According to the National Broadcasting Corporation (NBC) reported on the 20th, six people familiar with the matter revealed to NBC that in a new intelligence assessment, the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) ruled out that the mysterious symptom known as "Havana syndrome" is the result of actions launched by hostile forces.
Screenshot of the report
While the CIA cannot rule out the possibility of foreign involvement in about 24 cases, the sources say the CIA has found a reasonable alternative explanation in hundreds of other cases with similar symptoms.
It is reported that the CIA declined to comment.
The claim that "in order to harm them, or to gather intelligence, Russian or other foreign forces have created widespread symptoms of brain damage against Americans around the world" is considered unfounded, the source said.
On the other hand, the sources noted that those who may have symptoms of the so-called "Havana syndrome" and who have listened to the assessment report expressed deep disappointment. Some argue that the CIA's findings are considered provisional assessments and have not been coordinated with other departments such as the U.S. Department of Defense.
CIA (infographic) (People's Vision)
NBC noted that while the Biden administration claims to have detected a number of "abnormal health incidents," these cases have reasonable explanations unrelated to hostilities. When government agencies began urging any employee with unexplained headaches and dizziness to report, many cases did not meet previously documented parameters for brain injury.
Beginning in late 2016, U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers serving in Cuba began reporting their discomfort, followed by unexplained illnesses and symptoms: including hearing and vision loss, memory and balance problems, headaches and nausea.
Over the years, hundreds of U.S. officials have reported similar incidents in more than a dozen countries, NBC reported. NBC News reported in 2018 that U.S. intelligence officials believe Russia is the prime suspect in such incidents. But in the three years since, U.S. intelligence agencies have not found enough evidence to pinpoint the cause or culprit of the health accident. U.S. officials have long said they cannot say with certainty that the attacks were deliberate, or even whether they were the result of human activity.
U.S. Embassy in Cuba (People's Vision)
The CIA's report is intended to address concerns that an adversary of the United States managed to hurt hundreds of Americans in dozens of countries without the United States finding out. On the other hand, U.S. officials stressed that the interim report is not the final conclusion of the Biden administration or the intelligence community as a whole. Officials say the White House National Security Council has convened a working group of outside medical and scientific experts to study "Havana syndrome." The officials said the U.S. Department of Defense, the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI) and the State Department are still working to investigate the origins of the syndrome and how to mitigate it.
(Editor: WDQ)