Commentary: Time to investigate Fort Detrick

BEIJING, July 23 (Xinhua) -- Amid a surge in confirmed COVID-19 cases in the United States, some U.S. politicians have continued to wantonly preach the so-called second phase study into the origin of the coronavirus in China rather than focusing on fighting the virus and saving lives in their own country.

However, when it comes to issues involving Fort Detrick, which is of great concern to the international community, these same politicians desperately evade even talking about it as if they have "aphasia."

But, the time has come for Fort Detrick to be investigated.

Evidence of infection in the United States can be traced back to November 2019 or even earlier, which were much earlier than the "first confirmed case" in the United States, according to multiple media reports. In June and July 2019, U.S. media started to report issues involving Fort Detrick. By the end of July, two retirement communities near the base witnessed outbreaks of pneumonia of unknown cause. In September, vaping-related lung illness cases doubled in Maryland where Fort Detrick is located.

In July 2019, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention issued a "cease and desist order" to halt most research at Fort Detrick. In the same month, there were reports on the unexplained outbreak of respiratory disease in northern Virginia, and the outbreak of the EVALI -- a pulmonary illness with symptoms highly similar to COVID-19 -- which swept through several U.S. states.

Furthermore, the doubtful Fort Detrick has a complex history.

After the end of World War II, the United States successively dispatched germ warfare experts from Fort Detrick to Japan to learn about the latter's bacterial warfare from key members of Unit 731, a notorious Japanese biological and chemical warfare unit during World War II. Ishii Shiro, head of Unit 731, was even made a bio-weapon consultant at Fort Detrick by the U.S. side.

According to U.S. media reports, Fort Detrick stores many deadly viruses that pose a grave threat to human safety.

Despite facing mounting doubts, the United States has continued to refuse to release critical information regarding the base's closure under the pretext of "national security."

Some pertinent questions need to be answered by the United States -- if those U.S. politicians really care about the so-called truth of COVID-19 origin, why don't they invite WHO experts to investigate Fort Detrick? Why do they clam up whenever Fort Detrick is mentioned?

The United States dodging these questions, turning a blind eye to doubts and remaining silent on the pressing issue of Fort Detrick will only make the base more suspicious. Besides, shifting blame to others could only leave the United States in a position on the opposite side of international fairness and justice, the tide of the world, and human conscience.