• CIA says 'Havana Syndrome' not result of sustained campaign by hostile

    From a425couple@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jan 20 09:57:14 2022
    XPost: soc.history.war.misc

    from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/cia-says-havana-syndrome-not-result-sustained-global-campaign-hostile-rcna12838

    CIA says 'Havana Syndrome' not result of sustained campaign by hostile power

    In about two dozen cases, however, the agency can’t rule out foreign involvement, including many of the cases that originated at the U.S.
    Embassy in Havana beginning in 2016.

    Image: US Embassy, Havana
    The U.S. Embassy in Havana on May 20.Yamil Lage / AFP via Getty Images file Jan. 19, 2022, 8:05 PM PST / Updated Jan. 20, 2022, 6:50 AM PST
    By Ken Dilanian and Josh Lederman

    In a new intelligence assessment, the CIA has ruled out that the
    mysterious symptoms known as Havana Syndrome are the result of a
    sustained global campaign by a hostile power aimed at hundreds of U.S. diplomats and spies, six people briefed on the matter told NBC News.

    In about two dozen cases, the agency cannot rule out foreign
    involvement, including many of the cases that originated at the U.S.
    Embassy in Havana beginning in 2016. Another group of cases is
    considered unresolved. But in hundreds of other cases of possible
    symptoms, the agency has found plausible alternative explanations, the
    sources said.

    Exclusive: ‘Havana Syndrome’ victim speaks out
    DEC. 22, 202102:01
    The CIA declined to comment.

    The idea that widespread brain injury symptoms have been caused by
    Russia or another foreign power targeting Americans around the world,
    either to harm them or to collect intelligence, has been deemed
    unfounded, the sources said.

    People who have experienced possible Havana Syndrome symptoms and have
    been briefed on the assessment have expressed deep disappointment, the
    sources said. Some have pointed out that the CIA’s findings are
    considered an interim assessment and that they were not coordinated with
    other agencies, including the Defense Department.

    “CIA just kind of struck out on their own,” a person briefed on the findings said.

    In a statement, a group that represents U.S. officials who have reported suspected incidents said, “The CIA’s newly issued report may be labeled ‘interim’ and it may leave open the door for some alternative
    explanation in some cases, but to scores of dedicated public servants,
    their families, and their colleagues, it has a ring of finality and repudiation.”

    “We have reason to believe the interim report does not even represent
    the consensus of the full CIA,” said the group Advocacy for Victims of
    Havana Syndrome, “instead reflecting the views of a subset of officials
    most interested in resolution and closure.”

    Nonetheless, almost no one who has been working closely on the issue is surprised that many recent cases of what the Biden administration calls “anomalous health incidents” have plausible explanations unrelated to possible hostile acts. When government agencies began urging any
    employee who had suffered unexplained headaches and dizziness to report
    it, it was inevitable that many of the cases would not fit the
    parameters of what doctors had identified in the diplomats and spies who suffered brain injuries.

    “Even two dozen cases is a lot of cases if Americans were attacked,” one person briefed on the findings said.

    There is an intensive intelligence gathering and analytical effort to
    resolve those cases, officials said.

    Starting in late 2016, U.S. diplomats and spies serving in Cuba began
    reporting bizarre sounds and sensations followed by unexplained
    illnesses and symptoms, including hearing and vision loss, memory and
    balance problems, headaches and nausea.

    Over the years, many hundreds of U.S. officials have come forward
    reporting suspected incidents in more than a dozen countries, NBC News
    has reported.


    U.S. officials say hundreds of Americans reported possible cases of
    Havana Syndrome
    JULY 20, 202101:20

    NBC News reported in 2018 that U.S. intelligence officials considered
    Russia a leading suspect in what some of them assessed to have been
    deliberate attacks on diplomats and CIA officers overseas. But in the
    three years since then, the spy agencies have not uncovered enough
    evidence to pinpoint the cause or the culprit of the health incidents.

    The National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine said in a
    report in 2020 that some of the observed brain injuries were consistent
    with the effects of directed microwave energy, which the report said
    Russia has long studied.

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    Russia has consistently denied any involvement.

    A team of medical and scientific experts who studied the symptoms of as
    many as 40 State Department and other government employees concluded
    that nothing like them had previously been documented in medical
    literature, the National Academies of Sciences report said. Many
    reported hearing a loud sound and feeling pressure in their heads and
    then experiencing dizziness, unsteady gait and visual disturbances. Many suffered long-standing debilitating effects.

    U.S. officials have long said they cannot say for sure that they were intentional attacks or even that they were the result of human activity.

    But privately, CIA Director William Burns had referred to the incidents
    as attacks. One of Burns’ aides suffered symptoms during a trip to New
    Delhi in 2020.

    Nonetheless, Burns and the director of national intelligence, Avril
    Haines, have endorsed the findings, the sources said.

    The CIA report aims to address a concern that has grown more intense as
    more and more cases have been reported: that a U.S. adversary had
    managed to harm hundreds of Americans in dozens of countries while
    evading detection by the U.S.

    U.S. officials stressed that the interim report was not a final
    conclusion of the broader Biden administration or the full intelligence community. The White House National Security Council has convened a task
    force involving outside medical and scientific experts that is also
    examining Havana Syndrome and is expected to release some findings in
    the near future, officials said. The Defense Department, the FBI and the
    State Department are all still working to investigate the origins of the syndrome and how to mitigate it, the officials said.

    Early victims of ‘Havana Syndrome’ speak out about ongoing health struggles OCT. 13, 202104:26

    Instead, the interim CIA report is focused narrowly on the number of
    incidents that are believed to be potentially attributable to a foreign
    actor, officials said.

    Still, the report marks a significant change of tone from the Biden administration, which has made a point of demonstrating that it is
    taking the incidents more seriously than the Trump administration did
    and has repeatedly emphasized the need to take victims seriously.
    Secretary of State Antony Blinken, in comments on MSNBC last week,
    recalled having met with State Department employees who have come
    forward reporting incidents.

    “I’ve heard them. I’ve listened to them. You can’t help but be struck by
    how these incidents disrupted their lives and their well-being,” Blinken said. “We’re doing everything we can to care for them.”

    The State Department did not respond to a request for comment.

    U.S. officials said the CIA report does not change the Biden
    administration’s broader approach to Havana Syndrome, including the
    emphasis on eliminating stigma, encouraging employees with suspected
    incidents to come forward and ensuring proper medical care for those
    affected.

    Ken Dilanian
    Ken Dilanian is a correspondent covering intelligence and national
    security for the NBC News Investigative Unit.


    Josh Lederman
    Josh Lederman is an NBC News correspondent.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Jim Wilkins@21:1/5 to All on Thu Jan 20 18:32:59 2022
    XPost: soc.history.war.misc

    I don't understand how they could be bombarding the embassy with high power microwave or millimeter wave radiation without us detecting it. The
    electronics to do so fit into cell phones.

    We have known for a very long time what to look for: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Thing_(listening_device)

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Oleg Smirnov@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jan 21 08:06:28 2022
    XPost: soc.history.war.misc

    a425couple, <news:_nhGJ.36938$PNM6.29461@fx09.iad>

    from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/cia-says-havana-syndrome-not-result-sustained-global-campaign-hostile-rcna12838

    CIA says 'Havana Syndrome' not result of sustained campaign by hostile power

    In a new intelligence assessment, the CIA has ruled out that the mysterious symptoms known as Havana Syndrome are the result of a sustained global campaign by a hostile power aimed at hundreds of U.S. diplomats and spies,

    The diplomats and spies who are working in the American consulates
    abroad, have quite unhealthy team spirit among themselves. We in the
    KGB know it from our sources. They do petty nasty things to each
    other, and 'report' on each other to bosses, while trying to advance
    in careers and get personal benefits. There's a dense atmosphere of
    hypocrisies / lies among them. It should be taken into account when
    considering where this notorious 'Havana Syndrome' arose from.

    This 'syndrome' for some time was seen as useful from the perspective
    of propaganda, but it's still impossible to push such a narrative for
    a long time without any credible evidence.

    People who have experienced possible Havana Syndrome symptoms and have been briefed on the assessment have expressed deep disappointment, the sources said.

    Well it's natural. Their personal interest is to keep the popular and
    media attention to them as much/long as possible. Everybody is smart
    while playing the system.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Juergen Nieveler@21:1/5 to Jim Wilkins on Fri Jan 21 10:31:07 2022
    XPost: soc.history.war.misc

    "Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    I don't understand how they could be bombarding the embassy with high
    power
    microwave or millimeter wave radiation without us detecting it. The electronics to do so fit into cell phones.

    One of the theories was that people were targetted when OUTSIDE the
    embassy, walking down the street or in their private homes.

    Mind you, another theory is that there weren't any targetted attacks to
    begin with, but that there's some poorly shielded equipment in the
    embassies that's causing this, for example backscatter from some poorly designed communications antenna. That would explain why there were
    cases
    in Washington DC with people in the foreign ministry...

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Dean Markley@21:1/5 to Oleg Smirnov on Fri Jan 21 04:56:10 2022
    On Friday, January 21, 2022 at 12:07:59 AM UTC-5, Oleg Smirnov wrote:
    a425couple, <news:_nhGJ.36938$PNM6....@fx09.iad>
    from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/cia-says-havana-syndrome-not-result-sustained-global-campaign-hostile-rcna12838

    CIA says 'Havana Syndrome' not result of sustained campaign by hostile power
    In a new intelligence assessment, the CIA has ruled out that the mysterious
    symptoms known as Havana Syndrome are the result of a sustained global campaign by a hostile power aimed at hundreds of U.S. diplomats and spies,
    The diplomats and spies who are working in the American consulates
    abroad, have quite unhealthy team spirit among themselves. We in the
    KGB know it from our sources. They do petty nasty things to each
    other, and 'report' on each other to bosses, while trying to advance
    in careers and get personal benefits. There's a dense atmosphere of hypocrisies / lies among them. It should be taken into account when considering where this notorious 'Havana Syndrome' arose from.

    This 'syndrome' for some time was seen as useful from the perspective
    of propaganda, but it's still impossible to push such a narrative for
    a long time without any credible evidence.
    People who have experienced possible Havana Syndrome symptoms and have been
    briefed on the assessment have expressed deep disappointment, the sources said.
    Well it's natural. Their personal interest is to keep the popular and
    media attention to them as much/long as possible. Everybody is smart
    while playing the system.

    "We in the KGB"? C'mon Oleg, you are not KGB, there is no more KGB just like there is no more Soviet Union. There's just an envious third world, nuclear armed country remaining with a declining population and economy. If you knot-heads would sit up
    and think straight, you'd realize cooperation with the west would bring you far more benefits than acting like a second rate imperial empire builder.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Jim Wilkins@21:1/5 to Jim Wilkins on Fri Jan 21 07:24:59 2022
    XPost: soc.history.war.misc

    "Juergen Nieveler" wrote in message news:XnsAE267412128AFjuergennieveler@nieveler.org...

    "Jim Wilkins" <muratlanne@gmail.com> wrote:

    I don't understand how they could be bombarding the embassy with high
    power
    microwave or millimeter wave radiation without us detecting it. The electronics to do so fit into cell phones.

    One of the theories was that people were targetted when OUTSIDE the
    embassy, walking down the street or in their private homes.

    Mind you, another theory is that there weren't any targetted attacks to
    begin with, but that there's some poorly shielded equipment in the
    embassies that's causing this, for example backscatter from some poorly designed communications antenna. That would explain why there were
    cases
    in Washington DC with people in the foreign ministry...

    -------------------

    This shows how small and cheap radio frequency scanners can be: https://www.amazon.com/Detector-Wireless-Signal-Listening-Scanner/dp/B07B93347H There are also bug sniffer apps and add-on modules for cell phones.

    It's not that hard. As a kid I built a receiver for ELF submarine communications out of parts from a scrapped TV.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From Oleg Smirnov@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jan 21 16:19:46 2022
    XPost: sci.military.naval, alt.war.vietnam, soc.history.war.misc

    "Moon of Alabama" analytical blog covered this topic before.

    <https://tinyurl.com/4u3zkvhh>
    <https://tinyurl.com/249ts4j7>
    <https://tinyurl.com/2p8vzh7h>

    Basically, the case is nothing but an exhibition of the American
    sick, perverted fantazies, which the Americans don't hesitate to
    attribute to someone else and promote through the media.

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
    * Origin: fsxNet Usenet Gateway (21:1/5)
  • From a425couple@21:1/5 to All on Fri Jan 21 07:53:41 2022
    XPost: soc.history.war.misc

    On 1/20/2022 9:57 AM, a425couple wrote:
    from https://www.nbcnews.com/politics/national-security/cia-says-havana-syndrome-not-result-sustained-global-campaign-hostile-rcna12838


    CIA says 'Havana Syndrome' not result of sustained campaign by hostile
    power

    In about two dozen cases, however, the agency can’t rule out foreign involvement, including many of the cases that originated at the U.S.
    Embassy in Havana beginning in 2016.


    It is hard to prove a negative.

    OK. I'll ramble, and risk offending for a minute.

    Things happen as we age. Many undesirable 'things'
    happen in our brains, feelings, and ears, that
    do not have simple and clear solutions.

    Add in a bit of 'mass psychosis',,,, --.

    Reminds me of all the 'Prevagin' ads.
    The advertising spokespeople are sure their
    brain function was slipping, and now they feel
    much 'sharper and clearer', but no hard
    scientific data has been found.

    Also reminds me of many of the Agent Orange
    propaganda. Sure, some of us Vietnam vets,
    have had our health negatively effected by
    those long ago exposures to Agent Orange.

    But Christ on a Pogo stick, many of the Vets
    posting on Vietnam Facebook groups seem certain
    that all of us are dying because of our exposure
    to Agent Orange 50 years ago.

    Crackers!!! We are generally over 70 years old,
    and many of our non-veteran peers are also dying
    from heart attacks, strokes, various cancers, and
    diabetes.
    Do you suppose our smoking, and drinking, and over
    eating might have had something to do with it???

    --- SoupGate-Win32 v1.05
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