Senators step up pressure on White House to improve care for victims of 'Havana Syndrome' with bill to overhaul investigations amid criticism of Biden administration's response to mysterious 'directed energy attacks'
A bipartisan group of senators introduced legislation on Tuesday designed to shake up the U.S. government's response to so-called 'Havana Syndrome' amid growing criticism that it is not doing enough to help victims or investigate what caused the mysterious illnesses.
More than 200 U.S. officials and personnel around the world have complained of symptoms such as migraines, hearing loss and dizziness.
Problems were first reported by officials stationed in Cuba, leading to its name 'Havana Syndrome,' and experts have speculated that it could be the result of a sonic weapon.
The bill, introduced by Democratic Sens Jeanne Shaheen and Republican Sen. Susan Collins, would require the president to appoint a senior national security official to organize a whole-of-government response.
'U.S. public servants injured by directed energy attacks should be treated with the same urgency as any other American injured in the line of duty,' said Shaheen.
'They shouldn’t have to jump through bureaucratic hoops to access the care they need, which compounds the suffering they’ve already endured.'
A bipartisan group of senators, led by Jeanne Shaheen and Susan Collins, unveiled legislation on Tuesday to install an Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator on the National Security Council to ensure victims of 'Havana Syndrome' get access to proper treatment and to oversee investigations into what is causing the mysterious symptoms
More than 200 American officials and personnel have complained of migraines, loss of hearing, nausea and other symptoms in a string of incidents that began with staff at the U.S. embassy in Havana
Although dubbed the 'Havana syndrome,' cases have been reported all around the world
What is 'Havana Syndrome'?
The problem has been labeled the 'Havana Syndrome,' because the first cases affected personnel in 2016 at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.
At least 130 cases across the government are now under investigation, up from several dozen last year, according to a U.S. defense official who was not authorized to discuss details publicly. The National Security Council is leading the investigation.
People who are believed to have been affected have reported headaches, dizziness and symptoms consistent with concussions, with some requiring months of medical treatment. Some have reported hearing a loud noise before the sudden onset of symptoms.
Investigators believe there are at least four cases involving Trump White House officials.
Advocates for those affected accuse the U.S. government of long failing to take the problem seriously or provide the necessary medical care and benefits.
US senators said last month that the government is investigating an apparent increase in the mysterious directed-energy attacks.
Symptoms include;
-hearing loss
-severe headaches
-memory issues
-dizziness
-brain injury
The new position on the National Security Council - named the Anomalous Health Incidents Interagency Coordinator - would take charge of investigations as well as lead efforts to help victims get proper care.
'As anomalous health incidents continue to wreak havoc in the lives of affected diplomats and intelligence officials, it is our responsibility to ensure that any response is commensurate with the arduous work and sacrifices that these individuals have made for our nation,' said Sen. Mark Warner, who cosponsored the bill.
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in June that a government-wide review was under way into who or what caused suspected radio frequency attacks 'directed' at diplomats.
Since U.S. President Joe Biden took office in January, roughly two dozen intelligence officers, diplomats and other officials in Vienna have reported symptoms similar to those of Havana syndrome, making it the second-biggest hotspot after Havana, but so far, the feeling is that the State Department has been 'tepid' in moving forward with the investigation.
The lackluster response is now causing some diplomats to shun moving to new postings around the globe.
Some foreign service officers have deciding against taking jobs overseas because they are worried they could become the 'Havana Syndrome's' next targets, reports CNN.
'For the most part we don't know anything other than what is in the press,' said one US diplomat to the network. 'It is difficult for people to make infomed decisions about where to serve.'
As early as 2014, the National Security Agency said in a memo to one intelligence officer who said he had suffered possible symptoms that an unnamed 'hostile country' to which the official traveled in the late 1990s had a 'high powered microwave system weapon that may have the ability to weaken, intimidate or kill an enemy over time and without leaving evidence.'
The memo said intelligence indicated that such a weapon was 'designed to bathe a target's living quarters in microwaves, causing numerous physical effects, including a damaged nervous system.'
Since it was first reported in 2016 roughly 200 US diplomats, intelligence officers and others have experienced symptoms consistent with 'Havana Syndrome
U.S. Secretary of State Antony Blinken said in June that a government-wide review was underway into who or what caused suspected radio frequency attacks 'directed' at diplomats
The weapon believed to cause Havana Syndrome is said to be a smaller version of this 1990s Soviet microwave generator, which is kept at the University of New Mexico
Seven years on and the State Department's approach still appeared to be very 'hands off' despite Blinken promising to open an investigation and to meet with any of the State Department victims.
The suspected directed-energy attacks have baffled US investigators who are working to determine who and what is causing them since they first began in Cuba.
In May reports emerged that some US officials suspect Russia's infamous foreign intelligence agency - the GRU - could be the culprit.
A U.S. military officer based in a country with a large Russian presence also says he felt like his head was going to explode during one incident where he was found to have been near a G.R.U. vehicle.
Last month former CIA officer and Iraq and Afghanistan veteran Marc Polymeropolous claimed that he was zapped by one of the attacks while visiting a Moscow hotel room in 2017 and blamed it for destroying his career, as well as debilitating headaches that he continues to suffer from.
In October last year it was reported how diplomat Mark Lenzi, 45, was stationed in Guangzhou, China, in 2017, when he developed unexplained symptoms, including headaches, memory loss and trouble sleeping.
Marc Polymeropoulos, a 26-year CIA veteran who was diagnosed with a traumatic brain injury following a 2017 visit to Russia
Diplomat Mark Lenzi, 45, left, was stationed in Guangzhou in 2017, when he developed unexplained symptoms, including headaches, memory loss and trouble sleeping. His neighbor Catherine Werner, right, also fell ill
Matthew Pottinger, pictured, another former deputy national-security adviser, said: 'This is Russia's M.O.'
His neighbor Catherine Werner also fell ill and fellow US official Robyn Garfield was evacuated from Shanghai with his family in June 2018
Charles Kupperman, former deputy national-security adviser, and John Bolton, Trump's national-security adviser, both believe the syndrome is real, The New Yorker reports.
Matthew Pottinger, another former deputy national-security adviser, said: 'This is Russia's M.O.'
A senior National Security Council official who fell near the White House said he made it to hospital in a cab where he was told he may have suffered a 'massive migraine'.
He was later contacted by a colleague, who told him about the so called 'Havana Syndrome'.
The Biden administration is facing new pressure to resolve the mystery with lawmakers from both parties, as well as those believed to be affected, are demanding answers.
But scientists and government officials are not yet certain about who might have been behind any attacks, if the symptoms could have been caused inadvertently by surveillance equipment - or if the incidents were actually attacks.
Whatever an official review concludes could have enormous consequences.
People who are believed to have been affected have reported headaches, dizziness and symptoms consistent with concussions, with some requiring months of medical treatment. Some have reported hearing a loud noise before the sudden onset of symptoms.
Diplomats say they are not even being given the most basic information such as the numbers of those affected nor the locations of such 'attacks'.
Diplomats want to know what measured the State Department is putting in place to prevent families from returning to apartment or office buildings where incidents have been reported in the past.
The United States Embassy in Havana, Cuba. The problem has been labeled the 'Havana Syndrome,' because the first cases affected personnel in 2016 at the embassy, pictured
There are also concerns over what the department is doing to ensure that they and their families are not sent back into buildings or apartments where health incidents have been reported previously.
State Department officials are claiming that it is about balance with concerns over sharing data about the incidents whilst also preventing any scaremongering and over-hyping the issue.
The complete lack information other than what has been reported in the press is leading to rumors circulating whereby as and when job positions abroad become vacant, diplomats are trying to work out if the vacancy was as a result of a medical issue such as 'Havana Syndrome.'
'When you are going to a high threat post you know that diplomatic security will keep you informed as to what the threats are, and that they will take every possible step to mitigate those threats. In this situation the threat is not clear and mitigation isn't either,' said a second diplomat.