U.S. Admits “Havana Syndrome” Not Caused by Foreign Adversary

In 2016, officials in the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba reported ringing in the ears followed by pressure in the head and nausea, headaches and acute discomfort. Subsequently similar symptoms were reported by “U.S. career diplomats, intelligence officers and others serving in U.S. missions around the world” and the symptoms became known as the “Havana Syndrome.”[1]

Apparently in late February 2023, the CIA and six other U.S.intelligence agencies concluded their joint participation in reviewing approximately 1,000 cases of “anomalous health incidents.” Here are their conclusions:

  • “Five of those agencies determined it was ‘very unlikely’ that a foreign adversary was responsible for the symptoms, either as the result of purposeful actions — such as a directed energy weapon — or as the byproduct of some other activity, including electronic surveillance that unintentionally could have made people sick, the officials said. They spoke on the condition of anonymity to describe the findings of the assessment, which had not yet been made public.”
  • “There was no ‘credible evidence’ any adversaries had developed a weapon or an intelligence-collection device cable to cause the injuries that American officials have reported.”
  • “One [unnamed] agency . . . determined that it was ‘unlikely’ that a foreign actor was at fault, a slightly less emphatic finding that did not appreciably change the consensus. [Another] agency abstained in its conclusion regarding a foreign actor. But when asked, no agency dissented from the conclusion that a foreign actor did not cause the symptoms.”
  • “The officials said that as analysts examined clusters of reported cases, including at U.S. embassies, they found no pattern or common set of conditions that could link individual cases. They also found no evidence, including forensic information or geolocation data, that would suggest an adversary had used a form of directed energy such as radio waves or ultrasonic beams. In some cases, there was no ‘direct line of sight’ to affected personnel working at U.S. facilities, further casting doubt on the possibility that a hypothetical energy weapon could have been the culprits.”
  • This “assessment also examined whether an adversary possessed a device capable of using energy to cause the reported symptoms. Of the seven agencies, five determined that it was ‘very unlikely,’ while the other two said it was ‘unlikely.’”

“William J. Burns, the C.I.A. director, said in a statement that the findings reflected more than two years of ‘rigorous, painstaking collection, investigative work and analysis’ by the C.I.A. and [the] other U.S. intelligence agencies.’ [Burns continued,] ‘I and my leadership team stand firmly behind the work conducted and the findings. I want to be absolutely clear: These findings do not call into question the experiences and real health issues that U.S. government personnel and their family members — including C.I.A.’s own officers — have reported while serving our country.’”

In contrast to the above conclusions, last year “an independent panel of experts [investigated and] found that an external energy source plausibly could explain the symptoms” and that “a foreign power could have harnessed ‘pulsed electromagnetic energy’ that made people sick.” These conclusions “were consistent  with earlier conclusions by the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine, which found that  ‘directed, pulsed radio frequency energy appears to be the most plausible mechanism in explaining these cases.’”

Secretary of State Antony Blinken reportedly “remains of the view that something happened to those employees who have reported significant ailments, and he is committed to making sure they are cared for.”

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[1] Harris & Hudson, ‘Havana syndrome’ not caused by energy weapon or foreign adversary, intelligence review finds, Wash. Post (Mar. 1, 2023); Barnes & Entous, Foreign Adversaries Unlikely to Blame for Havana Syndrome, Intelligence Review Finds, N.Y. Times (Mar. 1, 2023); Strobel, Havana Syndrome Unlikely Caused by Foreign Adversary or Weapon, W.S.J. (Mar. 1, 2023). This blog has discussed the previous occurrences of this medical problem and attempts to determine its causes. (See the following sections “U.S. Diplomats Medical Problems in Cuba, 2017-18” and “U.S. Diplomats Medical Problems in Cuba, 2019” in List of Posts to dwkcommentaries—Topical: Cuba [as of 5/4/20]. )

Your Longevity Is Important for Many Reasons  

Longevity or how long you will live has always been important in making many decisions about your future. But this blogger has never known until reading the Wall Street Journal article cited below that the American Academy of Actuaries and Society of Actuaries have calculated longevity factors based upon the assumption that everything goes well for the individual and upon the latest mortality data from the U.S. Social Security Administration.

That data has been compiled in the Actuaries Longevity Illustrator, which helps an individual see how long he or she might live. (This is different from life expectancy tables that have the average number of years someone will live from a given age.)  [1]

The Illustrator is simple to use. You only enter your date of birth, your retirement age, your gender, whether or not you smoke and whether your general health is excellent, average or poor, which terms are not defined.

Examples of Excellent Health Males and Females

For example, an 84 year-old non-smoker male with excellent health has a 94% chance of living to age 85, 59% chance to age 90, 26% chance to age 95 and 7% to age 100.

An 83-year old female non-smoker with excellent health would have a 91% chance of living to age 85, 64% chance to age 90, 33% chance to age 95 and 12% chance to age 100.

Examples of Average Health Males and Females

An 84 year-old non-smoker male with average health would have a 92% chance of living to age 85, 51% chance to age 90, 18% chance to age 95 and 4% chance to age 100.

The 83 year-old non-smoker female with average health would have a 89% chance to reach age 85, 56% chance to age 90, 25% chance to age 95 and 7% chance to age 100.

Observations

Josh Zumbrun, the author of the Wall Street Journal article on this subject, says, “The good news [from these longevity statistics] is that many Americans live a lot longer than they expect. The bad news is that this often leads to financial regret as they realize, sometimes too late, that [earlier in life they made financial decisions that have not provided sufficient financial resources for these additional years].”

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[1] Zumbrun, You Might Live Longer Than You Think. Your Finances Might Not, W.S.J. (Feb. 10, 2023); Actuaries, Longevity Illustrator.