Federal agencies are now looking into at least two instances in the United States of what appears to be described as mysterious "sonic attacks," leading to debilitating symptoms in a number of US diplomats assigned to Cuba.
A recent report from CNN cites info from multiple sources, saying that the Pentagon and other federal agencies looking into these apparently directed attacks still has no definite answer to what caused these cases. However, the notion that such a directed attack might have been carried out so close to the White House have led them to identify the incidents as "particularly alarming."
The news outlet also reported that defense officials have already briefed Senate and House Armed Services Committee lawmakers earlier this month. This briefing session included an earlier, similar case near the White House, particularly the Ellipse - the compound's huge lawn on the south side - where one National Security Council official reportedly got sick.
Additionally, a 2019 episode of this supposed Havana syndrome involved a White House official walking her dog along a Virginia suburb. International men's magazine GQ reported three sources familiar with this incident saying that the dog started seizing up while the official began hearing a high-pitched ringing in her ears as well as an "intense headache" and a "tingling on the side of her face."
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Explaining the Havana Syndrome
A 2018 article from The New Yorker explains that the so-called "Havana Syndrome," with the mysterious condition first being called "the Thing" and later had other names like the "Immaculate Concussion." The conditions, similar to those reported by the White House official in the GQ report, have been found among staff at the embassies of the US and Canada stationed in Cuba as far back as 2016.
Subsequently, government and scientific efforts have been extended to investigate the cause of these. Affected government personnel in Cuba were examined, with the results being published in the article "Neuroimaging Findings in US Government Personnel With Possible Exposure to Directional Phenomena in Havana, Cuba," appearing in the July 2019 issue of JAMA Network. While the researchers in the study confirmed cases of brain injury, the report did not include a conclusive source for these incidents.
Later in 2019, a report from the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine stated that microwave energy, particularly direct pulses of RF energy, is the "most plausible mechanism" to explain the cases of the so-called "Havana Syndrome." However, the report clarified that "each possible cause remains speculative."
The Direction of Government Response
In a report by CNBC, Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines assured lawmakers that she will return with more information after being asked about the supposed attacks, with her initial statements remaining "light on details" as the US government is dealing with classified matters.
"I completely understand that getting the information is critical for you to be able to respond to these issues and ensure that you're able to make good decisions," Haines told Senator Jeanne Shaheen (D - New Hampshire) during her testimony before the Senate Committee on Armed Services.
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