US military says coronavirus likely occurred naturally
Iran Press TV
Wednesday, 15 April 2020 4:39 AM
The US military says that the coronavirus may have occurred naturally, casting doubt on claims that it originated in China.
Army General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Tuesday that US intelligence shows the virus might not have been created in China, a claim Beijing has repeatedly dismissed as a conspiracy theory.
Early in March, a former American counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer of the CIA said the "coronavirus did not occur naturally through mutation but rather was produced in a laboratory, possibly as a biological warfare agent."
When asked about whether he had any evidence to substantiate such a claim, Milley was non-committal on Tuesday.
"There's a lot of rumor and speculation in a wide variety of media, the blog sites, etc. It should be no surprise to you that we've taken a keen interest in that and we've had a lot of intelligence take a hard look at that," Milley said at a Pentagon news briefing.
"And I would just say, at this point, it's inconclusive although the weight of evidence seems to indicate natural. But we don't know for certain."
The US military says that the coronavirus may have occurred naturally, casting doubt on claims that it originated in China.
Army General Mark Milley, the chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff, told reporters Tuesday that US intelligence shows the virus might not have been created in China, a claim Beijing has repeatedly dismissed as a conspiracy theory.
Early in March, a former American counter-terrorism specialist and military intelligence officer of the CIA said the "coronavirus did not occur naturally through mutation but rather was produced in a laboratory, possibly as a biological warfare agent."
When asked about whether he had any evidence to substantiate such a claim, Milley was non-committal on Tuesday.
"There's a lot of rumor and speculation in a wide variety of media, the blog sites, etc. It should be no surprise to you that we've taken a keen interest in that and we've had a lot of intelligence take a hard look at that," Milley said at a Pentagon news briefing.
"And I would just say, at this point, it's inconclusive although the weight of evidence seems to indicate natural. But we don't know for certain."
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