The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that the mysterious, neurological affliction known as Havana Syndrome that has struck American diplomats, military personnel and intelligence officials is most likely not the result of attacks by foreign adversaries.
The National Intelligence Council assessment issued Wednesday after a yearslong probe into the cause of the “anomalous health incidents” (AHI) reported by hundred of government officials refuted long-held suspicions that the often debilitating symptoms were caused by microwave or directed-energy weapons operated clandestinely by an enemy nation.
The intelligence agencies said a foreign adversary probably wasn’t a “causal mechanism” behind the health maladies. Instead, the intelligence assessment blamed the symptoms on preexisting conditions, conventional illnesses and environmental factors.
Hundreds of government officials have suffered from the illness since it was diagnosed in 2016 among scores of U.S. Embassy staff in Cuba.
Five intelligence community-member agencies involved in the investigation concluded that “available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of U.S. adversaries as causing the reported incidents.”
“A review of intelligence reporting, open-source information, and scientific and medical literature about foreign weapons and research programs, as well as engagement with researchers inside and outside of the U.S. Government have led IC agencies to judge that there is no credible evidence that a foreign adversary has a weapon or collection device that is causing AHIs,” the report said.
Confidence in the final assessment varied among agencies involved in the probe. Two agencies issued the assessment with moderate-to-high confidence, while three agencies assessed with moderate confidence.
An estimated 200 government officials have suffered possible cases of Havana Syndrome as of 2021. The mysterious symptoms have affected officials from the State Department, the Defense Department and the Central Intelligence Agency.
In spring 2021, reports revealed information about two U.S. officials struck by Havana Syndrome near the White House. In August of the same year, a “possible anomalous health incident” — which some believed to be a Havana Syndrome case — was reported by the U.S. Embassy in Hanoi and briefly delayed Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to Vietnam.
A CIA officer also reported symptoms while traveling in India, at the same time CIA Director William J. Burns was in the country.
All the while, Washington has been baffled by the cause behind the mysterious symptoms, which a National Academy of Science Report from December 2020 said “are consistent with the effects of directed, pulsed radiofrequency (RF) energy.”
When the incidents began being reported, several officials said their cases were dismissed by leadership within the State Department and CIA, and that the government denied them access to medical treatment for the symptoms.
In some cases, the victims were forced to end their service due to the injuries they sustained, which they said were ignored.
In an early investigation into the rash of reports from the U.S. Embassy in Cuba, the State Department commissioned a study in 2018 by the defense-advisory panel “Jason,” which investigated sounds recorded by victims who suffered from AHIs in Havana.
The report, a declassified version of which was published in 2021 by BuzzFeed, paints a picture of the uphill battle early victims faced.
In its report, “Jason” concluded that the recorded sounds were “mechanical or biological in origin, rather than electronic” and not consistent with a microwave energy attack. The report also concluded that “a possible explanation for the reported symptoms is a psychogenic illness,” though it stopped short of declaring a targeted attack by a bad actor.
The State Department has since dismissed the 2018 study, according to a spokesperson who said the report exhibits several shortcomings, including reliance on scant data and a lack of “broad access to information and effective personnel necessary to fully understand such a complex issue.”
The researchers behind the JASON report interviewed only one person who had reported symptoms commonly associated with the anomalous health incidents.
Senior Biden administration officials ramped up efforts to treat those with the mysterious symptoms. Secretary of State Antony Blinken and CIA Director William J. Burns have both made firm commitments to determining the cause, and ensuring victims are cared for.
Mr. Burns told NPR in 2021 that the attacks on CIA personnel were among his top priorities.
That same year, Mr. Burns recalled the chief of station in Vienna after agency officials determined he did not adequately address multiple anomalous health incidents in Austria.
Congress has stepped up its efforts too, passing legislation in its last session to provide financial assistance to Havana Syndrome victims.
But as for definitively pinning down the source and who may be responsible, the U.S. remains baffled.
Wednesday’s report concludes that absent a foreign adversary or “causal mechanism” behind the Syndrome, the symptoms reported by U.S. personnel were likely caused by “preexisting health conditions, conventional illnesses and environmental factors.”
“The IC considered a range of other possibilities we deemed less likely, and identified types of information that, if found, would prompt us to revisit our assessment,” the report reads.
Those additional sources of information that could prompt a reassessment include new medical analyses that linked affected personnel or the identification of a specific device that could cause the symptoms.
“All IC agencies agree that U.S. personnel sincerely and honestly reports their experiences, including those that were painful or traumatic, particularly given the framing of AHIs as possible attacks by an unknown mechanism that could cause permanent harm such s brain damage,” the report reads.
Reps. Michael Turner, Ohio Republican, and James Himes, Connecticut Democrat, pledged to “take a skeptical approach and test the assumptions of the IC” as the House intelligence committee, of which they are each party’s top member, reviews the latest assessment.
“The Committee expects Intelligence Community leadership to continue to assess the causes of these incidents, collect reports, and to modify its conclusions as appropriate on the basis of any new evidence or analysis,” the lawmakers said in a joint statement.
Mr. Turner and Mr. Himes also pledged continued support for those affected by the health incidents.
“There can be no backsliding in the care and support we provide to our workforce,” the lawmakers said. there should be no change to processes established within the IC, the State Department, the Department of Defense, and elsewhere in the federal government to intake AHI reports, conduct the appropriate follow-on investigations, and direct individuals to care and support.”
“Those who have come forward — as they were asked to do — should be treated with respect and they should be heard,” they said.
• Joseph Clark can be reached at jclark@washingtontimes.com.
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