What Causes “Havana Syndrome”?

An op-ed at National Defense Magazine by James Giordano urges Americans to “come together” to address “Havana syndrome”, a neuropsychological condition first reported by U. S. diplomats in Havana with mainly cognitive effects. After discounting natural environmental causes:

Despite some initial speculation that various environmental events — such as crickets, industrial noise and artifacts of sounds produced by various electronic equipment in the affected individuals’ apartments — each and all of these speculations were disproven.

and psychogenic causes:

Moreover, conjecture that these signs and symptoms may represent some form of psychogenic illness — in other words, a type of mass hysteria — were also disproven in light of evidence regarding the time sequence and occurrence of events.

the author considers deliberate human agency in the syndrome:

It was originally believed that most probable was some form of directed energy; likely a sonic device.

There was discussion as to whether this may have been an artifact of surveillance technology, or whether it was an intentional engagement to affect the capability and health of those individuals targeted.

To date, it remains unclear whether a surveillance component was indeed operative; but what is clear is that the individuals were selectively identified and targeted.

The author concludes by urging a substantial engagement both by federal authorities but also by the “whole of nation” in searching for a cause and treatment:

Thus, coordination of effort will be vital to sustain the effectiveness and time and cost efficiency of approaches employed for detection and deterrence. The dedication of resources and personnel by the Biden administration to further investigate and address Havana syndrome is noteworthy for a number of reasons, not least of which is that there is increasing development of currently available and emerging biotechnologies that are being considered as weapons against individual and group targets.

While cooperative governmental efforts are important, what is needed is a “whole-of-nation” approach that focuses resources in research academia, the industrial sector, and within and across local, state and federal governmental agencies. This whole-of-nation enterprise must first identify the nature and source of the problem, quantify the actual risk and threat, and then establish methods and means to mitigate and prevent such engagements.

Frankly, I’m skeptical. I’m not skeptical that people are reporting symptoms and dysfunction. I’m skeptical about the attribution of causes and about the nature of required engagement. One of the reasons for my skepticism is that we generally don’t look for diabolical superweapons in Cuba, Colombia, Georgia, Kyrgyzstan, or Uzbekistan which are prominent in the list of places where the condition has been reported.

I would suggest that the scope of the investigation be expanded a bit. Rather than focusing on overseas diplomats or intelligence officers, make the definition of the syndrome more rigorous and start looking for similar reports here in the U. S. among ordinary people. Again, I don’t dispute the reality of the condition. I just wonder if it may be related to something a lot more common, e.g. excessive or improper earphone utilization.