Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo fans the flames
WHO director Tedros addressed theories that covid-19 leaked from the Wuhan lab to say the hypothesis wasn't extensive enough. That's not exactly a rebuttal and he asked for more samples from Sept 2019.
The report shown behind closed doors yesterday on the origins of the Covid-19 pandemic said it likely came from animals but also said data was insufficient to answer the critical questions of when, where and how the virus began spreading. The report will be released publicly today but the WSJ saw it and said it leaves many questions unanswered.
Former Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has doubled down and is saying the virus came from the lab:
Can you imagine if there was ever a Chinese whistleblower who said it was an leak? The geopolitical ramifications would be immense.
Meanwhile, I don't believe this theory is going away. China hasn't exactly been forthcoming and the WHO doesn't have as much credibility as it needs to stamp it out, especially after their cozy relationship with China early in the pandemic.
Scientists argue that the markers in the vaccine suggest it was organic so there's a high bar to clear. But that's not going to make it go away.
If I were to put on a tinfoil hat it would sound like this:
The art of war is to fight where you're strong and others are weak. The greatest strength of the Chinese surveillance system is controlling people and their handling of the pandemic proved that. Meanwhile, the west bore tremendous economic costs because of a liberal system. If your goal was to strengthen domestic support for the Chinese system and weaken rivals, then everything about the pandemic was a win for China.
I don't waste my time with conspiracies because they don't help you make money in markets but once the pandemic is over, voices like Pompeo's are going to get louder.
