A US Senate report finds that the CIA mishandled cases of employee Havana syndrome
A newly released US Senate report finds that the CIA’s handling of mysterious health incidents known as the Havana Syndrome is flawed and marred by inconsistent medical care, delayed compensation and communication failures – while foreign adversaries are “highly unlikely” responsible to stay.
Many cases of the syndrome have been reported, especially among US officials stationed abroad, and the phenomenon has led to theories that they were targeted by a previously unknown weapon using directed energy of some kind which was exercised by a hostile power.
While the report concludes that the diseases are unlikely to originate from foreign adversaries, the report warns that there are “many unanswered questions” due to gaps in research, and that “US adversaries are likely developing targeted energy technologies that could plausibly of the reported symptoms. ”
The 18-page report from the Senate Intelligence Committeereleased on Friday, revealed that nearly 100 CIA-affiliated individuals who reported these so-called “abnormal health incidents” (AHI) often experienced “delayed, denied, or pre-conditioned care” and had difficulty accessing benefits.
The report particularly criticized the agency’s shift away from supporting affected personnel, more than a year before the official conclusion that foreign adversaries were likely not responsible.
“Many AHI reporters have suffered significant moral injury as a result of the way they perceived the CIA’s treatment of them,” the report states, noting that medical providers found this affected patients’ recovery due to “increased stress about not being believed.”
According to the lawmakers, CIA employees who reported symptoms had lower success rates in obtaining workers’ compensation compared to other government agencies: only 21% of CIA applicants were approved, compared to 67% from other agencies. The report found that the CIA chose to dispute claims more aggressively than other departments, often refusing to confirm basic facts about reported incidents.
Reports of the disease first began to filter through among U.S. personnel in Havana in 2016. Affected individuals reported symptoms such as headaches, dizziness and cognitive problems, sometimes accompanied by unusual sensory experiences.
But two studies from the National Institutes of Health, published in March in the Journal of the American Medical Association, found no significant physical differences between affected individuals and control groups.
According to the now-defunct NIH studies, which examined approximately 80 current and former U.S. officials through brain scans and clinical assessments, researchers found no significant differences in brain structure or function between affected individuals and control participants.
However, the studies found that among those who reported symptoms, there was more imbalance, fatigue, post-traumatic stress and depression.
Those investigations have since been halted after an internal investigation revealed that some participants were forced to participate.
Since the beginning of this year, a Government Accountability Office Report found that 334 Americans qualified for care in the military health care system, although many struggled to access treatment. The Defense Department has developed a trauma registry to collect patient data, but has only entered information for 33 patients so far, the report said.
Despite more than There are 1,500 reports of Havana syndrome worldwidethe underlying cause remains unclear – causing the committee to hesitate in the face of widespread denials and challenges to health benefits.
“It may take years or even decades for some medical mysteries to be solved,” the report said. “This committee does not want the (intelligence community) to repeat previous mistakes (by the U.S. government) by withholding medical care and other support because it does not yet fully understand the mysterious health problems its personnel are reporting.”