Rush to stop ‘Havana syndrome’

The most recent victims include a U.S. diplomat in Serbia who was evacuated by the CIA last month, according to a Wall Street Journal report, and an aide traveling with CIA Director William Burns in India who developed symptoms. In August, Vice President Kamala Harris’ trip to Vietnam was delayed after two officials at the U.S. embassy in Hanoi became ill.

“Perhaps this is a message sent — that nobody is immune to this,” said former CIA senior operations officer Marc Polymeropoulos during a recent Harvard Kennedy School talk.

“The room was spinning. I had a blinding headache; I had ringing in my ears; I felt like I was going to be physically sick,” said Polymeropoulos. “This was pretty alarming and frankly, a scary incident, because I’d lost control.”

Back in the U.S., he sought help for what he first thought were lingering effects of severe food poisoning. From neurologists to infectious disease specialists, none were able to offer a conclusive diagnosis, and his health grew worse throughout 2018.

“I lost my long-distance vision. I couldn’t drive. I could barely go to work. I was pretty incapacitated,” he said.

Victims say the U.S. government, which calls Havana syndrome a “possible anomalous health incident,” has been slow to see a connection between those affected, to label the incidents as attacks, or to even acknowledge victims suffered from a physical illness.

A 2018 FBI report on the Havana embassy victims declared their conditions psychologically-driven, most likely due to stress. That “undermined” the efforts of those stricken, including Polymeropoulos, to get U.S. intelligence to take seriously Havana syndrome and the national security threat it posed, said Entous.

[link to news.harvard.edu (secure)]