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The answer is simply the first paragraph of [1]: > The U.S. Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program collaborates with partner countries to

The answer is simply the first paragraph of [1]: > The U.S. Department of Defense’s Biological Threat Reduction Program collaborates with partner countries to counter the threat of outbreaks (deliberate, accidental, or natural) of the world’s most dangerous infectious diseases. The program accomplishes its bio-threat reduction mission through development of a bio-risk management culture; international research partnerships; and partner capacity for enhanced bio-security, bio-safety, and bio-surveillance measures. The Biological Threat Reduction Program’s priorities in Ukraine are to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern and to continue to ensure Ukraine can detect and report outbreaks caused by dangerous pathogens before they pose security or stability threats

zardo 5y ago
> The Biological Threat Reduction Program’s priorities in Ukraine are to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern Where would these pathogens and toxins that need to be secured be coming from?
- ethbr0 5y ago
  Everywhere else? The environment, geopolitical opponents. Bioweapons defense is pretty fuzzy, as until recently you generally had to study a strain for a long amount of time to develop and test an effective vaccine. Which means you have to have a representative strain. Which means you either need to get one... or create your best guess. All while the environment and/or your adversary are doing god knows what out of your sight. Miracles like a vaccine-in-a-year don't just happen. They build on decades of research and preparedness.
- ben_w 5y ago
  Given the phrase “deliberate, accidental, or natural”, basically anywhere. The two hypotheses about the origins of COVID are natural (wet market) and accidental (lab leak). Back when “The War On Terror” was the political Zeitgeist-meme, there was at least one anthrax attack (deliberate), and I remember suggestions that terrorists might also try to trigger foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks or algal blooms (it may not surprise you to learn that the latter was suggested by someone looking for government funding for their existing research into algal blooms).
gambler 5y ago
Threat Reduction Program? Wow, that sounds familiar. "Of the $41.91 million, $37.61 million was awarded to EcoHealth Alliance by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), which describes its mission as “to protect the United States and its allies by enabling the DoD and international partners to detect, deter, and defeat WMD and threat networks.”" https://nypost.com/2021/07/01/pentagon-gave-millions-to-ecohealth-alliance-for-wuhan-lab/ https://nypost.com/2021/07/01/pentagon-gave-millions-to-ecoh... I wonder why when the pandemic hit, there was literally zero useful info coming out of all these threat reduction programs?
- ericbarrett 5y ago
  The National Security Council's Pandemic Response Team, which would have integrated and coordinated warnings from such offices in the early days of the Coronavirus spread, was eviscerated in 2018. They tried to raise the alarm anyway, but were ignored: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/trump-fired-pandemic-response-jared-kushner-coronavirus.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/trump-fired-pandemic...
  - gambler 5y ago
    The article you're linking to is partisan propaganda [1] and doesn't address the question I've raised. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/16/no-white-house-didnt-dissolve-its-pandemic-response-office/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/16/no-white-...
    - pas 5y ago
      The article you're linking to is also partisan propaganda.

zardo 5y ago

> The Biological Threat Reduction Program’s priorities in Ukraine are to consolidate and secure pathogens and toxins of security concern Where would these pathogens and toxins that need to be secured be coming from?

ethbr0 5y ago
Everywhere else? The environment, geopolitical opponents. Bioweapons defense is pretty fuzzy, as until recently you generally had to study a strain for a long amount of time to develop and test an effective vaccine. Which means you have to have a representative strain. Which means you either need to get one... or create your best guess. All while the environment and/or your adversary are doing god knows what out of your sight. Miracles like a vaccine-in-a-year don't just happen. They build on decades of research and preparedness.
ben_w 5y ago
Given the phrase “deliberate, accidental, or natural”, basically anywhere. The two hypotheses about the origins of COVID are natural (wet market) and accidental (lab leak). Back when “The War On Terror” was the political Zeitgeist-meme, there was at least one anthrax attack (deliberate), and I remember suggestions that terrorists might also try to trigger foot-and-mouth disease outbreaks or algal blooms (it may not surprise you to learn that the latter was suggested by someone looking for government funding for their existing research into algal blooms).

gambler 5y ago

Threat Reduction Program? Wow, that sounds familiar. "Of the $41.91 million, $37.61 million was awarded to EcoHealth Alliance by the Defense Threat Reduction Agency (DTRA), which describes its mission as “to protect the United States and its allies by enabling the DoD and international partners to detect, deter, and defeat WMD and threat networks.”" https://nypost.com/2021/07/01/pentagon-gave-millions-to-ecohealth-alliance-for-wuhan-lab/ https://nypost.com/2021/07/01/pentagon-gave-millions-to-ecoh... I wonder why when the pandemic hit, there was literally zero useful info coming out of all these threat reduction programs?

ericbarrett 5y ago
The National Security Council's Pandemic Response Team, which would have integrated and coordinated warnings from such offices in the early days of the Coronavirus spread, was eviscerated in 2018. They tried to raise the alarm anyway, but were ignored: https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/trump-fired-pandemic-response-jared-kushner-coronavirus.html https://nymag.com/intelligencer/2020/04/trump-fired-pandemic...
- gambler 5y ago
  The article you're linking to is partisan propaganda [1] and doesn't address the question I've raised. [1] https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/16/no-white-house-didnt-dissolve-its-pandemic-response-office/ https://www.washingtonpost.com/opinions/2020/03/16/no-white-...
  - pas 5y ago
    The article you're linking to is also partisan propaganda.