The threat of terrorism, which had been concentrated in Afghanistan prior to 9/11, had “metastasized,” with active Islamist movements spread across the Middle East, Africa, and western Asia.
U S spy chief: Other countries pose greater terror threat than Afghanistan axios.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from axios.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.
American scientists as recently as several months ago dismissed the theory that the virus escaped from a Chinese laboratory as a “conspiracy theory.” Ms. Haines’ comments on the laboratory escape theory are the first official public comments by a senior intelligence official on the likelihood the virus began in a Chinese laboratory.
The Wuhan Institute of Virology and other laboratories in China have been the focus of American intelligence agencies seeking clues to the origin of the deadly disease outbreak that has claimed over 2 million lives worldwide. In January, the State Department released a fact sheet on the institute that said there was substantial circumstantial evidence the virus began there.
Wednesday, 14 April, 2021 - 17:15
Director Avril Haines of the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) testifies during a Senate Select Committee on Intelligence hearing about worldwide threats, on Capitol Hill in Washington, DC, US, April 14, 2021. (Reuters) Asharq Al-Awsat
Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines said on Wednesday that US intelligence agencies do not know exactly when or how COVID-19 was initially transmitted.
“The intelligence community does not know exactly where, when or how the COVID-19 virus was transmitted initially,” Haines told a Senate hearing. She noted two theories, that it emerged from human contact with infected animals or the result of a laboratory accident.
U S intelligence chief: spy agencies do not know exactly when COVID-19 first transmitted yahoo.com - get the latest breaking news, showbiz & celebrity photos, sport news & rumours, viral videos and top stories from yahoo.com Daily Mail and Mail on Sunday newspapers.