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posted by martyb on Friday January 21 2022, @06:33PM   Printer-friendly
from the so-what-*IS*-it? dept.

U.S. foe or specific weapon not behind sustained, global campaign causing 'Havana Syndrome,' CIA finds

A U.S. adversary is not engaged in a sustained global campaign aimed at harming or collecting intelligence on hundreds of American diplomats serving abroad, according to an interim CIA finding on the so-called Havana Syndrome.

But there remain a significant number of cases that the agency cannot yet attribute to a specific source. The interim finding, described to POLITICO by three intelligence officials, does not rule out the possibility that a foreign actor or a sophisticated weapon is behind a specific, smaller number of mysterious incidents that have stumped U.S. officials for more than five years.

The new CIA-prepared interim finding assesses that the vast majority of reported cases can be explained by medical, environmental or technical factors — including previously undiagnosed illnesses — and that it is "unlikely" that a malicious state actor is inflicting purposeful harm on U.S. diplomats on a far-reaching, worldwide scale. The broader intelligence community has varying levels of confidence in that assessment.

"There's no one explanation" for the large number of reported cases around the world, a senior CIA official said, insisting "we don't see a global campaign by a foreign actor." There are still unresolved cases, the official continued, and the CIA is still open to the notion that a nation-state or specific device is causing symptoms such as headaches and nausea — if the agency finds evidence to that effect.

[...] "We would definitely not rule out the possibility of foreign-actor involvement in some discrete cases," the official said, adding that "we have not identified a causal mechanism, a novel weapon, that's been used at this point" on a worldwide scale, including a long-suspected directed-energy weapon.

FECA Program Issues Guidance on Coverage of 'Havana Syndrome'

The Federal Employees Compensation Act program has issued guidance on coverage of what it calls the "anomalous health incidents" known as Havana Syndrome [...] Federal employees experiencing such symptoms should file a standard claim form "as current understanding of AHIs are that they are specific events that occur over a single day or work shift" and should designate that as the specific cause, it says. Such claims are to be reviewed by a special claims unit which will consider "medical evidence submitted to determine if any medical conditions have been diagnosed in connection with the AHI incident."

Also at NYT.

Previously: "Havana Syndrome": U.S. Baffled After New Cases in Europe


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  • (Score: 1, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:23PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:23PM (#1214574)

    Not a foreign adversary. Its the CIA itself.

    • (Score: 2) by Username on Friday January 21 2022, @08:42PM

      by Username (4557) on Friday January 21 2022, @08:42PM (#1214606)

      Probably the FBI investigating whether or not russian hookers were urinating on them.

      Though, more likely it's israel, south korea or the philippines. The allies that are the most dependent on the united state.

  • (Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:28PM (3 children)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:28PM (#1214575)

    So it was entitled civil servants abusing their gold-plated medical insurance after all?

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:33PM (2 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:33PM (#1214577)

      Bah!

      • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:46PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:46PM (#1214584)

        > Bah!

        ... wrote the civil servant browsing SN during work hours.

      • (Score: 1, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @09:05PM

        by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @09:05PM (#1214616)

        You're overdosing the Sheep Drench again Runaway.

  • (Score: 1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:48PM (1 child)

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:48PM (#1214585)

    .......on THEM.

    It's pretty simple.

    • (Score: -1, Redundant) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @02:05AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @02:05AM (#1214691)

      It was a serious comment you piece of shit, fuck you GLOWNIGGER.

  • (Score: 2, Insightful) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:49PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @07:49PM (#1214586)

    We've all been hearing about this Havannah Syndrome for years now. Now they say, it's highly unlikely it's a state actor, yet, they don't rule out a foreign adversary for some of the cases?

    So, taken to a logical conclusion, it's possible a lot of the cases are placebo and can be explained; but, that still leaves some cases unexplained. Which seems to be exactly what the snippet says. Though, it is unlikely it would be anyone BUT a state actor, who'd have the ability to do that stuff.

    So, it's either a state actor, the U.S. itself, or... *drum roll*

    Aliens, people. It's aliens. They want us to stop fucking around. ...lol

  • (Score: 1, Troll) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 21 2022, @09:17PM (10 children)

    by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 21 2022, @09:17PM (#1214619) Journal

    If the CIA published the anonymized demographics of the afflicted, me might find a pattern.

    socialist
    progressive
    millennial
    woke
    privileged white people
    voted for Biden
    couldn't find the countries they are assigned to on a map until weeks after they arrived in said countries
    never missed a meal in their lives
    own two or more iDevices
    lactose intolerant
    sensitive to peanuts
    seafoof intolerance
    gluten intolerance
    frequents Starbucks
    uses a debit card for $2.00 purchases, never keeps cash on hand
    watches CNN as primary news source

    • (Score: 2, Touché) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @09:22PM (5 children)

      by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @09:22PM (#1214622)

      Havana Syndrome has been around throughout the entire Trump Administration, starting in 2017.

      • (Score: 1, Offtopic) by Runaway1956 on Friday January 21 2022, @09:36PM (4 children)

        by Runaway1956 (2926) Subscriber Badge on Friday January 21 2022, @09:36PM (#1214634) Journal

        Thanks. They voted for Hillary AND Biden.

        • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @09:43PM (3 children)

          by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @09:43PM (#1214639)

          You're letting your primary SN identity go to total shit eh apk?

          • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:06AM (2 children)

            by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:06AM (#1214734)

            Runaway is the run way Havana syndrome. Dissyness, loss of cognitive function, sexual attraction to other species. It all fits.

            • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:08AM (1 child)

              by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:08AM (#1214735)

              They have already gotten to aristarchus. He no longer can post comments. He has been "cancelled" by SN, and foreign powers, most likely. Probably Brits.

              • (Score: -1, Troll) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @08:07AM

                by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @08:07AM (#1214740)

                I think they need to downmod more AC's, it is the only way to prevent aristarchus from rising from the dead!

    • (Score: 2) by RamiK on Friday January 21 2022, @11:39PM

      by RamiK (1813) on Friday January 21 2022, @11:39PM (#1214661)

      anonymized demographics of the afflicted...

      It's a given almost all government desk jobs are filled by 20s-40s non-STEM college grads so you're just double dipping into a selection bias pool.

      --
      compiling...
    • (Score: 5, Touché) by captain normal on Saturday January 22 2022, @02:11AM

      by captain normal (2205) on Saturday January 22 2022, @02:11AM (#1214693)

      As a friend, I have to tell you, you really need to go into Defox.

      --
      When life isn't going right, go left.
    • (Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:03AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @07:03AM (#1214733)

      I have a very low tolerance for seafoof but I don't think I have Havana syndrome.

      Hey, how come we can call it Havana syndrome, but we can't call the real thing China virus.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @01:51PM

      by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @01:51PM (#1214780)

      I'm honestly not sure what you were going for with that. You started out pretty anti-left, and the 'voted for Biden' jab pretty much cemented that. But then you go on to list quite a few things that are pretty synonymous, in my mind anyway, with right-leaning Republican voters. Yet 'voted for Trump' didn't make the list. What gives?

  • (Score: 1, Interesting) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @09:41PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @09:41PM (#1214637)

    Diplomatic centers are prime targets for corrections to historic events, and these incursions result in vague symptoms for those closest to the point of divergence.

    I figure we should at least try for some entertaining conspiracies, CIA testing on embassies seems a bit risky for weapons research.

  • (Score: 2, Informative) by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @10:24PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Friday January 21 2022, @10:24PM (#1214653)

    ... it clearly was the hifructose corn syrup withdrawl that the embassy staff experienced when posted outside the US. Case closed.

  • (Score: 5, Funny) by krishnoid on Saturday January 22 2022, @12:09AM (1 child)

    by krishnoid (1156) on Saturday January 22 2022, @12:09AM (#1214670)

    My stake in the ground is that a lowest bidder put in some kind of radio-frequency jamming or active scanning into all the diplomatic offices, which constructively interfered and set up standing waves in certain spots in the (possibly shielded or RF-reflective) rooms, causing long-term office residents to slowly start experiencing problems after extended exposure.

    I say this based on zero actual evidence that I'm privy to, but hey, I'm picking something and going with it for now.

    • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 23 2022, @12:36AM

      by Anonymous Coward on Sunday January 23 2022, @12:36AM (#1214896)

      What about sitting waves. Or waves that are lying flat

  • (Score: -1, Spam) by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @02:07AM

    by Anonymous Coward on Saturday January 22 2022, @02:07AM (#1214692)

    Fuck you CIA NIGGER COLLABORATORS.

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