The New York Times reported Wednesday (May 12) that current and former officials say the mysterious incidents that began five years ago causing brain damage to diplomats, soldiers and other U.S. personnel abroad have now affected more than 130 people, far more than was previously known.
Some of these individuals work for the U.S. State Department, the Defense Department and the CIA, among others, sparking widespread concern in the Biden administration.
Since 2016, many officials abroad have reported nausea, headaches, dizziness and other unexplained symptoms, also known as “Havana syndrome.” In 2016, 24 employees and family members of the U.S. Embassy in Cuba reported headaches, nausea, hearing loss and other cognitive problems or other symptoms after hearing strange noises. hearing loss and cognitive problems or other symptoms. This “sonic attack” has shaken U.S.-Cuba relations and sparked much speculation.
In 2018, several U.S. government personnel in China also reported hearing strange noises. One of them, a U.S. government employee at the Guangzhou consulate, said he felt “undetectable and vague, unusual noises and pressure. The U.S. Department of State subsequently issued a medical alert to U.S. citizens traveling in China. The employee was returned to the United States for evaluation and diagnosed with a mild traumatic brain injury.
At least three CIA officers have reported serious health effects from mysterious incidents overseas since last December, one of which occurred within the past two weeks, the report said. They were all placed at Walter Reed National Military Medical Center or other facilities for treatment.
The newspaper also reported that in a previously unreported case that occurred in 2019, a foreign-based officer pulled his vehicle into an intersection and subsequently became nauseous and had a headache, according to four current and former officials with knowledge of the incident in question. His 2-year-old son sat in the back seat and cried. After pulling away from the intersection, his nausea stopped and the child stopped crying.
The New York Times said that while some Pentagon officials believe that the Russian military intelligence agency Glu-U (G.R.U.) is likely behind the incident, which occurred in 2019, and there is evidence that Russia is involved in some other cases, intelligence agencies have not reached any conclusions or determined whether a foreign power was involved.
Amanda J. Schoch, a spokeswoman for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, said, “To date, we have no clear information on the cause of these events, and it would be premature and irresponsible to speculate at this time.”
In December 2020, a study commissioned by the U.S. State Department and conducted by a committee of the National Academy of Sciences concluded that “targeted” microwave radiation may have been the cause of illnesses among U.S. diplomats in Cuba and China.
The National Academy of Sciences investigation reported that “directional pulsed radio frequency energy appears to be the most plausible explanation for some of the symptoms. Those symptoms include high intracranial pressure, dizziness, and cognitive impairment. The report concludes that this explanation is more likely than the previously proposed causes.
The New York Times also reported that the Biden administration is trying to show officials that they are taking the issue seriously while also trying to prevent panic from spreading within the administration or among the public. Emily Horne, a spokeswoman for the White House National Security Council, said, “We are using the resources of the U.S. government to investigate this thoroughly.”
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