I have no direct or indirect knowledge of these events or weapons. However, I was a physics student for four years and I do remember a listening device in Moscow that depended on beamed microwave energy to activate a passive microphone to return information. So, I see the possibility that this is a surveillance device and less of a weapon, if not both. And with capacitors or such energy sources, they can be run with a smaller power source. Perhaps some population is more sensitive and likely to notice the effects.
This is an excellent review of the Havana Syndrome story, which sadly goes back a long way. Mark Zaid’s comments point out the unavoidable conclusions anyone should draw from even a cursory connecting of the dots. So why the government’s denial over so many years? That’s harder to comprehend and has to stop. As a physician, I have encountered a number of genuine illnesses that for decades were denied to exist by the medical profession because nothing showed up on “objective tests.” That’s because the tests weren’t invented yet! It’s like the classic searching for your car keys in the parking lot underneath the lamppost because it’s easier to look there where there’s plenty of light. Assuming the existence of a directed energy beam attack, it would likely cause diffuse micro damage that is simply not visible to standard imaging technology, like MRIs. All the studies that didn’t find any damage just used MRIs. However, now there’s more nuanced technology, such a SPECT, that can see it. Aside from all the other issues associated with Havana Syndrome, what about the absence of treatment? As a psychiatrist, I cannot claim expertise in neurology. That said, it always seemed clear to me that Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT), would be worthwhile trying. It happens that I met with a former IC employee who described having experienced an Havana Syndrome attack here in Northern Virginia. He was smart enough to get HBOT treatment by an out-of-town expert and it did help him tremendously. Maybe it can help others. A pilot study must be done. Accepting the reality of these attacks is the first step to solving this awful mystery and can lead to helping its victims as well as putting a stop to more of these terribly damaging assaults. Congratulations on this SpyTalk article, a welcome step in the right direction. I look forward with great anticipation to the 60 Minutes revelations. We need more light shed on Havana Syndrome by not limiting our search only to just under the lamppost.
The late Janine Brookner, a lawyer, retired CIA officer and my partner for over 50 years, represented several individuals from the State Department and CIA who were among the first to have been physically and mentally harmed by the attacks now incorporated into the Havana Syndrome. The U.S, Government fiddled, delayed and danced around the issue--Fred Astaire would have been proud--but Ms. Brookner persisted and won some measure of relief for at least two of her clients. My recollection is that she worked pro bono. In the meantime. Ms. Brookner and I spent many hours discussing and debating what the hell was going on. Our combined 54 years of experience in the Clandestine Service produced no unique, or even unusual, insights. We were certain, though, that an adversary, probably Russia, was behind it all. A reminder: The Soviet Union/Russia has always considered the U.S. to be the Main Enemy. Putin is just as sure of that as was Stalin. I hope some answers will be found.
About a decade ago the NYT wrote an article about how the FBI sometimes finds disgruntled radicals and provides them with support, including weapons and strategies, to conduct a "terror" attack. Just before the deed is done, they swoop in and arrest the radicals, taking credit for saving us from yet another terrorist attack. Perhaps sometimes they DON'T stop them. I remember that they gave this one guy a kind of ray emitting weapon that sounded suspiciously like what may or may not have been used in Havana. The guy's attorney rightly called this entrapment. There are certainly elements within our government who would prefer there was no rapprochement with Cuba. My bet is that they were the ones involved, not the Russians or Chinese.
It is interesting that 'Havana Syndrome' attacks by the most probable weaponry of microwave or sonic devices has a long history that has been ignored by US investigators in the current period. Such weaponry was developed after WW II by major powers such as France etc. There was a problem with the sonic cannon (intended for use in crowd control) as the operators could not be shielded from the adverse effects. For buildings, this can be alleviated by pipe connection from power unit van to the water pipes of a building selective to the connecting rooms. Microwaves can be more easily focused. The usefulness of such weaponry in irregular warfare lies in the inability of clear proof being gatherable as to its use, when other causes can be attributed to the symptoms.
For crime: medical evidence, motive, means and opportunity. For a clearer picture it is not the symptoms that need focusing on (the medical damage). The intent is already there from opposing nations who know that democracies will not reply in kind. Prime are the locations of attack and the targets. In Havana 2016 it was only US and Canadian staff targeted, no one else in the buildings. Elsewhere in the world over many years (1953 onward) it was only US embassy staff targeted. A naturally occurring phenomenon is invalid. The US political rebuking of suffering staff and avoidance of alarm is shown by employing a professor to examine taped sound recordings and determining that it was just crickets or a local songbird. That Cuban songbird would also have to be resident in many other countries to explain occurrences there. Embarrassing to science. A similar whitewash was done to explain the deaths of a nuclear scientist and wife in Lane Cove park Australia many years ago when he was deemed a threat to US national security. Poisonous gas from the river was the culprit, a professor authorised; though no such gas has ever been reported over many years.
With specific attacks on US Staff in Russia and China, it is not feasible that some foreign hostile agent, other than them, could freely operate the attacks. The US embassies are under constant watch by Russia and China respectively, the host nations would know all that goes on and would have to consent. Even in Cuba, whose own staff heavily watch US embassies, would have to be aware of any attack on Cuban soil, and allow it.
The GRU may own the equipment, but the FSB were nearby when a successful attack was made in a hotel on two CIA seniors visiting Canberra. Guests need proactive protecting.
I have no direct or indirect knowledge of these events or weapons. However, I was a physics student for four years and I do remember a listening device in Moscow that depended on beamed microwave energy to activate a passive microphone to return information. So, I see the possibility that this is a surveillance device and less of a weapon, if not both. And with capacitors or such energy sources, they can be run with a smaller power source. Perhaps some population is more sensitive and likely to notice the effects.
This is an excellent review of the Havana Syndrome story, which sadly goes back a long way. Mark Zaid’s comments point out the unavoidable conclusions anyone should draw from even a cursory connecting of the dots. So why the government’s denial over so many years? That’s harder to comprehend and has to stop. As a physician, I have encountered a number of genuine illnesses that for decades were denied to exist by the medical profession because nothing showed up on “objective tests.” That’s because the tests weren’t invented yet! It’s like the classic searching for your car keys in the parking lot underneath the lamppost because it’s easier to look there where there’s plenty of light. Assuming the existence of a directed energy beam attack, it would likely cause diffuse micro damage that is simply not visible to standard imaging technology, like MRIs. All the studies that didn’t find any damage just used MRIs. However, now there’s more nuanced technology, such a SPECT, that can see it. Aside from all the other issues associated with Havana Syndrome, what about the absence of treatment? As a psychiatrist, I cannot claim expertise in neurology. That said, it always seemed clear to me that Hyperbaric Oxygen Treatment (HBOT), would be worthwhile trying. It happens that I met with a former IC employee who described having experienced an Havana Syndrome attack here in Northern Virginia. He was smart enough to get HBOT treatment by an out-of-town expert and it did help him tremendously. Maybe it can help others. A pilot study must be done. Accepting the reality of these attacks is the first step to solving this awful mystery and can lead to helping its victims as well as putting a stop to more of these terribly damaging assaults. Congratulations on this SpyTalk article, a welcome step in the right direction. I look forward with great anticipation to the 60 Minutes revelations. We need more light shed on Havana Syndrome by not limiting our search only to just under the lamppost.
The late Janine Brookner, a lawyer, retired CIA officer and my partner for over 50 years, represented several individuals from the State Department and CIA who were among the first to have been physically and mentally harmed by the attacks now incorporated into the Havana Syndrome. The U.S, Government fiddled, delayed and danced around the issue--Fred Astaire would have been proud--but Ms. Brookner persisted and won some measure of relief for at least two of her clients. My recollection is that she worked pro bono. In the meantime. Ms. Brookner and I spent many hours discussing and debating what the hell was going on. Our combined 54 years of experience in the Clandestine Service produced no unique, or even unusual, insights. We were certain, though, that an adversary, probably Russia, was behind it all. A reminder: The Soviet Union/Russia has always considered the U.S. to be the Main Enemy. Putin is just as sure of that as was Stalin. I hope some answers will be found.
Excellent, well written report.
About a decade ago the NYT wrote an article about how the FBI sometimes finds disgruntled radicals and provides them with support, including weapons and strategies, to conduct a "terror" attack. Just before the deed is done, they swoop in and arrest the radicals, taking credit for saving us from yet another terrorist attack. Perhaps sometimes they DON'T stop them. I remember that they gave this one guy a kind of ray emitting weapon that sounded suspiciously like what may or may not have been used in Havana. The guy's attorney rightly called this entrapment. There are certainly elements within our government who would prefer there was no rapprochement with Cuba. My bet is that they were the ones involved, not the Russians or Chinese.
It is interesting that 'Havana Syndrome' attacks by the most probable weaponry of microwave or sonic devices has a long history that has been ignored by US investigators in the current period. Such weaponry was developed after WW II by major powers such as France etc. There was a problem with the sonic cannon (intended for use in crowd control) as the operators could not be shielded from the adverse effects. For buildings, this can be alleviated by pipe connection from power unit van to the water pipes of a building selective to the connecting rooms. Microwaves can be more easily focused. The usefulness of such weaponry in irregular warfare lies in the inability of clear proof being gatherable as to its use, when other causes can be attributed to the symptoms.
For crime: medical evidence, motive, means and opportunity. For a clearer picture it is not the symptoms that need focusing on (the medical damage). The intent is already there from opposing nations who know that democracies will not reply in kind. Prime are the locations of attack and the targets. In Havana 2016 it was only US and Canadian staff targeted, no one else in the buildings. Elsewhere in the world over many years (1953 onward) it was only US embassy staff targeted. A naturally occurring phenomenon is invalid. The US political rebuking of suffering staff and avoidance of alarm is shown by employing a professor to examine taped sound recordings and determining that it was just crickets or a local songbird. That Cuban songbird would also have to be resident in many other countries to explain occurrences there. Embarrassing to science. A similar whitewash was done to explain the deaths of a nuclear scientist and wife in Lane Cove park Australia many years ago when he was deemed a threat to US national security. Poisonous gas from the river was the culprit, a professor authorised; though no such gas has ever been reported over many years.
With specific attacks on US Staff in Russia and China, it is not feasible that some foreign hostile agent, other than them, could freely operate the attacks. The US embassies are under constant watch by Russia and China respectively, the host nations would know all that goes on and would have to consent. Even in Cuba, whose own staff heavily watch US embassies, would have to be aware of any attack on Cuban soil, and allow it.
The GRU may own the equipment, but the FSB were nearby when a successful attack was made in a hotel on two CIA seniors visiting Canberra. Guests need proactive protecting.