The CIA May Be Obstructing Investigations Involving the Use of Silent Weapons on American Personnel

Americans are allegedly being targeted by silent weapons in the homeland and abroad, according to attorney Mark Zaid. Anomalous Health Incidents (AHIs) are more commonly known as Havana Syndrome, a syndrome that has allegedly “in some form” plagued public servants, their families, and pets for decades. AHI is the term used to describe “a constellation of unexplained and sudden symptoms, including the acute onset of audio-vestibular sensory phenomena.”

Zaid represents about two dozen federal AHI victims and “lawful whistleblowers” from within various federal agencies, including the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA), the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA), the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (OCNI), National Security Agency (NSA), Department of State, Department of Commerce, U.S. Agency for International Development, and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI).” It seems, however, that certain government agencies are obstructing the investigation of AHIs and may also be engaging in witness tampering.

Zaid holds an active TOP SECRET security clearance and has been “routinely provided with authorized access to classified information concerning AHIs.” During questioning, Zaid testified the weapon is “designed to make the target feel like they’re crazy, like they’re imagining things, especially on the low duration, the low-intensity long duration hits.” Zaid also shared that AHI victims are “suffering genuine and compelling health effects” from the alleged attacks. 

Michael Beck, Zaid’s original client, “was a long-standing and decorated NSA employee who was injured during the mid-1990s at a still classified overseas location and, we believe, developed a rare form of Parkinson’s disease as a result.” Referencing Beck’s case, Zaid shared intelligence information from a 2014 NSA unclassified memorandum that states intelligence information from 2012 “indicates that this weapon is designed to bathe a target’s living quarters in microwaves, causing numerous physical effects, including a damaged nervous system.” He added that the NSA has no evidence that the hostile country to which Beck traveled had the weapon or used it against Beck.

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Be Skeptical of That 60 Minutes Report on Havana Syndrome

Havana syndrome, an alleged malady that purportedly affects U.S. intelligence and military officials, is back in the news thanks to an investigative report by 60 Minutes. The report was accompanied by a big, splashy headline: “Russian nexus revealed during 60 Minutes Havana Syndrome investigation into potential attacks on U.S. officials.” That’s right: CBS has decided that the mysterious ailments—headaches, earaches, etc.—afflicting some American service personnel are perhaps explained by a secretive Russian program to create energy weapons.

The 60 Minutes report begins by interviewing “Carrie,” an FBI agent who claims that she was struck by just such an energy weapon while at home in Florida. Host Scott Pelley, providing narrative voiceover, explains that in order to protect her identity, CBS is redacting her full name and disguising her appearance.

As pointed out by numerous commentators (as well as BuzzFeed), Carrie’s “disguise” is hilariously inadequate and will not protect her identity in any meaningful way. What was 60 Minutes thinking?

But this is hardly the only thing wrong with the report, which combines breathless alarmism about foreign malfeasance with a healthy dose of outright science fiction—energy beams!—in order to advance the mainstream media’s favorite James Bond–esque narrative: Everything is Russia’s fault.

“The one thread common among most if not all of my clients,” Mark Zaid, an attorney who represents alleged Havana syndrome victims, told 60 Minutes, “is that they were all doing something relating to Russia.”

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Blaming Russia For “Havana Syndrome” Pushes The Opposite Narrative Than Intended

For Russia to have successfully used a mobile directed energy weapon over 1,500 times, including against the US’ “top 5%, 10% performing officers across the Defense Intelligence Agency,” then it must have deeply penetrated the US Government in order to discover those elite targets’ identities and locations.

CBS News, The Insider, and Der Spiegel released the findings of their joint investigation on Sunday blaming Russia for “Havana Syndrome”, which refers to the mysterious ear and head pain that over 1,500 US Government (USG) staffers across the world claim to have experienced since 2016. It appeared timed to coincide with Congress’ plans to vote on Ukraine aid sometime later this month, with the intent obviously being to scare lawmakers into approving more funds for America’s proxy war on Russia.

It might have the opposite effect than intended, however, since those outlets’ dramatic claims paint a picture of deep Russian intelligence penetration of the US’ diplomatic and security services that can’t be remedied by simply sending more money to Ukraine. If what they wrote is true, then Russia has created a mobile directed energy weapon (DEW) that it’s already successfully used over 1,500 times, including against the US’ “top 5%, 10% performing officers across the Defense Intelligence Agency”.

This startling statistic comes from the recently retired Army lieutenant colonel who ran the Pentagon’s investigation into the matter. He claimed that this elite echelon of victims had all “worked against Russia, focused on Russia, and done extremely well” but were then “neutralized” after their injuries. His allegations contradict the Intelligence Community’s (IC) official review from last year that no DEWs nor foreign adversaries were responsible for these “anomalous health incidents”.

Those who take the IC’s official review at face value suspect that the prior hysteria about “Havana syndrome” was just a means of fearmongering about Russia, which they also naturally believe is the motive behind the latest joint investigation’s findings. Meanwhile, those who suspected that the IC’s official review was a cover-up take the latest joint investigation’s findings at face value, which means that they truly believe that Russia has deeply penetrated the US’ diplomatic and security services.

There’s no credible evidence to suggest that this is the case, especially since Russia would have presumably been much better prepared for responding to America’s diplomatic and military provocations throughout the course of their ongoing proxy war if it had moles within both. Nevertheless, the only way that one can believe that it’s systematically targeting members of those institutions who had all worked against it “extremely well” in the past is if it knew who they were and where they lived.

That in turn obliges one to believe that it must have deeply penetrated them in order to obtain this highly classified information, thus meaning that Russian spies are more highly placed than anyone had thought even after the witch hunt that followed the Russiagate hysteria. Once again, there’s no credible evidence that this is the case, and another argument against this theory is that Russia isn’t targeting any similarly prominent Ukrainian diplomats or security officials despite being at “war” with their country.

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EXPLOSIVE INVESTIGATION LINKS RUSSIA’S SHADOWY “UNIT 29155” TO ‘HAVANA SYNDROME’ ATTACKS ON U.S. OFFICIALS WORLDWIDE

Compelling new evidence suggests that a shadowy group within Russia’s GRU military intelligence, known as Unit 29155, could be orchestrating attacks on American personnel using directed energy weapons.

Previously implicated in high-profile assassination attempts and sabotage operations across Europe, the unit is now suspected of being behind the controversial and mysterious afflictions known as “Havana Syndrome,” which have plagued U.S. officials around the globe, according to a joint investigation by The Insider60 Minutes, and Der Spiegel.

Havana Syndrome, officially known as “Anomalous Health Incidents” (AHI), describes a mysterious medical condition reported by U.S. officials and military personnel mainly while serving abroad. 

First reported in 2016 among embassy workers from the U.S. and Canada in Havana, Cuba, symptoms of Havana Syndrome include sudden extreme headaches, ear pain, dizziness, nausea, and cognitive issues. In some cases, long-term health consequences have ended careers and altered lives. 

Victims of Havana Syndrome recount nearly identical experiences, including sudden intense pain brought on by a mysterious and unseen crippling force. 

“It was like this piercing feeling on the side of my head, and I got vertigo,” Olivia Troye, the Homeland Security Advisor to Vice President Mike Pence, recounted to 60 Minutes about an experience she had outside the White House in 2019. “I was unsteady. I felt nauseous, and I was somewhat disoriented.” 

Former covert CIA officer Marc Polymeropoulos said he had a terrifyingly similar encounter in a Moscow hotel room in 2017. “I couldn’t stand up,” Polymeropoulos noted in a 2020 interview with G.Q. “I was falling over. I had an incredible sense of nausea and ringing in my ears. I was, frankly, terrified.”  

Troye and Polymeropoulos are among the more than 1,000 U.S. officials who, over the past eight years, have reported experiencing what seems to be an attack by a debilitating directed energy weapon.

Yet, despite numerous reports suggesting a pattern, the idea that a foreign adversary might be intentionally targeting U.S. officials, or even the recognition of “Havana Syndrome” as a genuine condition, has become a point of contention in Washington, D.C.

Investigations into Havana Syndrome have frequently resulted in unclear and sometimes conflicting conclusions.

In February 2022, a White House panel of experts concluded that radio waves could cause some of the injuries associated with the mysterious incidents. However, the panel also found that most incidents could be explained by stress or psychosomatic reactions. 

In the same month, a report by the JASON Advisory Group commissioned by the State Department found that it was unlikely that Havana Syndrome incidents resulted from directed energy attacks. 

In March 2024, two major studies by the National Institutes of Health examining the conditions of over 80 government employees and family members who experienced “anomalous health incidents” found no consistent evidence of brain injury. 

In an editorial published in the Journal of the American Medical Association, Stanford microbiologist Dr. David Relman, who has investigated cases of Havana Syndrome, criticized the NHI’s findings.

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

A lead U.S. military investigator examining reports of what has become known as Havana Syndrome told 60 Minutes he believes U.S. officials are being attacked by Russia and that the official threshold to prove it was set impossibly high.

Greg Edgreen, a now-retired Army lieutenant colonel who ran the Pentagon investigation into what officials refer to as “anomalous health incidents,” said the bar for proof was set so high because the country doesn’t want to face some very hard truths, like the existence of possible failures to protect Americans.

“Unfortunately I can’t get into specifics, based on the classification,” Edgreen said. “But I can tell you at a very early stage, I started to focus on Moscow.”

A 2023 government report deemed it “very unlikely” that a foreign adversary was behind the mysterious brain injuries suffered by U.S. national security officials, yet more than 100 Americans have symptoms scientists say could be caused by a beam of microwaves or acoustic ultrasound. Victims are frustrated that the government publicly doubts an adversary is targeting Americans. The ongoing, five-year 60 Minutes investigation has now uncovered new evidence pointing toward Russia.

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FOIA Request Sheds Light on DIA’s Records Pertaining to ‘Havana Syndrome’

On February 22, 2024, The Black Vault received a long-awaited response from the Defense Intelligence Agency (DIA) to a Freedom of Information Act (FOIA) request filed on August 25, 2021. The request sought all records related to the “Havana Syndrome,” a mysterious condition that has affected U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers since 2016.

Havana Syndrome first came to light when U.S. Embassy staff in Havana, Cuba, reported experiencing unexplained health issues, including headaches, dizziness, and hearing loss. Similar incidents have since been reported by American personnel in various countries, leading to speculation about the cause, ranging from sonic attacks to microwave weapons.

The Black Vault’s request aimed to uncover DIA reports, memos, assessments, and intelligence records pertaining to Havana Syndrome from 2016 to the date of processing. After a lengthy delay, the DIA located one document, consisting of six pages, responsive to the request. However, portions of the document were withheld under FOIA Exemptions 1, 3, and 6, citing reasons related to national security, protection of intelligence sources and methods, and privacy concerns.

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US intelligence: No evidence foreign adversaries behind ‘Havana syndrome’

The U.S. intelligence community has determined it was unlikely that a foreign adversary is responsible for a series of anomalous health incidents (AHI) plaguing intelligence and diplomatic staffers across the globe.

A review conducted by intelligence agencies for the Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) and released Wednesday probed a series of health incidents initially dubbed “Havana syndrome” after government employees first reported experiencing mysterious neurological ailments there in 2016.

But the review attributed those conditions to other factors and noted that intelligence agencies — with varying degrees of confidence — deemed it was unlikely that a U.S. adversary had such capabilities.

“Available intelligence consistently points against the involvement of U.S. adversaries in causing the reported incidents,” the report states. 

“There is no credible evidence that a foreign adversary has a weapon or device that is causing AHIs.”

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CIA Paying Agents Who Suffer From A Likely Fake Illness

America’s spy agency is making compensation payments to agents who claim they suffer from “Havana Syndrome.” The alleged condition was first reported by government employees in Cuba who reported suffering various symptoms, including dizziness, headaches and memory loss.

The New York Times reports that “About a dozen people suffering from debilitating symptoms that have become known as Havana syndrome have either received the payments or been approved to receive them, the people familiar with the program said.”

“Several of the recipients are former C.I.A. officers who were injured while serving in Havana in 2016 and 2017,” the Times detailed further. “However, payments are also being processed for current and former officers whose injuries occurred elsewhere.”

The CIA has studied over 1,000 potential cases of the mysterious ailment and has been unable to prove it exists

Havana Syndrome was brought into the spotlight during the early Trump administration. In 2017, US officials stationed in Havana reported a vague set of symptoms. The White House responded by rolling back President Barak Obama’s policy of normalizing the US relationship with Cuba. 

At the time, people who asserted they were suffering from Havana Syndrome claimed it was caused by a foreign power using sonic or microwave weapons. The official recorded the sound generated by the alleged weapon, which was later determined to be crickets.

Multiple government agencies have examined 1,000 cases of people claiming to be Havana Syndrome victims. Natural causes have explained nearly all cases; many of the people were experiencing psychosomatic symptoms. There are a few cases where an alternative cause that cannot explain the symptoms. 

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Australian Police Confirm Use of LRAD Sonic Weapon at Protest Against COVID-19 Vaccine Mandates

Australian Capital Territory (ACT) Policing have confirmed the use of a Long Range Acoustic Device (LRAD)—often regarded as a sonic weapon—at the massive protest against vaccine mandates in Canberra on Feb. 12, despite the Australian Federal Police (AFP) commissioner describing the crowd as “well behaved.”

“ACT Policing has deployed several types of loudspeakers and amplification devices to quickly and effectively convey voice messages to large, and often loud, crowds of people during the recent protest activity in Canberra,” an ACT Policing spokesperson said in a statement to The Epoch Times on Feb. 16.

“The [LRADs] were only used to convey spoken-word messages. The ‘alert’ function was not used.”

LRADs, also known as acoustic weapons or sound cannons, are used to project very loud sounds over long distances. While the voice function can be helpful to communicate in loud settings, the device’s most dangerous setting, the alert function, can cause brain damage, permanent hearing loss, tinnitus (ringing in the ears), dizziness, and disorientation.

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Havana Syndrome Is Likely Real, Feds Admit

During the past five years, US newspapers and magazines have published a number of articles about the Havana syndrome — a sudden onset of ringing in the ears, dizziness, imbalance, earache, headache, and changes in behavior  — which originated in the city after which it is named, and soon afflicted several hundred Foreign Service and CIA officers around the world. 

The most detailed of these articles appeared in The New Yorker in November 2018, under the title “The Mystery of the Havana Syndrome.” 

It was written by Adam Entous and Jon Lee Anderson. Relying heavily on State Department and intelligence agency sources, Entous and Anderson informed their readers that no one in the United States government had any idea how the Havana syndrome was operating to adversely affect the people who were exposed to it. Other media echoed similar claims of ignorance about the syndrome.

These claims are open to question. I am a former staff writer at The New Yorker who, in 1976, wrote the first articles about the ability of microwave radiation to cause changes in the central nervous system and behavior, as well as other biological effects. They appeared in the magazine when the Soviet Union was bombarding the US embassy in Moscow with microwave radiation known as the “Moscow Signal.” 

At the time, government officials surmised that the Soviets were using the radiation to activate listening devices hidden in the walls of the embassy. They also voiced concern that it was being employed to affect the behavior of US diplomats and other personnel who were stationed there. 

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