The coronavirus pandemic has paralysed economies and caused up to 3 million premature deaths worldwide, but has also become an integral part of the geopolitical confrontation between the US and its allies against its adversaries.
Testifying before the Senate Armed Services Committee on Thursday, Berrier said “the evolving threat from the Covid-19 pandemic” had “major implications for our national security.”
He didn't elaborate on the “information warfare” claims, but did add on the subject of the coronavirus that the DIA would be looking to secure additional funding for its National Centre for Medical Intelligence at Fort Detrick, Maryland to continue gathering intelligence on the pandemic.
In addition to causing a global health and medical emergency, the coronavirus has long been used by some governments to justify repressive actions at home, and to blame other nations for their own organisational and pandemic response failures. The US and China have made back and forth allegations for nearly a year now accusing one another of purposely or accidentally releasing the SARS-CoV-2 pathogen. US officials have claimed that China has sought to cover up the pandemic, while Beijing has alleged that US troops may have spread it in the city of Wuhan during the 2019 Military World Games. Covid-19-related allegations have also come up amid Western claims last year that Russia, China, Iran, and North Korea sought…
