CIA Belatedly Admits ‘Havana Syndrome’ Not Caused By Russia Or Other Foes

Yet another Russiagate-era conspiracy bites the dust. Starting in 2016, corresponding to the years of the Trump White House, reports persisted for years that secret ‘directed energy’ weapons were being used against US diplomats and intelligence officers abroad, especially centering on the US Embassy in Havana. Officials and media pundits pointed to the ‘nefarious Russians’ or their allies, despite the entire story being hotly disputed among scientists.

But this week NBC – which it should be recalled was a leading outlet pushing the Havana Syndrome narrative in the first place – has this to report: “In a new intelligence assessment, the CIA has ruled out that the mysterious symptoms known as Havana Syndrome are the result of a sustained global campaign by a hostile power aimed at hundreds of U.S. diplomats and spies, six people briefed on the matter told NBC News.”

Out of literally hundreds of alleged instances, some which were claimed to have happened in the streets of D.C., the CIA says it only considers “about two dozen cases” instances where they “cannot rule out foreign involvement”. 

The NBC report spells out, “But in hundreds of other cases of possible symptoms, the agency has found plausible alternative explanations, the sources said.”

Out of the gate when claims first emerged that US personnel in foreign embassies were experiencing mysterious symptoms like nausea, severe headaches, disorientation, vomiting, and even concussion-like symptoms, it became another cloak and dagger plot where Russian intelligence was blamed. This was free of evidence of course, as is now being confirmed by the CIA:

The idea that widespread brain injury symptoms have been caused by Russia or another foreign power targeting Americans around the world, either to harm them or to collect intelligence, has been deemed unfounded, the sources said.

I hope the natsec journalists who do credulously reported this nonsense ~for years~ feel as embarrassed by this as they deserve to! https://t.co/VljGHw5VHN

— Natalie Shure (@nataliesurely) January 20, 2022

The alleged victims of Havana Syndrome, as well as those national security specialists who invested so heavily in the narrative for years have expressed “disappointment” after the Wednesday CIA statement came out.

Also interesting is this the below section of the report wherein NBC acknowledges its own leading role in pushing what it’s now forced to admit is fake news:

NBC News reported in 2018 that U.S. intelligence officials considered Russia a leading suspect in what some of them assessed to have been deliberate attacks on diplomats and CIA officers overseas. But in the three years since then, the spy agencies have not uncovered enough evidence to pinpoint the cause or the culprit of the health incidents.

It’s sad when even CIA rejects the media’s fun, deranged conspiracy about Russia using secret 24th Century technology to destroy American brains.

The reality is this came from CIA and these NBC spokespeople: to claim Trump was allowing Russia to do it. Now it’s no longer needed. https://t.co/qf3gQe8TMb

— Glenn Greenwald (@ggreenwald) January 20, 2022

“It’s sad when even CIA rejects the media’s fun, deranged conspiracy about Russia using secret 24th Century technology to destroy American brains,” journalist Glenn Greenwald quipped in response to those pundits who pushed the evidence-free narrative hard.

“The reality is this came from CIA and these NBC spokespeople: to claim Trump was allowing Russia to do it. Now it’s no longer needed.”