I'm usually quite respectful of Donald McNeil Jr. He had always tried to be as objective as possible. He was one of the few voices in the US MSM defending China in 2020. But this is very saddening and disappointing to read. This is unfortunately terrible work from a journalist who is usually so much better than this.
I've read through his article, just because its him who wrote it. His article does not conclude with any certainty that the virus was leaked from the WIV. But he had raised several questions about Dr Shi Zheng-li's (the "Bat Woman") work. Special questions about her works on RaBtCoV/4991 sample. Then going into speculations about "what-if this?", "what if that?". And "Oh look! The Chinese govt always covers up!" BS.
Sorry Donald McNeil, I believe you have caved into some powerful pressure from your government. The same powerful pressure that had wavered Dr Fauci, Dr Tedros, and other scientists.
If you want to be objective. Don't just look at Dr. Shi and the WIV, while ignoring the other astonishing facts happening around the world. We need answers as to why the virus had been tested to appear in sewers in Spain in March 2019. We need answers as to why the virus had appeared in Italy in September 2019. We need to know why the virus had already appeared in significant sample sizes in the USA in November 2019. Looking only at just Dr Shi and Wuhan alone will not get us to the bottom of the virus origins. The silence about Covid-19 cases predating the Wuhan outbreak in 2019 is astonishing. If those cases outside of China are wrong, then prove it with an actual investigation! Why the silence?
I have seen this kind of madness before. The Iraqi WMD case, MH17 shootdown, Syrian Chemical weapons attack, Novichok in the UK, and the Tiananmen Tank Man. All arguments against these Western lies were either silenced or dismissed, until proven beyond reasonable doubt that they were wrong. The Iraqi WMD lie was only exposed after soldiers found no WMDs in Iraqi bunkers. The Tiananmen Tank Man was disproven decades later after an anonymous source leaked the full video. I am certain that we are going down the same path with this "evil Dr Shi and her WIV" theory.
Objectivity would necessitate that Covid-19 origins investigation be done globally. But I'm more than convinced that the Western governments will never allow any investigations on their soil. Whatever investigations that would happen would mostly just be limited to Wuhan. They'll push and perhaps bribe the investigators to 'find something' in Wuhan. I am predicting that this is gonna happen soon. But, I do sincerely hope that these scientists grow some pairs of balls and prove me wrong.