1. My piece on how the Chinese regime is directly to blame for the world's increasingly dire state is provoking some interesting (and outraged) responses. One legitimate objection is whether "blaming" China is all that important now
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
2. First, I think it matters a great deal why countries are being devastated in the first place, and that first place begins with the Chinese regime's 7 week long suppression of information from Dec 1 until Jan 23, which allowed the virus to spread beyond Wuhan in massive numbers
3. The Chinese authorities waited 7 weeks—yes 7 weeks—to institute a lockdown in Wuhan despite full knowledge of the virus' spread. According to Wuhan's mayor himself, *5 million* people had already left Wuhan by then 
4. Then there's the Chinese government's refusal to regulate wildlife markets—a major source of viruses. Despite the SARS outbreak, they subsequently *lifted* restrictions, and kept on easing restrictions until 2018. This Vox video is a chilling primer:
5. Meanwhile, geopolitical competition continues, and now that its cases are declining, China is leveraging its stronger position. As it portrays itself as a global leader in fighting COVID-19, China launches disinformation campaigns blaming the US Army for introducing the virus
6. If we waited for a "better" time to raise these concerns, that could be 12 or 18 months from now, based on estimates of how long the virus could be with us. China won't wait; it will continue undermining Western democracies and trying to sow discord for its benefit
7. Call me old fashioned, but I believe the US is capable of ramping up efforts to fight the virus while *also* countering China's efforts to use our devastation at home to its own political and economic advantage
8. In short, responsibility and accountability matter in both the best of times and the worst. There's no reason we should suspend the demand for accountability, considering what's at stake and the human toll that this virus has already exacted
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
theatlantic.com/ideas/archive/…
