NYT Reports Former Cuban and Chinese US Embassy Staff Suffered Headaches and Dizziness
Possible Russian Involvement... 70s-80s Moscow US Embassy Ultrashortwave Attacks History
[Asia Economy International Department Reporter] A report analyzing that the neurological symptoms such as headaches experienced by U.S. embassy staff in China and Cuba in the past may have been caused by extremely high-frequency attacks has been released.
The New York Times reported on the 5th (local time) that the U.S. National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine (NASEM) formed a panel of 19 experts and concluded that high-frequency energy, including extremely high-frequency waves, could be the cause of this strange illness.
In 2016, some staff working at the U.S. embassy in Cuba complained of symptoms including headaches, dizziness, memory loss, and hearing strange noises at their residences in the middle of the night. Later, in 2018, some embassy staff and their families working in China also experienced the same symptoms. These symptoms were named "Havana Syndrome" after the capital of Cuba, Havana.
The NYT reported that dozens of people, including those in Cuba, China, and other countries, suffered similar damage, and CIA officials visiting overseas bureaus also experienced similar symptoms.
The NASEM expert panel considered other causes such as chemical exposure or infectious diseases but found them unlikely and judged that the victims' symptoms were more consistent with attacks caused by high-frequency energy.
The NYT stated, "This report is expressed in cautious and scientific language, but it shows strong evidence that this incident is the result of a malicious attack," criticizing the Trump administration's response.
Many experts argued that high-frequency energy is the most likely cause and that it could be the result of foreign weaponization, but the administration has refused to make public speculations about the incident.
The Trump administration took retaliatory measures such as reducing staff at the Cuban embassy when the incident occurred in Cuba and expelling U.S. diplomats from Cuba.
However, the State Department treated the symptoms occurring in China as personal health issues and took a different stance. The NYT viewed this as a judgment that recognizing it as an attack could lead to evacuating staff, which might disrupt relations with China.
Meanwhile, the NYT mentioned the possibility that Russia was behind the incident. Although the report did not specifically identify the perpetrator, it noted that Russia and the former Soviet Union conducted significant research on high-frequency technology.
The NYT also reported that the Soviet Union had a history of attacking the U.S. embassy in Moscow with extremely high-frequency waves in the 1970s and 1980s.
The State Department issued a statement on the report, saying that each possible cause remains speculative and investigations are ongoing, and pointed out that the expert panel had limited access to materials due to security concerns.
Secretary of State Mike Pompeo also responded to related questions last October by saying that no clear conclusion had yet been reached.
The report was submitted to the State Department last August but was reportedly only recently shared with some congressional officials with a request not to disclose it, following pressure from Congress.
The report recommended that the State Department establish plans and procedures to immediately begin investigations if similar incidents occur in the future.
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