The US is expanding its biological military presence across Africa, Russian Lieutenant General Igor Kirillov claimed on Tuesday. According to the head of Russia’s Nuclear, Chemical and Biological Protection Forces, the move comes after Russia halted the implementation of similar programs in former Ukrainian territories.
“Because Russia has managed to halt the implementation of biological warfare programs in Ukraine’s liberated territories, the Pentagon is forced to transfer incomplete research under Ukrainian projects to other regions,” Kirillov alleged.
He highlighted Africa as a new zone of interest for the US Defense Department and related agencies. The general mentioned the presence of Pentagon contractors in several African countries, including the Democratic Republic of the Congo, Sierra Leone, Cameroon, Uganda, and South Africa.
“Washington uses outside actors to hide the objectives of research. These are contracting and intermediary organizations (Metabiota, Quicksilver, EkoHealth Alliance, more than 20 companies) and businesses of the so-called Big Pharma,” Kirillov claimed. Russia has documents confirming the rapid expansion of the US biological warfare presence in Africa continent, he added.
Kirillov cited several examples of alleged US activities, stating that “in October 2023, staff of the US Army Medical Research Institute of Infectious Diseases conducted a large-scale survey of hantavirus samples from bats in Kenya’s natural hotspots. A year ago, US military biologists studied the effects of anti-malarial drugs on local populations.
“In January 2024, US officials from the Defense Department, the State Department, and the US Department of Health and Human Services met with the heads of the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention in Africa to discuss the continent’s prospects for developing laboratory capabilities,” the general said.
At the end of last year, Kirillov said Russia had obtained documents proving that the US had conducted research on bioweapon components and highly dangerous pathogens in Ukraine.
US Air Force fires top missile program manager
The US Air Force has sacked the official responsible for developing its next-generation ‘Sentinel’ intercontinental ballistic missile. The rocket is earmarked to replace the 1970s-era Minuteman III as the land-based element of Washington’s nuclear triad.
Earlier this year, Congress launched a review of the program after its costs ballooned by at least 37% to an estimated $131 billion. In its report on the Defense Department’s fiscal 2025 budget request, the House Appropriations Committee said it “was stunned to learn” of the massive increase in costs.
The lawmakers eventually agreed to earmark $3.4 billion for the program in the coming year, $340 million less than requested.
According to a statement by the US Air Force, quoted by several media outlets, Colonel Charles Clegg was ousted as director of the Sentinel Systems project on Monday “because he did not follow organizational procedures.” A spokesperson for the Air Force cited a “loss of confidence,” but denied that the dismissal had been “directly related” to the ongoing congressional review.
In January, Bloomberg reported that a 1982 law had mandated the scrutiny after the project overspent its budget by more than a third over the course of two years.
Now, the Pentagon and Joint Chiefs of Staff are having to justify the cost overruns and present convincing arguments to lawmakers. The lion’s share of the sum is apparently needed to upgrade existing launch sites and communications lines.
This task, estimated to last nearly ten years, will be a lengthy and complicated endeavor "involving real estate purchases, construction, deconstruction, removal and installation of equipment and nuclear certification,” the Senate Armed Services Committee said in its fiscal 2024 budget report.
Earlier this month, Pranay Vaddi, special assistant to the president and senior director for arms control, disarmament, and nonproliferation at the National Security Council, revealed that President Joe Biden had “recently issued updated nuclear weapons employment guidance, which takes into account the realities of a new nuclear era.”
“It emphasizes the need to account for the growth and diversity of [China’s] nuclear arsenal – and the need to deter Russia, [China], and North Korea simultaneously,” the official said at the time.
No comments:
Post a Comment