U.S. investigators increasingly confident directed-energy attacks behind Havana Syndrome

[reACTIONary]

Last edited Sat Oct 9, 2021, 10:14 AM - Edit history (2)

Source: Politico

The U.S. government's investigation into the mysterious illnesses impacting American personnel overseas and at home is turning up new evidence that the symptoms are the result of directed-energy attacks, according to five lawmakers and officials briefed on the matter.

....some officials remain skeptical of the prevailing theory, and some prominent neurologists have described that explanation as implausible.... In a recent op-ed, for example, neurologist Robert Baloh contended that the symptoms stem from a psychosomatic illness -- one caused by stress or emotional issues. Baloh said the more likely explanation is "mass hysteria," or mass psychogenic illness....

(Rubio suggested they) are "influence agents that are being paid and or encouraged to write these on behalf of those -- foreign government or whatever -- that don't want this to be discussed out there and want to cast doubt about it. I mean, they're echoing the lines that we heard from the Cuban regime and others,"

Read more: https://www.politico.com/news/2021/10/08/us-investigators-increasingly-confident-directed-energy-attacks-behind-havana-syndrome-515693

---

I don't know what the CIA knows, but I am very skeptical. A directed energy attack should be very easy to detect, since it is RF energy. And the equipment would be hard to set up and conceal. And for the GRU to do this around the world in many different countries does not seem plausible.

Here is an explanatory article about the microwave auditory effect:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Microwave_auditory_effect

The op-ed cited in the politico article arguing for a psychological cause:

https://theconversation.com/havana-syndrome-fits-the-pattern-of-psychosomatic-illness-but-that-doesnt-mean-the-symptoms-arent-real-167275

[AllaN01Bear]

1. never heard of dea, not drug inforcment agency, untill last year.

[stillcool]

2. Sometimes I don't think the CIA knows what they know

this was a good article from a while back

The Mystery of the Immaculate Concussion
https://www.gq.com/story/cia-investigation-and-russian-microwave-attacks
He was a senior CIA official tasked with getting tough on Russia. Then, one night in Moscow, Marc Polymeropoulos's life changed forever. He says he was hit with a mysterious weapon, joining dozens of American diplomats and spies who believe they’ve been targeted with this secret device all over the world—and even at home, on U.S. soil. Now, as a CIA investigation points the blame at Russia, the victims are left wondering why so little is being done to help them.
BY JULIA IOFFE

October 19, 2020
========
The notion of weaponizing microwaves dates back to the Cold War, when, in 1961, an American biologist named Allan Frey discovered that irradiating a human head with microwaves could produce the sensation of sound—even in deaf ears, even from thousands of feet away. Playing with the frequency and intensity of the microwave beam could produce a range of different sensations in a person. In 2018, Frey told the New York Times that the Soviets took immediate notice of his work and flew him to Moscow, where they squired him around secret military facilities and asked him to give lectures about the effects of microwaves on the brain.

=====================================
In the meantime, a team was assembled at Langley to investigate the incidents overseas. Investigators came to believe that the injuries to victims’ brains were caused by a microwave weapon, which could be beamed at its target through walls and windows, and could even be effective from a couple miles away. Given the work Polymeropoulos and his team had been doing to thwart the Russians since 2017, and the fact that much of the scientific literature on the biological effects of microwaves had been published in the Soviet Union and Russia, it seemed plausible to the investigators that the Russians could be behind this.

The most compelling evidence, however, came from publicly available data. As has been widely reported, mobile phones track people’s movements, and location-data companies accumulate this information and sell it. Using this sort of data, CIA investigators were able to deduce the whereabouts of Russian agents, and place them in close physical proximity to the CIA officers at the time they had been attacked when they were in Poland, Georgia, Australia, and Taiwan. In each case, individuals believed to be FSB agents were within range of the CIA officers who had been hit in 2019. In two of the incidents, location data apparently showed FSB agents in the same hotel at the same time their targets experienced the onset of symptoms.

[reACTIONary]

3. Thanks for the article! Interesting! I remain...

... skeptical, simply because I think the power needed and the size of the equipment would make this infeasible to do, without being detected. And it should be possible to directly detect an attack with a radio receiver.

Maybe the CIA has set up receivers in our diplomats home and have direct evidence of an attack - but they haven't reveled that if they have.

[stillcool]

10. I am clueless about the science of

such a thing, but the story is fascinating. It's like a John LeCarre novel.

[PoliticAverse]

11. Like something "Q" came up with in a James Bond movie. n/t

[Goonch]

36. A UK Dragonfire laser directed energy weapon system

LONDON, ENGLAND - SEPTEMBER 10: A UK Dragonfire laser directed energy weapon systemhttps://www.forbes.com/sites/michaelpeck/2021/03/02/the-pentagon-fears-that-deadly-microwave-weapons-are-undetectable/

[reACTIONary]

37. Whoa !

Note Artist's concept - not the real thing.

https://www.defensenews.com/global/europe/2019/07/09/uk-shoots-for-new-laser-weapons-against-drones-missiles/

[PoliticAverse]

4. So does the US have one too? n/t

[reACTIONary]

5. From the article linked in the reply above...

The notion of weaponizing microwaves dates back to the Cold War, when, in 1961, an American biologist named Allan Frey discovered that irradiating a human head with microwaves could produce the sensation of sound—even in deaf ears, even from thousands of feet away. Playing with the frequency and intensity of the microwave beam could produce a range of different sensations in a person. In 2018, Frey told the New York Times that the Soviets took immediate notice of his work and flew him to Moscow, where they squired him around secret military facilities and asked him to give lectures about the effects of microwaves on the brain.

As the Cold War progressed, both the United States and the Soviet Union raced to find military uses for what came to be called directed energy weapons. American researchers had studied things like beaming words into subjects’ heads—great for psychological warfare—while also researching the thermal aspects of microwaves. Packaged in the right way, researchers theorized, a microwave weapon could be mounted on a truck, where it could cast a beam outward to create an invisible barrier anywhere, anytime, capable of immobilizing any person who got within its range. This research ultimately culminated in the development of a weapon the Pentagon calls an Active Denial System, or ADS. In a video touting its capabilities, the U.S. military boasts that this highly portable weapon can be attached to a military vehicle and used to direct precise beams of electromagnetic radiation at, say, an armed militant in a crowd or a suspicious person approaching a military checkpoint. The beam would instantaneously produce a sensation of heat on the skin, which would trigger a person’s reflex to flee. (This summer, a military official inquired about deploying the technology against American protesters who flooded into the streets of Washington, D.C., to protest police brutality.)

[PoliticAverse]

7. That's a standard type of microwave device that produces an effect like that of a microwave oven...

"a sensation of heat on the skin". The one alleged to be involved in the Havana Syndrome apparently affects the brain but doesn't appear to make one feel heat. I'm wondering if the US also has a working "produce sound in a person's head" device (unlike the ADS device, the existence of such a device might be classified).

[reACTIONary]

12. The sound in the head....

.... was produced in 1961, so it has been around for some time. There are some (conspiracy theory) claims by some folks who (my opinion) seem to be suffering from schizophrenia that the u.s. Gov is using this technology to project voices into their heads and attempting to control them.

[Sapient Donkey]

42. I've seen a DIY directed sound project before

It broadcasts sound in a very localized manner so only a person that it’s bouncing off of can hear it. It uses a bunch of ultrasonic speakers. I was tempted to give it a go myself. This is a basic system on a small scale, but if that could be made for like $30, I can only imagine what a few hundred million dollars could buy.

[Voltaire2]

6. Any article using Havana Syndrome is bullshit

Whatever it might be, it has been reported at US facilities, mostly embassies, around the world. It ain’t Cuba.

[PoliticAverse]

9. Things are often named after where the first known occurance happened...

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Havana_syndrome

Havana syndrome is a set of medical signs and symptoms reported by United States and Canadian embassy staff first in Havana, Cuba, dating to late 2016, and subsequently in other countries

(This has especially been the case of viral outbreaks)

[Voltaire2]

38. Like China Flu?

It’s bullshit, xenophobic nationalist bullshit.

[PoliticAverse]

39. That was originally "Wuhan virus", named for it's first apparent outbreak location...

just like the Ebola virus, and Marburg virus.

Nothing to do with xenophobia or nationalism just an origin identifier. But as it offends some people they are moving away from such things with names like "COVID-19" replacing "Wuhan virus". I am unaware of another widely name being used for "Havana syndrome" probably because no one is sure what it really is.

[Ford_Prefect]

8. Traumatic brain injury doesn't happen by mass hysteria.

Cell phones are suspected of generating microwave energy capable of causing damage on a much smaller scale than suggested by this situation.

I'm not proposing cell phones or something equally small are the cause. My point is that directed energy devices could indeed be much smaller than what the Air Force has been working on.

[reACTIONary]

14. I'm not an expert...

... but I do work with RF engineers. The controlling factor, I think, is the power required to project microwaves and the distances that are being described, which would require a focused beam from a dish like high gain antenna. Other wise it would just disperse over the distance and lose power.

In the GQ Article above, a supposed attack was conducted on an individual in a restaurant dining with colleagues. But he was the only one that experienced it. I don't see how the physics would allow for that to happen, in public, from a distance, without affecting everyone and being obvious to all.

[LudwigPastorius]

21. What about extremely loud ultrasonic or infrasonic sound waves? ("loud" if they could be heard)

And, what if they were being generated by the interference patterns of two or more sources?

(I'm sure actual scientists are all over this, but I haven't read about anyone positing this. There must be a reason it's been ruled out)

[Ford_Prefect]

23. I grant you the physics are problematic to say the least.

I'm not arguing for a specific device.

I am familiar with aspects of Traumatic Brain Injury and if that's the terminology they are using to describe some of what has happened it was not due to a state of mind or attitude.

I also see the problem of only one person affected while others nearby are not. It is possible that whatever they are exposed to produces a delayed physical effect but I don't see how that identifies the cause.

One thing we aren't hearing about is other similarities in each situation. I doubt we will if this actually represents some invasive technology. This could also be an unintended side effect of something meant to be nominally benign.

The issue of RF causing cancer or other health issues related to cell phones or police radar guns was not discovered for some time after they became commonplace items... At least that is the official story.

I am not offering a CT answer here, nor advocating for Martian space lasers, etc. I am suggesting that there is probably more to this than we can suss out from the present information released. I do think this is a real situation although it may involve more conditions or circumstances than can be isolated and considered from reading the news.

I think that it is possible someone with a DARPA grant may have a few clues we aren't privy to. That is not to say that I know this or expect it to be confirmed.

It is also possible we are being lead away from the cause rather than towards to protect the source for diabolical, or professional reasons. I doubt this but it wouldn't be the first time if it later turns out to be true. Consider the denial of legionnaires disease, or Cancer from cigarettes, or agent orange side effects.

I suspect it is neither simple nor commonplace due to how specific the group of people is who have been identified and the persistence of some of the effects. I can only speculate as to possible "political" dimensions among the possible host countries.

I find it strange to say the least that the only Senators quoted by Politico are Collins and Rubio since neither is considered to be an intellectual heavyweight. Both have other issues with the present administration and with international relations.

To paraphrase Bill Shakespeare: There are more things in heaven and earth, Horatio, Than are dreamt of in our philosophies.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

13. The problem is, that some sort of "Havana syndrome" is so unlikely as to defy belief.

A sonic wave that affects one person but not the one standing right beside? That comes and goes?

Try Googling "Havana Syndrome debunking" and read some of what you see.

I did try to find an excellent article I read a year or so ago that pointed out more probable and logical explanations, but so far cannot find it.

This may end up a lot like Morgellons.

[reACTIONary]

17. That's my thought also, if you run across...

...that article, be sure to post a link.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

19. It was probably longer ago than I'm thinking.

At my age (73) the years and the decades all blur together.

I can say it was an absolutely fascinating analysis of the "Havana Syndrome" based on real science, a real understanding of how these things work. Not the kind of speculation and assumptions that are embedded in the current "Havana Syndrome" stuff.

Here are two articles from a bit more searching:

https://www.scientificamerican.com/article/ldquo-sonic-weapon-attacks-rdquo-on-u-s-embassy-don-rsquo-t-add-up-mdash-for-anyone/

https://undark.org/2018/09/27/root-cuban-embassy-mystery-bad-science-journalism/

There are to be a lot more out there.

The problem with simply rolling over and accepting the "Havana Syndrome" thing is pure laziness. Humans are complicated. We are VERY capable of creating out own reality, of succumbing to all sorts of nonsense.

Our bodies hear what we say. If you spend your life saying, "I'm bound to get cancer" then don't be surprised when you get cancer. Personally, I consider myself the healthiest person I know. I've recovered from broken bones in record time. 24 hours after a Cesarean I was walking upright, with minimal pain. I had a fairly serious heart attack last December, but I still consider myself the healthiest person I know. And while I fully understand that we often get sick from things outside our control (my heart attack last December is an excellent example) I do think that having a positive attitude helps. A lot.

I have a friend on FB who genuinely has serious health issues. But it frustrates me that almost all she ever posts is her health issues. I understand that trying to have a positive attitude will not make those genuine health issues go away, but I just wish she would once, just ONCE say something that it not a complaint about how ill she is. But I can't post that on her page, because it would be genuinely insensitive and rude. Beyond rude. There's probably a stronger word that isn't occurring to me right now. So I never say anything like that. She is actually the reason that I've decided when on FB, if I can't say something nice, then I won't say something at all. The rare times she posts something not health related, I try to respond positively.

[Gore1FL]

15. There was a recent article in the nypost that said it was crickets. (link below)

https://nypost.com/2021/10/01/havana-syndrome-culprits-may-be-crickets-scientists-say/

[reACTIONary]

16. A state department report did....

Last edited Sat Oct 9, 2021, 10:35 AM - Edit history (1)

... suggest that the sounds, not the other symptoms, were made by crickets. In the Cuban instance.

Recordings were made of the sounds by some of the victims, which proves they were not from a microwave source. You can't record sounds that are only in your head.

[PoindexterOglethorpe]

20. Thank you for posting that.

[Hekate]

18. Ever since at least the BushCheney era, we civilians in the US have been regaled with stories of...

… the very latest whiz-bang offensive weaponry, and even what they’ve called “crowd control” devices that presumably can be deployed at home.

You don’t have to be an expert, just a person who reads a good newspaper and notices certain things.

Some of these devices can blow out your eardrums. Some can damage your eyes. Some can burn your skin without flames. Some, called pain rays, inflict excruciating pain without visible injury. Ain’t we grand?

Maybe they were just “in development” and aren’t fully realized yet. But I wouldn’t bet on it.

Given all this, don’t you think it plausible that someone has invented a device to rattle the human brain and damage it?

I read the early accounts of the injuries. The last one I read was from a woman who went to China to visit her daughter, who worked for the US embassy and who was complaining of debility. Mom stayed in her daughter’s apartment and started to feel unwell, to— same symptoms, including loss of balance that might indicate inner-ear damage. One day they were walking the two little dogs over a bridge and felt “it” — furthermore, at the same time, the dogs exhibited great signs of distress and absolutely refused to proceed further.

So do I think this is possible? Yes. Do I think it is probable in the hands of totalitarian regimes? Yes. Do I think all these people are suffering from psychosomatic ailments or mass hysteria? No, I do not.

[reACTIONary]

28. Given all this...

RE: Given all this, don’t you think it plausible that someone has invented a device to rattle the human brain and damage it?

Not just plausible, it has been done. In the early 60's. See the article from GQ Linked in the first response.

The question is whether it can be done covertly, from a distance, and be narrowly targeted to a single individual or small group. I think the basic physics would make that unlikely.

[eppur_se_muova]

22. Some of the responses show an igrnorance of the possibility of phased-array beamforming ...

Closeup of some of the 2677 crossed dipole antenna elements that make up the plane array. This antenna produced a narrow "pencil" beam only 2.2° wide.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Phased_array
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Beamforming

The technique is applicable, in principle, to any sort of RF or acoustic (including ultrasound) energy, as long as the relative phases of the sources can be controlled.

I've been told the Navy has been using this for decades to create chaff-burning radar beams but can't find a single reference .... hmmmmm ...

[reACTIONary]

25. You are right, beam forming is possible...

.... but, there are buts. While the energy is formed into a lobe, it still disperses. It isn't like a laser beam. So over any distance it is diminished and spread out. You have to generate a lot more power than is going to be received by the target's head. And a phased array antennae isn't small. It's a large surface, just as a dish antenna is large. Or it requires multiple antennae with precise locations and sophisticated interconnects and electronics to control the timing and wave forms between them.

All of this is possible, but would make the apparatus hard to position or to narrowly target without it being obvious.

[infullview]

27. Even a crude weapon has more than a 10 foot range.

Just rent the room next door to the target and aim at the wall.

[reACTIONary]

29. You could do that...

... but it would not go unnoticed by the CIA and the State Dept. They are already very alert to who is living next door and what is going on around them. And it would also affect the family living in the apt on the other side.

It would be very easy to detect with a radio receiver, which would provide proof positive as to what is going on. But we haven't heard that there is hard evidence of this sort. Maybe there is and it just hasn't been made public.

[infullview]

30. Exactly. I'm sure it hasn't been made public.

I'm also sure that a sufficiently strong beam could be used in a pulse configuration which would make locating the source almost impossible.

[reACTIONary]

32. If it's on the other side of your apartment's wall...

... it will be locatable. Easy.

Any RF Source that is focused or directed would be easy to locate, or at least be narrowed down to the line of propagation. This is like adjusting the rabbit ears on your set to best receive a specific station.

(If people still have sets with rabbit ears - might not be a thing anymore. )

[TomWilm]

24. If only people inside US Embassy buildings get ill ...

... the most easy answer is, that it might be those buildings own electronics doing it.

[infullview]

26. As a lot of you have already said, this is old science and is not difficult to build

First, watch this YouTube video on how to build one using a common kitchen microwave.

. All that is required to make this really dangerous for long distance use is a much better beam antenna to concentrate and narrow the energy beam. If our diplomats want to stay safe, I suggest they take a page from the Q-Anon people and start wearing tinfoil hats.

BTW - it never ceases to amaze me ho this has been so minimized by the media. Are they trying to prevent hysteria?

[reACTIONary]

31. Thanks! Great video and very informative! nt

[Historic NY]

33. Directed Energy Weapon

Someone else has them in their arsenal.

[womanofthehills]

34. I read some reports that said some instances could be pesticide poisoning

Using outdoor only pesticides for bugs indoors.

[dalton99a]

35. Energy can be measured.

Additional Comments on Directed Radio Frequency Energy

In order to create the Frey effect of hearing and sensation of pressure within the head, there
are four distinct steps involving the energy conversion from radio frequency (RF) to acoustic
modalities. First, the RF energy penetrates the skull and couples to the neural tissue as a function of
impedance matching and absorption in the tissue, with penetrations of 2-4 cm for frequencies of
915 MHz to 2.45 GHz (Brace, 2010). This coupling, in turn, creates a rapid oscillation of
temperature changes that leads to a rapid, volumetric thermal expansion and contraction of local
tissues (i.e., the increase in thermal energy causes an increase in kinetic energy of atoms, pushing
against neighboring atoms to create an expansion or swelling in all directions). The oscillating
tissue expansion and contraction launches a thermoelastic pressure wave (Lin and Wang, 2007;
Yitzhak et al., 2009). If operated at the right pulse repetition frequency, the thermoelastic pressure
wave can propagate to and excite the cochlea and vestibular organs at the resonance frequency of
the cranium (Lenhardt, 2003; Yitzhak et al., 2014). Intracranial focusing is possible depending on
the incident angle of the incoming RF radiation. Localization and intensity effects within a room
can be achieved through nonlinear beat wave effects with careful design of the RF source and
antenna. The absence, however, of electromagnetic disruption of other electronics within the
immediate home/office environment suggests an upper bound to the RF energy, with implications
for a potential RF system design. The average power densities associated with some of these
effects (e.g., Frey effect hearing) are so low that they would not disrupt nearby electronics in a
fashion similar to high-power microwaves (HPM) (Hoad, 2007; Jinshi et al., 2008). The lack of
perceptual heating would also rule out other non-lethal HPM systems that have been developed for
crowd control (e.g., Department of Defense’s 95GHz Active Denial System that only penetrates the
skin to 1/64 an inch but heats the skin to uncomfortable levels within seconds) (D’Andrea et al.,
2008; DoD, 2020; Nelson et al., 2000).

It is well-known that the vestibular end organs and regions of the brain involved in
processing of space and motion information may be excited by energy sources other than rotational
or linear accelerations. External sonic, galvanic, and magnetic stimuli are used for diagnostic,
experimental, and therapeutic purposes in neuro-otology and vestibular research such as generating
vestibular evoked myogenic potentials (sonic), investigating vestibular response thresholds
(galvanic), and as emerging therapies for chronic dizziness (transcranial magnetic and electrical
stimulation) (Cha et al., 2013). Clinical observations also suggest that certain patients with
vestibular disorders (e.g., Ménière’s disease) may be susceptible to exacerbations of their
symptoms in response to rapid changes in atmospheric pressure as occur with quickly moving
weather fronts or changes in elevation during air or land travel (Gürkov et al., 2016). However, the
potential for RF sources to stimulate the vestibular end organs via thermoelastic pressure waves or
to excite central nervous system pathways via transduction akin to the Frey effect are not known. If
these effects exist, then a few observations may be made about their potential manifestations. A
thermoelastic pressure wave would be omnidirectional thereby stimulating the vestibular end
organs in a non-physiological manner. This unusual form of vestibular stimulation could lead to
very confusing percepts as central vestibular pathways do their best to resolve the nonphysiological
pattern of end organ stimulation resulting in sensations of physically impossible
motions, unexpected reflexive postural responses to them, and faulty inferences about external
forces causing them. Affected individuals could report different sensations in response to the same
external stimulus; thus, immediate reports of affected individuals may not be veridical and
sensations may vary from one individual to another. If a Frey-like effect can be induced on central
nervous system tissue responsible for space and motion information processing, it likely would
induce similarly idiosyncratic responses.

National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine 2020. An Assessment of Illness in U.S. Government Employees and Their Families at Overseas Embassies. Washington, DC: The National Academies Press.

[viva la]

40. I thought they'd just concluded it was psychological-- mass hysteria

Or whatever.

(Italian space lasers?)