Merged US may close Cuba Embassy over 'health attacks'

[dann]

It's hard to say, but based on the WaPo article I just read (Marc Polymeropoulos linked to it in a tweet), I assume it must be something like this:

Moreover, the Insider reported, geolocation data shows that operators attached to Unit 29155, traveling undercover, were present in places where Havana syndrome struck, just before the incidents took place.
Opinion: ‘Havana syndrome’ might have been a Russian attack. The U.S. can’t stop investigating. (Washington Post Editorial Board, April 1, 2024)

What exactly does this mean, "places where Havana syndrome struck"? Countries, states, cities, streets, blocks? Or would it be places where somebody suspected of being a Russian spy may have been spotted - like in the case of the American nurse and the thin, blonde and well-dressed young man?

Even more concerning, the investigation found that a commonality among the Americans targeted was their work history on Russia issues.

That is surprising! Weren't the embassy employees in Havana the original cohort? Was their commonality really that their work history was on Russia rather than on Cuban issues?

It identifies the possible culprit as Unit 29155, a “notorious assassination and sabotage squad” of the GRU, Moscow’s military intelligence service. Senior members of the unit received “awards and political promotions for work related to the development of ‘non-lethal acoustic weapons’” — a term used in the Russian military-scientific literature to describe both sound- and radiofrequency-based directed energy devices. The investigation found documentary evidence that Unit 29155 “has been experimenting with exactly the kind of weaponized technology” experts suggest is a plausible cause.

But isn't that also true of the DoD? Are WaPo (and CBS, Der Spiegel, etc.) unaware that the DoD "“has been experimenting with exactly the kind of weaponized technology” experts suggest is a plausible cause"??! Is it possible that they never heard about the DoD ferret-brain studies? US government is trying to give ferrets Havana Syndrome to figure out what mystery illness is (Independent, Mar 10, 2023)

Even though the following was what the ODNI report was based on, the media pretends that it never happened and still needs to be done:

The U.S. intelligence community needs to conduct a full, aggressive inquiry that takes into account all aspects of the incidents — sometimes easier said than done in such investigations. It must include everything: counterintelligence information, case investigatory data, clinical data, and possible concepts of operation for the attacks based on plausible mechanisms and devices identified by earlier research. It needs access to all the available intelligence — including anything previously buried or ignored — and be unbound by preconceived notions about what happened.

It appears to be one of those cases where new investigations will be required again and again and again because the previous ones didn't come up with the desired result! As WaPo puts it:

Earlier, agencies in the U.S. intelligence community had concluded that “it is very unlikely a foreign adversary is responsible.” They need to look again.

The 'earlier' conclusion linked to by WaPo is actually brand new:

Anomalous Health Incidents
We continue to closely examine anomalous health incidents (AHIs), particularly in areas we have identified as requiring additional research and analysis. Most IC agencies have concluded that it is very unlikely a foreign adversary is responsible for the reported AHIs. IC agencies have varying confidence levels because we still have gaps given the challenges collecting on foreign adversaries—as we do on many issues involving them. As part of its review, the IC identified critical assumptions surrounding the initial AHIs reported in Cuba from 2016 to 2018, which framed the IC’s understanding of this phenomenon, but were not borne out by subsequent medical and technical analysis. In light of this and the evidence that points away from a foreign adversary, causal mechanism, or unique syndromes linked to AHIs, IC agencies assess those symptoms reported by U.S. personnel probably were the result of factors that did not involve a foreign adversary.
Annual Threat Assessment of the U.S. Intelligence Community (Office of the Director of National Intelligence - USA, Feb 5, 2024)

 

[dann]

All the President's Men

On the occasion of the new reports from 60 Minutes, Der Spiegel and The insider, the Washington Examiner is proud to write about its accomplishments in the past:

The Washington Examiner was the first to report in October 2021 on evidence linking the GRU and Russian Security Council Secretary Nikolai Patrushev to Havana Syndrome. Subsequent Washington Examiner reporting provided circumstantial evidence to suggest that George W. Bush, Laura Bush, and others in Bush's presidential administration may have been victims of Havana Syndrome during the 2007 G7 summit in Germany.
New GRU reporting shatters intelligence community’s Havana Syndrome spin (Washington Examiner, April 1, 2024)

However, the original story about the Bush family and their entourage coming down with the 'syndrome' was slightly different, albeit still dramatic, and it has been adapted to fit the 'syndrome' narrative!

The former first lady Laura Bush has opened a diplomatic can of worms by writing in her new book that she and her husband may have been poisoned during a state visit to a G8 summit in Germany in 2007.
The passage of Spoken From the Heart in which she discusses the incident amounts to the first time that the idea has been floated that George Bush's illness at the summit may have been the result of poisoning. The then US president succumbed to a stomach complaint, as did his wife and several members of their entourage, during a three-day meeting of world leaders in Heiligendamm.
(...) Bush's adviser Dan Bartlett told reporters at the time that he was "very much under the weather", though his condition was "not serious".
"I'm not sure if it's a stomach virus yet or something like that, but he's just not feeling well in the stomach."
Laura Bush memoir claims president was poisoned at G8 summit (TheGuardian, April 28, 2010)

Checking the list of symptoms, I guess that being nauseous in that situation is not unlikely. And since "former Republican congressman Joe Scarborough accused him of lacking intellectual depth," I also think that slowed thinking is worth considering.

At the time, G-8 chefs were as baffled by Laura Bush's 'poisoning' claims as Putin appears to have been by the 'syndrome' story.

 

[dann]

I wonder what the "impossibly high bar" was? "Have you any evidence at all?" probably.

PBS Newshour kinda answers your question ... or at least they do ask it:

Geoff Bennett:
You ran the military investigation into Havana Syndrome. You told "60 Minutes" that the bar for proof was set impossibly high.
Tell me more about that. What was the bar of proof and what was the motivation behind elevating it, in your view?

Gregory Edgreen ["CEO and Founder, Advanced Echelon LLC"]:
Yes, Geoff, so I can't get into specifics based on classification levels.
What I can tell you is that, from my perspective, things and requirements from higher levels of the government seemed to change quickly. And you have to contact those officials still inside the government to figure out why they were changing certain requirements for the intelligence community.
But I can tell you that this problem is not going to get better with time. We need to address it head on. And, most importantly, we need to start taking care of the Havana Syndrome survivors and their families. It's about time to take action. And that time is now.
Transcript: ‘Havana syndrome’ investigator on accusing Russia of targeting U.S. officials (PBS Newshour, April 1, 2024)

Audio: ‘Havana syndrome’ investigator on accusing Russia of targeting U.S. officials (PBS Newshour, April 1, 2024 - 6:06 min.)

I hope that answered your question, Gulliver Foyle!

It didn't?!
Well, I can't get into specifics based on classification levels (= you probably already guessed that I don't have any kind of security clearance!), but I can tell you that this guy is obviously full of ****.
It's a disgrace that the media not only lets him get away with promoting a lie that harms people who imagine that their brains have been damaged by directed-energy weapons, be they former diplomats or current Tis, but also gives him free advertising for his company.

And speaking of his company!
Take a look at the services offered by Advanced Echelon - Forward Solutions and tell me what they look like to you!
(At least, the word EXPLOITATION figures prominently.)

 

[dann]

Short video (3:23 min.) from Forbes posted on X:
White House Press Secretary refuses to confirm reported Russia & Havana Syndrome link! (Sky Fire News! on X, April 2, 2024)

She is asked about 60 Minutes reporting "on a connection between anomalous health incidents and a unit of the Russian military intelligence service."
She answers, "The Intelligence Committee has not concluded that."
She refers to ODNI for answers to more specific questions.

 

[dann]

Bad reporting from BBC.

Personnel stationed around the globe with "Havana Syndrome" have reported unexplained symptoms such as dizziness.
They may have been targeted by Russian sonic* weaponry, according to a joint investigation by The Insider, Der Spiegel and CBS's 60 Minutes.
Moscow has denied the accusations. US officials previously said it was unlikely a foreign power was to blame.
But in their assessment of "anomalous health incidents" (AHIs) - which was delivered last year - they did not give any alternative explanation, frustrating those who have been affected.
Havana syndrome: Report links mystery illness to Russian intelligence unit (BBC, April 1, 2024)

Yes, 60 Minutes et al say that U.S. "personnel stationed around the globe (...) may have been targeted by Russian sonic weaponry", but does the evidence presented make it seem likely?
And is it actually true that "they did not give any alternative explanation" in their assessment?!
What about this?

As part of its review, the IC identified critical assumptions surrounding the initial AHIs reported in Cuba from 2016 to 2018, which framed the IC’s understanding of this phenomenon, but were not borne out by subsequent medical and technical analysis. In light of this and the evidence that points away from a foreign adversary, causal mechanism, or unique syndrome linked to AHIs, IC agencies assess that symptoms reported by US personnel were probably the result of factors that did not involve a foreign adversary, such as preexisting conditions, conventional illnesses, and environmental factors. IC confidence in this explanation is bolstered by the fact that we identified medical, environmental, and social factors that plausibly can explain many AHIs reported by US officials.
Updated Assessment of Anomalous Health Incidents (ODNI, Mar 1, 2023)

The IC didn't merely suggest an alternative hypothesis to "a foreign adversary, causal mechanism, or unique syndrome linked to AHIs." They actually found "preexisting conditions, conventional illnesses, and environmental factors that plausibly can explain many AHIs."

And then there's the thing about confidence, which fans of the attack idea love to repeat, but they tend to forget that all agencies agreed that "available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of US adversaries in causing the reported incidents." - even the minority with low confidence agreed. It's not as if they dismissed the ODNI report.

The American officials also acknowledged there were varying levels of confidence in the assessment between the different intelligence agencies involved.

Targeted individuals seem to think that the minority didn't think that "available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of US adversaries in causing the reported incidents," but that's not the case. They think so, they're just not as sure about it as the others.


*I think it should have been 'sonic and/or microwave weaponry and/or surveillance equipment gone bad'.

 

[dann]

Glenn Greenwald on X, 6 min. video:

Given how many deranged conspiracy theories about Russia have been spread by the US corporate media, it's hard to single any one out as the most unhinged.
But if required to do so, the 60 Minutes report on Sunday night -- resurrecting the Havana Syndrome -- is a good candidate:

System Update
@60Minutes just released a shockingly deranged report, reviving the thoroughly debunked Havana Syndrome hoax.
Constructing a vast, global conspiracy on unhinged testimonies, a resistance liberal lawyer, a Bellingcat operative, and a Russian w/ a speeding ticket.

Glenn Greenwald (X, April 2, 2024)

 

[dann]

It is a weird experience to see Breitbart make much more sense than CBS 60 Minutes, the latter promoting absurd conspiracy theories and the former criticizing them. On April 1!:

The Havana Syndrome remains a frustrating mystery and sleuths can offer only theories and “nexus” speculation absent hard evidence. If the darker theories highlighted by 60 Minutes are true, the point of the exercise was to devise a means of debilitating American personnel that would leave no evidence behind. At this point, few would doubt the regime of Russian President Vladimir Putin is willing to perpetrate such attacks.
On the other hand, even giving conspiracy theorists the benefit of the doubt, it is not easy to see what the hypothetical attackers gained that was worth the considerable risk unless the whole affair was a lengthy and elaborate field test of a weapon still under development.
Theories implicating the Trump and Biden administrations, and the permanent intelligence bureaucracy, in a cover-up likewise run into the problems of risk and benefit. Plenty of evidence exists that the government, especially its permanent bureaucratic organs, covers things up and thwarts investigations, but there is not much hard evidence to support the theories 60 Minutes espoused. It is hard to imagine either of the recent administrations working overtime to make Putin appear less malevolent.
60 Minutes Blames Russia for Cuba ‘Sonic Attacks’ Under Trump with Anonymous Source and Vague Intel (Breitbart, April 1, 2024)

For some reason, Breitbart sees the 60 Minutes episode as an attempt to criticize Trump. It is not true that the 'syndrome' "largely occurred during the Trump administration." The number of new cases skyrocketed when different federal departments told their staff in other countries to watch out for the symptoms in 2021. The outbreak in Vienna, for instance, was reported in July 2021. So were the Kamala Harris-related cases in Vietnam (August) and the William Burns-related case in India (September). Cases in Paris and Geneva were reported in January '22, only one week before the CIA interim report put a damper on the transmission of the mind virus.

 

[angrysoba]

Don't stop me noooow, because I'm having such a syn...drome, I'm having a ball.

Don't stop me noooow, if you wanna have a syndrome, just give me a call!

So don't stop me... I'm Havana syndrome. Don't stop me....I'm Havana syndrome, Havana syndrome!

 

[dann]

I'm gonna aim a supersonic gun right at you

 

[dann]

One month ago, in post 2,130, I mentioned the case of 'mass poisoning' at Swedish Säpo's headquarters. As suspected, it was MPI.

Förundersökningen efter gaslarmet på Säpos högkvarter i Solna läggs ner.
Det fanns ingen gasläcka, slår polisen fast.
Åtta personer fördes till sjukhus vid insatsen – men det hela handlade om placebo.
Utredningen om gas på Säpo läggs ner – skador var placebo (SverigesRadio.se, April 3, 2024 - short audio (1:04) in Swedish)

* The preliminary investigation after the gas alarm at the Säpo headquarters at Solna has come to an end.
* The police have determined that there was no gas leak.
* Eight people were taken to hospital - but the whole thing was placebo.
The gas-leak investigation at Säpo to be canceled - the injuries were placebo

The correct term would be nocebo.


It took Sweden only 5 weeks to solve and end their outbreak.
The mishandling of the U.S. 'syndrome' turned it into a pandemic, and it is still ongoing.

 

[Gord_in_Toronto]

Michael Shermer linking to Robert Bartholomew's article:

"Havana Syndrome has now been definitively debunked.: -- Would it ere true.

Russian nexus revealed during 60 Minutes Havana Syndrome investigation into potential attacks on U.S. officials

 

[dann]

Glenn Greenwald on X, 6 min. video:

The full video on YouTube:
“Shockingly Deranged.” Glenn Debunks Havana Syndrome Propaganda
(Glenn Greenwald on YouTube, April 2, 2024 - 32:40 min.)

I can recommend it. It has many quotations from the 60 Minutes video.
Greenwald also 'connects the dots' to the community of targeted individuals and mentions how similar the stories are that we hear from the two groups, the Havana cohort and the TIs.

 

[dann]

How the dots are REALLY connected

"Havana Syndrome has now been definitively debunked.: -- Would it ere true.

Russian nexus revealed during 60 Minutes Havana Syndrome investigation into potential attacks on U.S. officials

When I watched the Greenwald video, I had another one of those connecting-the-dots moments:

At the time, G-8 chefs were as baffled by Laura Bush's 'poisoning' claims as Putin appears to have been by the 'syndrome' story.

Of course, they would say they were baffled! What did people expect? That they would just admit their assassination attempt?

Thanks to the marvelous investigative reporting from 60 Minutes, we now know this:

Christo Grozev: He studied in a military institute. He studied radio electronics with a particular focus on use within the military of micro-electronics. He had all the technology know-how that would be required for somebody to be assisting an operation that requires high technology. But then all of a sudden, after working for two years in a military institute he up and decides to become a chef.
Kovalev immigrated to the U.S. and worked as a chef in New York and Washington D.C., even appearing at far left, in a TV cooking segment.
Havana Syndrome mystery continues as a lead military investigator says bar for proof was set impossibly high (CBS News, Mar 31, 2024)

Still not convinced?!
There's more!

But Kovalev was actually a Russian military electrical engineer with a top secret security clearance.
Scott Pelley: Can someone like Kovalev simply decide to drop all of that and become a chef?Christo Grozev: It is not an easy job to just leave that behind. Once you're in the military, and you've been trained, and the Ministry of Defense has invested in you, you remain at their beck and call for the rest of your life.

So Kovalev was not only a military electrical engineer and thus obviously the one who invented Russia's notorious brain-damaging microwave/ultrasonic zap guns. He also poisoned the Bush family and their entourage in Vilnius. This evil genius even managed to microwave the brain of Carrie, the FBI agent with the blonde wig. Twice! While he was in jail!!!

We don't know what Kovalev was up to but our sources say, over months, he spent 80 hours being interviewed by FBI agent Carrie, who had investigated multiple Russian spies. Kovalev pled guilty to evading police and reckless driving. He was sentenced to 30 months. While he was in jail, Carrie says she was hit in Florida and, a year later, when she awoke to the same symptoms in the middle of the night in California.

And people wonder why he was caught speeding in Florida! This guy was a military electrical engineer, a chef, a poisoner and a spy at the beck and call of Russian GRU. No wonder he was speeding! Give the poor guy a break!

I think I have proved my point!
But there is more to this story:

Vitalii Kovalev served his time and in 2022, went back to Russia—ignoring American warnings that he was in danger because he'd spent so much time with the FBI. Christo Grozev found this death certificate from last year, which says Kovalev was killed at the front in Ukraine.

This is where I just can't believe the story anymore. It's fairly obvious that he died of exhaustion, and the GRU forged his death certificate to cover it up.

 

[angrysoba]

I'm gonna aim a supersonic gun right at you

“I’m gonna point a supersonic weapon at you.”

(I think that works better, but I like it! ooh ooh ooh!)

 

[dann]

supersonic woman --> supersonic weapon ...
does work better than
supersonic woman --> supersonic gun right ...

I considered a solution using supersonic sound for the line where it's supersonic man.
Alliteration!

 

[dann]

(Just to make sure that nobody gets poe'd: post 2,194 is a parody!)

 

[dann]

The usual suspects:

“The Committee has made requests for more information based on the reporting from the Office of the Director of National Intelligence, the CIA, the Defense Intelligence Agency and the FBI,” a spokeswoman for Florida Republican Sen. Marco Rubio, the committee vice-chair, said.
“We continue to look into the anomalous health incidents and the intelligence community’s response to these events,” she added.
Senate committee seeks answers from spy agencies after bombshell Havana Syndrome report (Aol., April 3, 2024)

Isn't this what spies are supposed to be doing in the Spy vs. Spy world? Spying, counter-spying and spying on each other spying?

“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,” the report added.

I'm surprised it was only in two of the incidents!

 

[dann]

What does the U.S. believe is the cause?
While the U.S. is still investigating the matter, five intelligence agencies determined in 2023 it was “very unlikely” that a foreign adversary such as Russia is behind Havana syndrome, even as a byproduct of other suspected activities.
But concerns within the intelligence community remain. Greg Edgreen, a former Defense Department investigator who ran part of the investigation, told 60 Minutes on Sunday that the common link between victims of Havana syndrome was what he called a “Russia nexus.”
“There are no barriers on what Moscow will do, on who they will attack,” he said, “and that if we don't face this head on, the problem is going to get worse.”
The U.S. government has not officially recognized a cause for the syndrome.
What Is Havana Syndrome? A New Report Links the Illness to Russia (Time, April 1, 2024)

I don't know why the mainstream media keeps repeating the claim that the U.S. government has not officially recognized a cause for the 'syndrome'. It has. It was the ODNI report, which stated:

As part of its review, the IC identified critical assumptions surrounding the initial AHIs reported in Cuba from 2016 to 2018, which framed the IC’s understanding of this phenomenon, but were not borne out by subsequent medical and technical analysis. In light of this and the evidence that points away from a foreign adversary, causal mechanism, or unique syndrome linked to AHIs, IC agencies assess that symptoms reported by US personnel were probably the result of factors that did not involve a foreign adversary, such as preexisting conditions, conventional illnesses, and environmental factors. IC confidence in this explanation is bolstered by the fact that we identified medical, environmental, and social factors that plausibly can explain many AHIs reported by US officials.
Updated Assessment of Anomalous Health Incidents (Office of the Director of National intelligence, Mar 1, 2024)

Except for a small handful, mainly some of those in the original cohort in Havana, other causes were found for the 1,500+ cases of AHI. It is also worth pointing out that when there is "evidence that points away from a foreign adversary, causal mechanism, or unique syndrome linked to AHIs," it means that 'Havana syndrome' is not even a syndrome, which should come as no surprise, considering all the 'symptoms' that are jumbled together in it.

I is conspicuous that the media keeps quoting Greg Edgreen and never investigates what his agenda may be.
Why is he "a former Defense Department investigator"?
What made him leave the DoD?
Was he laid off? In that case, why?
Or did he resign because the ODNI investigation didn't go his way?
What exactly is his business model?
For instance, "Advanced Echelon is the one and only company which specializes in modern day open-source intelligence (OSINT), offensively leveraging every vector of Ubiquitous Technical Surveillance (UTS) and other methods, to generate leads and attribute AHIs to state actors."
Attributing AHIs to state actors sounds like, 'We tell you Russia is to blame for your AHI', even though "the U.S. government has not officially recognized a cause for the syndrome."
And another promise: "We provide bespoke medical baseline and survivor support services to suit your needs."
I have a hard time understanding exactly what this is supposed to mean, but I suspect it may be something along the lines of, 'You want to believe that your health has been damaged by directed-energy weapons, and we help you get diagnosed as such'. (Is Michael Hoffer involved in this?)

Whatever the point may be, it is pretty obvious that Greg Edgreen has a vested interest in keeping the narrative of "what he called a “Russia nexus”" alive. His business depends on it.
The mainstream media seems to be either unaware of or uninterested in investigating or even questioning his motives.

 

[dann]

One of those loooong Daily Mail headlines:
Top Intel Republicans vow to continue investigation into Havana syndrome origins until they're 'satisfied' with Intelligence Committee's response following bombshell report that Russia is behind mysterious psychological attacks on U.S. troops (DailyMail, April 3, 2024)

I like the term "psychological attacks." The Daily Mail probably doesn't know what it means.
The Republicans it mentions are the ones who are attacking the mental health an well-being of both 'syndrome' victims and targeted individuals with the 'Havana syndrome' narrative, but they don't seem to care as long as it supports their anti-Cuban agenda.

 

[dann]

Cuban media never wrote much about the 'syndrome'. They knew very early on that it wasn't real, i.e. that no attack had taken place. I have never met anybody in Cuba who thought that U.S. diplomats had been attacked.

The foremost Cuba-based researcher of the incidents, Mitchell Valdés-Sosa, told The Associated Press that the “60 Minutes” report had failed to provide any scientific basis to substantiate the existence of the Havana syndrome. Valdés-Sosa, director of Cuba’s Center for Neuroscience, is the de facto spokesperson on the issue for the Cuban health ministry, which arranged the interview.
“I think that this journalistic investigation does not provide serious elements, especially that there is a new illness caused by a mysterious energy,” he said. “The symptoms are very varied: balance problems, sleep problems, dizziness, difficulties concentrating, and many diseases can cause them.”
In the past, Valdés-Sosa hasn’t disputed that diplomats become ill, but suggested that many of the cases consisted of ordinary illnesses that were erroneously blamed on the supposed phenomenon due to the high degree of public attention.
US defense official had ‘Havana syndrome’ symptoms during a 2023 NATO summit, the Pentagon confirms (AP, April 1, 2024)

El síndrome de La Habana es, verdaderamente, el síndrome de Washington (Granma.cu, April 2, 2024)
The Havana Syndrome is actually the Washington syndrome

The article has been translated into German: Das Havanna-Syndrom ist in Wahrheit ein Washington-Syndrom (Granma.cu, April 3, 2024)
I haven't come across an English translation yet.

An AP article from last year about the ODNI report:

Authorities in Havana said the findings reflect what Cuba has repeatedly stated: that no attacks occurred.
“We’re not surprised,” Johana Tablada, deputy director of the U.S. division of Cuba’s Foreign Ministry, told The Associated Press.
Tablada noted that former U.S. President Donald Trump used the alleged attacks as an excuse to radically tighten sanctions against Cuba, including the partial paralysis of its consular services for more than five years. She said that, because of unfounded accusations, “very harsh measures were taken against our people in Cuba and in the United States that harmed Cuban families, exchanges between our countries (and) caused a downward spiral (of ties) that was practically irreversible.”
Intel agencies: No sign adversaries behind ‘Havana syndrome’ (AP, Mar 2, 2023)