Director of National Intelligence Tulsi Gabbard stated that the United States has funded more than 120 biological laboratories in more than 30 countries, and also announced the president’s policy change Donald Trump End federal support for global gain-of-function research.The disclosures were made public on Thursday and are based on newly declassified intelligence material. The disclosure sparked debate over overseas biological research and U.S. national security oversight.According to a statement from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI), many facilities are involved in working with dangerous and highly contagious pathogens with limited supervision.“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will continue to work closely with partners across government to identify the locations of these laboratories and what pathogens they contain to end dangerous gain-of-function research that threatens the health and well-being of the American people and people around the world,” Gabbard said.Gabbard also said declassified records show more than 40 laboratories in Ukraine have handled Soviet-era biological warfare pathogens and conducted research involving particularly dangerous pathogens, including anthrax, Ebola, MERS, SARS and plague. One example cited was Helson Diagnostic Laboratories, which reportedly received $1,728,822 in funding, but its authorization to study specific pathogens is still listed as “in progress.”“The Office of the Director of National Intelligence statement added that the intelligence community is expanding its review of overseas facilities and their activities, including clinical trials, to assess risks associated with foreign-funded research programs.Gabbard also issued a directive to increase intelligence gathering on such facilities, saying it had revealed more details about ongoing work and raised significant ethical, financial and safety questions.“Despite the potentially catastrophic global impact of research on dangerous pathogens in biolabs, politicians, so-called health professionals like Dr. Fauci, and entities within the Biden administration’s national security team lied to the American people about the existence of U.S.-funded and supported biolabs and threatened those who tried to reveal the truth. The Office of the Director of National Intelligence will continue to work closely with partners across government to identify the locations of these laboratories and what pathogens they contain to end dangerous gain-of-function research that threatens the health and well-being of Americans and people around the world. “Separately, Gabbard rescinded two Biden-era intelligence assessments of the so-called “Havana Syndrome,” also known as an unusual health event (AHI), which affected U.S. diplomats and intelligence officials abroad.A memo from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence said the early assessment “selectively excluded relevant intelligence, suppressed alternative analyses, relied on ethically flawed medical research, and “gathered limited intelligence to sustain a line of analysis that relied on a lack of evidence.”Initial assessments concluded that a foreign adversary was unlikely to be responsible for the incidents, although some officials said a small number of cases could not be completely ruled out. The revised move was welcomed by some lawmakers. “This is significant news for the AHI victim community, analytical integrity, and the American people,” Rep. Rick Crawford, R-Arkansas and chairman of the House Intelligence Committee, said in a statement. “These flawed, fraudulent and contrived intelligence community assessments caused significant harm to some of our nation’s bravest individuals.”The issue of unusual health events first emerged in 2016 in Havana, Cuba, with U.S. personnel reporting symptoms including dizziness and severe headaches, followed by similar reports in other countries. Intelligence agencies remain divided over whether the cases were caused by directed energy attacks or something else.On Thursday, President Donald Trump also nominated Jay Clayton, the U.S. attorney for the Southern District of New York, to replace Gabbard as director of national intelligence.
