its territory is tantamount to placing foreign nuclear weapons. It has obvious implications for relations with its neighbors and for its own security in the event of any military conflict.
Nikita Mendkovich of the
