Several potential causes remain plausible, including use of devices that emit beams of electromagnetic energy, experts say of mysterious illness that has hit some of the 1,000 American officers since 2016.
Some of the 1,000 US
diplomats and intelligence officers hit by a mysterious illness
known as Havana Syndrome could have been targeted by
electromagnetic energy pulses, according to a report to US
intelligence leaders.
“Pulse electromagnetic energy, particularly in the radio
frequency range, plausibly explains” the ear pain, vertigo, and
other symptoms of some of those suffering the ailments first
reported by US diplomats in the Cuban capital in 2016, experts
from inside and outside the US government said on Wednesday.
The panel of experts was convened by Director of National
Intelligence Avril Haines and CIA Deputy Director David Cohen.
The combination of symptoms “cannot be easily explained by
known environment or medical conditions” among a subset of
victims. The number of those people was not disclosed in the
report’s unclassified executive summary.
Cases have been reported in Russia, China, Tajikistan and
some African countries.
READ MORE: Havana Syndrome: What is this mystery illness affecting US officials?
No foreign adversary involved
The findings echo a 2020 National Academy of Sciences study
and follow a January 20 interim CIA report that concluded that it
was unlikely that Russia or another foreign adversary was behind
most of the so-called “anomalous health incidents.”
The CIA report, however, said there were about two dozen
cases of the 1,000 that remained unexplained.
The report released on Wednesday did not delve into
responsibility.
But its conclusions will likely fuel frustration
among current and former US officials who lack a clear
explanation for their chronic afflictions.
“We were not looking at attribution or assigning it to a
foreign adversary or actor. We stuck to the causal mechanism,” a
US intelligence official familiar with the report told
reporters.
The findings “reinforce the need for a coordinated, whole of government approach,” Mark Zaid, a lawyer representing victims from numerous US government agencies, said in a statement.
“These piece-meal agency reviews at times reveal inconsistent
and even contradictory results.”
Eric Lander, director of the White House Office of Science
and Technology Policy, said in a statement that the panel worked
for nearly nine months and was the first of several expert
groups to have such extensive access “to intelligence reporting
and patient data.”
The panel found that the symptoms “are genuine and
compelling” based on medical reports and interviews with
physicians and victims.
READ MORE: Microwaves not to be blamed for ‘Havana Syndrome’, a State Dept report says
‘Information gaps’
In finding that “pulsed electromagnetic energy” could be the
cause, the panel said “information gaps exist” but there are
several plausible ways the energy could have been generated “each with its own requirements, limitations and unknowns.”
Such sources exist that “are concealable and have moderate
power requirements,” the report said. “Using non-standard
antennas and techniques, the signals could be propagated with
low loss” through the air and building materials.
Individuals accidentally exposed to electromagnetic energy
signals –– which include radio waves, microwaves and X-rays –– have reported “sensations” similar to the symptoms reported by
Havana Syndrome victims, the report noted.
Ultrasound also could account for the symptoms, but only if
a victim was in close proximity to the beam because ultrasound “propagates poorly through the air and building materials,” it
continued.
Psychosocial factors – which include work demands, stress
and depression – cannot alone account for the core symptoms of
Havana Syndrome, it said.
The report offered recommendations to help understand,
prevent and manage the afflictions, including collecting and
coordinating incident and medical data within the US
government.
Source: Reuters
‘Energy pulses’ may have hit US diplomats, spies in ‘Havana Syndrome’ cases
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