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U.S. State Department Pulls Employees From Cuba, Issues Travel Warning Due to "Sonic Attacks"

posted by Fnord666 on Saturday September 30 2017, @09:45PM   
from the different-kind-of-sonic-boom dept.

takyon writes:

State Department orders nonessential diplomats and families out of Cuba following mysterious attacks

The US State Department is pulling out all families of employees and nonessential personnel from Cuba, after a string of mysterious attacks against US diplomats.

Several US officials tell CNN that 21 US diplomats and family members became ill after apparent sonic attacks. The American embassy will continue to operate with a 60% reduction in staff. The officials said the US will stop issuing visas in Cuba effective immediately because of the staff reductions and the decision is not described as a retaliatory measure. Officials say there will still be consular officials in the embassy available to assist US citizens in Cuba.

The State Department is also issuing a travel warning, urging Americans not to travel to Cuba because they could also be at risk as some of the attacks against diplomats have taken place at hotels where Americans stay, a senior State Department official told reporters Friday.

Also at the Miami Herald, BBC, and NYT:

Some of those attacked have suffered significant injuries, with symptoms including hearing loss, dizziness, tinnitus, balance and visual problems, headache, fatigue, cognitive issues and difficulty sleeping. But despite an intensive investigation by the F.B.I., the cause and perpetrators of the attacks remain a mystery, with some experts speculating that some kind of sonic weapon or faulty surveillance device may have been at fault.

Related: US Embassy Employees in Cuba Possibly Subjected to 'Acoustic Attack'

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Original Submission

• Microwave auditory effect? (Score: 3, Interesting) by pTamok on Sunday October 01 2017, @09:13AM

  by pTamok (3042) on Sunday October 01 2017, @09:13AM (#575503)

  Having read some discussion about this between well qualified people (I'm not one of them), I'm leaning towards the idea that this might, possibly, be use of the "Microwave Auditory Effect" [wikipedia.org]

  In 2003–04, the WaveBand Corp. had a contract from the U.S. Navy for the design of a MAE system they called MEDUSA [wikipedia.org] (Mob Excess Deterrent Using Silent Audio) intended to remotely, temporarily incapacitate personnel. The project was cancelled in 2005.

  Although that project was cancelled, it is entirely possible a new one was started up, or the results have been used by someone else.

  The Wikipedia article states:

  ...the subjects were discovered to be able to hear appropriately pulsed microwave radiation, from a distance of 100 meters from the transmitter. This was accompanied by side effects such as dizziness, headaches, and a pins and needles sensation.

  There's a more complete exposition on hackaday: https://hackaday.com/2017/09/25/cuban-embassy-attacks-and-the-microwave-auditory-effect/ [hackaday.com]

  An interesting question is also, if the diplomats were affected on purpose (i.e. it is not some weird accident or medical condition experienced by the diplomats), who benefits?

  Starting Score:	1		point
  Moderation		+2
  Interesting=2, Total=2
  Extra 'Interesting' Modifier		0
  Total Score:		3