The lack of information raises more questions. Recently, 24 scientists sent a letter to the World Health Organization (WHO) asking for an independent and rigorous investigation because they thought that the international investigation to China in early February was not deep enough. US President Joe Biden on May 26 also ordered intelligence forces to “double efforts” to investigate the origin of the Covid-19 pandemic, including the possibility of a leak “from a laboratory accident”. While the theory that the corona virus leaked from the laboratory was “resurrected”, two competing groups of experts in the study of bat diseases in Wuhan became the target of criticism. The reason is that they are willing to ignore safety measures during research. Many new diseases in the past originated in bats. Photo: SCMP. “Batwoman” and Wuhan Institute of Virology Nicknamed “bat woman”, Dr. Shi Zhengli is a famous Chinese corona virus researcher. She has identified many strains of the virus similar to SARS (severe acute respiratory distress syndrome) over the years and forewarned of new pandemic risks. Thach’s laboratory at the Wuhan Institute of Virology (WIV) also discovered and studied viruses that are closely related to corona virus. However, the scientists point out that the two viruses are still decades apart in natural evolution. According to the report of the WHO expert team, Ms. Thach said that all field activities were carried out with full protective clothing, including N95 masks, overalls, visors, and gloves. However, in a speech in June 2018, Ms. Thach said that is not the case. “Most of the time, we’ll wear simpler protective gear, and that’s fine,” Thach said in her speech. That’s because most diseases in bats can’t be directly transmitted to humans, but can only be through intermediate animals, Ms. Thach explained. To illustrate, Ms. Thach showed the audience during the presentation a photo of her team casting nets to catch bats in the cave and sorting the samples. Some people on the team only wore medical masks and thin rubber gloves, while others used their bare hands and did not wear masks. “When are we going to strengthen the protective gear? For example, when there are too many bats in the cave or when there is a lot of dust when entering the cave,” Thach said. When the pandemic hit, Ms. Thach became quiet and appeared only occasionally. On February 2, 2020, she posted to friends on the social network WeChat and “swore on her life” that her lab was not related to the pandemic. Three months later, Ms. Thach continued to post denying rumors that she had brought intelligence files to the West, according to Global Times . Chinese virologist Shi Zhengli at the Wuhan Institute of Virology. Photo: AFP. When suspicions fell on the WIV, Ms. Thach sent a statement to the scientific journal Science in July. She said the corona virus could not have come from the WIV because her team did not encounter this strain during research. In addition, every employee here has tested negative for corona virus antibodies. According to Ms. Thach, before the pandemic, her team “never exposed or studied this virus, and did not know of its existence”. But she also admitted that her lab has not yet sequenced the genes of every sample due to financial and human constraints. She declined to say how many samples remain unsequenced. In January, Thach’s laboratory was questioned even more after the US State Department announced that there were “reasons to believe” that some WIV researchers showed symptoms similar to Covid-19 in the fall of 2019. May, Wall Street Journal also cited intelligence reports that three WIV researchers had been so sick that they needed to be examined. Vien Chi Minh, WIV’s laboratory director, called this a “blatant lie” in response to state media. Bat explorer and Wuhan CDC CDC During this time, the Wuhan Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) lab was less visible than the WIV. The WHO expert team’s report on the trip to the Wuhan CDC did not include notes on research safety measures. According to the report, the laboratory moved on December 2, 2019 to a location near the Huanan market – the market that was linked to the first cases of corona virus infection. “Such activity can disrupt the operation of any laboratory,” the WHO expert team said. However, the Wuhan CDC laboratory did not record any interruptions, according to the WHO expert. The Wuhan CDC is the place to monitor China’s initial response to the pandemic. At the Wuhan CDC, there is also a person who regularly works with bats – Dien Tuan Hoa. According to the Washington Post , in terms of position, Dien Tuan Hoa is a deputy technician in the pest control department of the Wuhan CDC. But Mr. Dien is known for being an aggressive adventurer when it comes to working with bats and insects. “He often goes to places that other people cannot find to get the necessary specimens,” a colleague said of Mr. Dien on a local TV station in January 2020. “He can confidently say that he can catch what others can’t.” Tian Junhua on a field trip to collect insects in Hubei province. Photo: China Daily. Using nets and traps, Mr. Dien’s team caught 155 bats in his home province of Hubei, and hundreds of bats in other areas for research in 2013. Mr. Dien was also a member of the team. discovered 1,445 new vertebrate RNA virus species. This result was published in a famous scientific journal Nature in 2016. Once, Wuhan CDC held an internal meeting with the theme “Learning from the achievements of Dien Tuan Hoa”. “No one can remember how many mountains he climbed, how many rivers he waded, how many bat caves he explored, how many stables he crawled, and how many landfills he had to search,” the CDC wrote of the event. However, Mr. Dien also admitted that sometimes he did not comply with research safety rules. In 2017, Mr. Dien told the state newspaper Wuhan Evening News that he once forgot his personal protective equipment, so he had to be isolated at home for 2 weeks after being shot in the body by bat urine. On several other occasions, he got bat blood on his skin while trying to control the animal with forceps, Mr. Dien said. On February 3, 2020, Mr. Dien’s team continued to appear in the journal Nature with early-stage clinical descriptions of a corona virus patient in Wuhan. The team’s research indicates that bats can be a host for pathogens. But when Covid-19 spread, Mr. Dien became quiet. March 2020, the state newspaper Health Times An anonymous source said Mr. Dien was not infected with corona virus. According to the article, Mr. Dien was in a bad mood because of rumors about whether he was patient zero. According to a report at the end of March by the WHO expert team, the Wuhan CDC denied storing or experimenting with bat viruses before the pandemic took place. However, in a video, Mr. Dien said he had been to dozens of bat caves and studied 300 types of virus vectors. Also from March, Mr. Dien no longer spoke in public. This highlights the challenge of an independent investigation into the origins of Covid-19: Many of the people who might have had key information in Wuhan are now silent. Mr. Dien continued to research during this time. In August 2020, Mr. Dien was a co-author on a study on ticks. Another of his November 2020 studies focused on antibiotic resistance genes in fish. Mr. Dien no longer speaks or publishes research on bats.

USCentcom was established in 1983 and is one of the 11 armed forces’ command posts. USCentcom’s Area of ​​Responsibility (AOR) includes the Middle East, Egypt, Central Asia, and parts of South Asia. The USCentcom headquarters is not in its operational area, but within the MacDill Air Force Base in Tampa (Florida), a new and 26,217 square meter building completed in the year. 2012. The new building will include key spaces for specialized tasks such as the Joint Command Operations Center, the General Planning and Operations Division, the Network Operations Center, and the Operations Center. operation safety information command. The new headquarters building also includes a 10,126 square meter (SCIF) Sensitive Zone Information Facility (SCIF), as well as sound transmission layered (STC) 45 and 50 spaces to support safe operations. . Relevant anti-terrorism standards include advanced collapse mitigation by force-bound means, which are also integrated into the new headquarters. Military communications equipment currently in use at USCentcom headquarters can also be seen in the 60 Minutes program, which shows footage taken in two large-scale operations rooms. small and large. In the large operation room there are sizable TV screens hung on the walls and several rows of work stations, each with 2 sets of communication devices, 1 for access to classified telephones, and computer networks, and other sets of equipment for networks that have not been classified. According to the US grading system color codes, the phone and smart card reader will have a green label for the unsorted Systems, and a red label for the Crypto Systems. Major operations / operations center at USCentcom headquarters. photo taken January 2021. Photo source: 60 Minutes. Some computers display a bright red lock screen with the words “Confidential” meaning only applicable for authorized purposes, and that means they are part of SIPRNet: the primary classified secure network of The US military is used for tactical and operational information. The US military’s unsecured unsecured computer network is also known as NIPRNet. Identification of users authorized to mine NIPRNet will be done through a Common Access Card (CAC), which is the standard of identification for active US defense personnel. Accessing the SIPRNET requires a SIPRNet token, which is also a smart tag but does not have a clear identification information. In addition to the NIPRNet and SIPRNet networks, USCentcom also has other separate computer networks for coordination with overseas partners. For members of bilateral and multinational alliances, the US has provided a network architecture called Integrated Enterprise Area Information Interchange Systems (Centrixs), which operates at a decentralized level. Type Confidential / Notified for (national identifier). The first Centrixs networks were established in late 2001 by USCentcom to support coalition activities within the framework of the Campaign for Sustainable Freedom (OEF). This has resulted in a new alliance called Centrixs-Isaf for operations in Afghanistan, and Centrixs-Gctf (Global Counterterrorism Forces). Meanwhile, both systems are integrated in the USCentcom Partner Network (CPN). General McKenzie’s communication device in his command room. Photo source: 60 Minutes. The Centrixs network consists of servers and provides users with at least the applications that will give them the same basic capabilities as US systems users, such as: Microsoft Office; Command and control personal computer (C2PC); Integrated imaging and intelligence (I3). These applications allow access to real-time warfare (NRT) commands from MIDB databases and image databases to display data on a map basis. They can also access other browser-based products, or send emails with attachments and conduct collaborative sessions. For US military users, the system is part of the Global Command and Control System (GCCS), which includes more than 200 tools and applications to combine data from multiple sensors. and intelligence sources intended to create a kind of graphic representation of battle spaces. There is also mention of the telephone systems used at USCentcom. The major operations / operations center at USCentcom headquarters also has a range of Cisco IP phones, the 7975, or more recently, 8841. The Cisco 8841 IP phone generation looks like a commercial phone, but in fact it is a modified version of the small-scale telecom security firm CIS Secure Computing Inc. These modified phones are authorized for use in SCIF (Sensitive Subdivision Information Base) and SAPF (Special Access Program Facilities) environments, and provide security features. plugin that can perform “hold” and “mute” operations while on a phone call. Personal control and command computer interface (C2PC). Communication equipment of the USCentcom commander The reporter met with General Frank McKenzie in a small room outside his main operations center at USCentcom headquarters. In this small room, Commander McKenzie had additional communications equipment that did not appear to be available to personnel at the large operations center. For example, the Cisco DX 70 video monitor with video camera is probably the Secure Video Remote Conferencing System (SVTS) which is part of the Crisis Management System (CMS) to enable the high level video meeting. There is also a Cisco IP 8841 phone with a special yellow border for highly secure operating networks through a secure IP, which is also part of the Crisis Management System (CMS) and connection to General system, National Security Council, Cabinet members, Joint Chiefs of Staff, various intelligence agency surveillance centers, headquarters, and Continuity of Operations (COOPs). ); Touch screen operator phone (TXP) with 2 units of Touch Screen Line Extension consisting of 50 buttons (TLE), this device is manufactured by small-scale telecom security firm Telecore, Inc. It also invented Integrated Service Phone (IST-2), which used to be on the Oval Office desk during the two generations of President Bush and Obama. These devices are specifically designed for the Defense Red Switch Network (DRSN), as well as provide conference, command, and control capabilities for top-secret / SCI military commanders. It was revealed in the 60 Minute Program that in that small room during the attack on the Al Asad base, Commander McKenzie spoke directly to the Secretary of Defense and the President. There are also two computer screens in General McKenzie’s small room. Right at the top of the desktop background is a yellow bar signifying JWICS. Unlike NIPRNet and SIPRNet networks, access to JWICS does not require a smart card, but a software certificate is required: military users must confirm themselves with the Department of Defense PKI certificate, but Others require IC PKI certificate. General McKenzie’s touchscreen phone. Photo source: 60 Minutes. A very interesting device in the USCentcom command room is the IC Desktop Environment. The phrase “Community Intelligence Community Desktop Environment” (IC DTE) was founded in 2012 as a single and identical platform for the US Intelligence Community. In fact, this is the focus of a giant modernization project called the Information Community Intelligence Technology Enterprise (IC ITE), whereby the data will be stored in a Commercial Cloud Service ( C2S) is managed by the CIA, and handled at IC GovCloud managed by the NSA. DTE deployments are managed by the Office of Joint Program Management (JPMO) led by DIA and NGA, while the software system is built by BAE Systems under a five-year contract worth $ 300 million. . With DTE, analysts at DIA, NGA, and other US intelligence agencies can go anywhere within these organizations, sit at any top secret workstation, log in, authenticate, and track. access to e-mail, work folders, shared files … In addition to virtual desktops, DTE has desktop applications and access to popular services including Unified Service Communication. The NSA is responsible for the so-called App Marketplaces, which are the app stores of various intelligence agencies. As early as 2014, there were 4,000 DTE users at DIA and NGA. By 2018, Mr. John Sherman, Chief Information Officer of the US Intelligence Community wants to take the DTE even further by creating the Collaborative Reference Architecture (CRA). Now US intelligence agencies can create applications that match their needs as long as they comply with the standards set by the CRA to ensure compatibility across different systems.