traveling with a US intelligence officer CIA Director William Burns Have reported symptoms of Havana syndrome while both were in India earlier this month. The development, as reported by US media, apparently angered the CIA director and could lead to a “serious escalation” in the event that an opposing force is involved in the “attack”. At least on record, this is the first instance of the incident being reported in India, and may have diplomatic implications.
What is Havana Syndrome?
Havana Syndrome Refers to a group of mental health symptoms experienced by US intelligence and embassy officials in various countries. These usually include symptoms such as hearing certain sounds without any outside noise, nausea, dizziness and headaches, memory loss and problems with balance.
As the name suggests, it has its roots in Cuba. In late 2016, nearly a year after the US opened its embassy in Havana, some intelligence officers and embassy staff members began experiencing sudden pressure in their brains, followed by persistent headaches, disorientation, and feelings of insomnia. Born.
According to a 2018 report in The New Yorker, between December 30, 2016 and February 9, 2017, at least three CIA officers working under diplomatic cover in Cuba reported disturbing concussions that resulted in serious injuries. She seemed to be leaving. When the agency sent reinforcements to Havana, at least two of them were found with similar symptoms.
The New Yorker article said experts studied the brains of victims and determined that the injuries were similar to those of soldiers killed by roadside bombs in Iraq and Afghanistan. But there were no signs of impact.
As the mental health of its officers began to take a toll, the US withdrew them, dramatically reducing strength at its embassy in Havana.
Havana syndrome has had a lasting impact on the mental health of some US intelligence officers, with at least one officer compulsorily retired for his inability to discharge his duty and another requiring a hearing aid. .
Has this been reported anywhere else?
Since the Cuban incident, US intelligence and foreign affairs officials stationed in various countries have reported symptoms of the syndrome.
In early 2018, similar allegations began to be made by US diplomats in China. The first incident reported by a US diplomat in China took place at the Guangzhou consulate in April 2018. The employee reported that he had been experiencing symptoms since late 2017. Another incident was reported by a USAID employee at the US Embassy in Tashkent, Uzbekistan in September 2017.
In 2019 and 2020, such incidents have been reported from within the US – particularly in Washington DC. An incident was also reported in The Ellipse, a lawn adjacent to the White House.
According to US media reports, over the years US officials have reported about 130 such attacks around the world, including in Russia, Poland, Georgia, Taiwan, Colombia, Kyrgyzstan, Uzbekistan and Austria.
According to a New York Times report last month, Vice President Kamala Harris She was delayed by three hours when she was scheduled to fly to Hanoi, Vietnam, after a US official in Vietnam reported symptoms of Havana syndrome.
What are the causes of Havana syndrome?
No one is completely sure. But, during the Cuban experience initially, being in a country that had been hostile to the US for more than five decades, doubts were on Cuban intelligence or a section within the Cuban establishment that did not want the US. -Cuban relations should be normal. It was initially speculated to be a “sonic attack”.
However, further studies by scientists in the US and medical examination of victims began to suggest that victims may have been subjected to high-powered microwaves that either damaged or interfered with the nervous system. It is said that a pressure was created inside the brain that allowed a sound to be heard. Overexposure to high-powered microwaves is said to not only hinder the body’s sense of balance, but also affect memory and cause permanent damage to the brain.
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It is suspected that beams of high-powered microwaves are sent through a special gadget that Americans have begun to call a “microwave weapon”.
There are also theories that perhaps an opposing force is actually using these weapons to either interfere with or obtain information from US surveillance systems in various countries, with collateral damage to human victims.
After all, microwaves have been used as a counter-intelligence strategy since the Cold War, and both Russia and the US have made efforts to weaponize it. There have been reports of US Embassy officials in Moscow experiencing mental health issues due to the suspected use of microwaves in the 1970s.
Symptoms associated with Havana syndrome, which afflicts Americans serving in diplomatic positions in many countries. (AP Graphic)
A BBC report this month quoted James Giordano, a Pentagon adviser and professor of neurology and biochemistry at Georgetown University, as saying that both China and Russia are engaged in microwave research and devices developed for industrial use. can remodel.
However, after nearly five years of data collection, experiments, and medical examination of victims, the US is yet to produce any conclusive evidence that “microwave weapons” are a reality. What is the mechanics of this weapon and how it functions, no one yet knows. There is also a question mark on how the so-called weapon is able to target particular individuals and not affect all people in its range.
Some medical experts in the US have begun to dismiss this theory outright, calling the syndrome a psychiatric illness that is aggravated by a widespread fear of being targeted.
The BBC report quoted Robert W. Baloh, professor of neurology at UCLA, as calling it “a collective psychological condition” where, in contrast to the placebo effect, a group of people with anxiety about being targeted begin to feel ill. Is.
Who is doing this in India?
Sources in the Indian security establishment say that they are not aware of any such weapon with any Indian agency. Even if there was one, it is unlikely that the government would admit to acquiring such counter-espionage technology, given the sensitive nature of intelligence work.
“But why would an Indian agency target the US? Looking at today’s geo-politics, they are our closest friends,” said an intelligence officer.
So, can a foreign country use Indian soil to target US officials? Sources say that the possibility of this is very less. “Even if we assume that the Russians or the Chinese are capable of bringing in such equipment without our knowledge, once such a thing comes to light, it negatively affects our country and relations between them. Why would they take such a risk unless they want to hurt us too? Another intelligence officer said.
Sources in the security establishment said that no Havana syndrome has been reported in Delhi so far. “We have not come across this in the last five years or so. A senior intelligence officer said, “None of our intelligence officers have reported having such targets either.
A former RAW officer, who was in service at the time of Havana Syndrome, said, “At that time, or even thereafter, there were no reports of Indian officials suffering from it in any of the embassies.”
Without downplaying US concerns on this, another former RAW official said, “If a foreign power is doing this, why would they target the US alone. Why are other countries not reporting it? Except for the Canadian Embassy in Havana, no such report has been received from authorities in any other country anywhere in the world. This is not to say that America’s claims cannot be true. But it is a curious case.”
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