What’s happening to US diplomats in Cuba and China? Here are 4 theories.
S E E D E D C O N T E N T
Something very strange is happening to America’s diplomats.
In late 2016 through early 2017, at least 24 US diplomats in Cuba — and several Canadian diplomats — complained of hearing loss, nausea, loss of balance, and headaches.
In late November2017 through April 2018, at least two US officials in Guangzhou, China, complained of similar symptoms.
And on Friday, the US removed another two workers from the embassy in Cuba and checking to see if they also suffered brain injuries.
Some of the affected diplomats and other employees now have mild brain damage and blood disorders, and two may have completely and permanently lost their hearing. A few had to return to the US because of their injuries. Canada went as far as pulling all families of diplomatic staff out of Cuba, just to be safe.
Here’s the strangest thing: Nobody seems to know what could be causing all of this. Experts — from top doctors to US law enforcement officials— have looked into the issue, and they’re all flummoxed.
Could it be some kind of previously unknown sonic weapon? Is someone waging a shadow war against American and Canadian diplomats abroad? Is it some kind of poison? Or, maybe, is it some form of mass hysteria, similar to when people danced themselves to death in the 1500s? (Yes, that’s a real thing.)
It’s gotten so bad that Secretary of State Mike Pompeo has now convened a task force to figure out what’s going on.
On Tuesday, Pompeo said the new group will serve as a “coordinating body for department and interagency activities, including identification and treatment of affected personnel and family members, investigation and risk mitigation, messaging, and diplomatic outreach.”
China has promised to help the United States figure out the cause of the mysterious symptoms. During a press conference alongside Pompeo in May, Chinese Foreign Minister Wang Yi said China has found no instances of “sonic influence.” The Cuban government denies any involvement in the supposed attack.
Even doctors don’t know what’s happening. In a March study by medical investigators who looked at the patients’ symptoms, they said the cause of the trauma “remains elusive” but raises “concern about a new mechanism for possible acquired brain injury from an exposure of unknown origin.”
So what is going on? Here are some theories.
What’s happening to US diplomats?
1) Sonic weapon
The first and most obvious one is that there is some kind of sonic weapon being used to target the diplomats, although it’s unclear if Cuba or China has that kind of weaponry, even though sonic devices exist.
For example, there’s a “mosquito” that produces a high-pitched sound and long-range acoustic devices that police sometimes use to disperse crowds .
But there’s a big problem with this theory, says Sharon Weinberger, an expert on weapons technology and author of the book The Imagineers of War : The kind of weapon that does what the victims describe would defy the laws of physics.
Plus, she added, why would a country choose this kind of weapon to harm a US official, when simply getting someone to beat them up would be easier?
“The danger of saying it’s a sonic weapon is that you’re focusing on the least likely explanation,” Weinberger told me.
2) Sonic listening device
US diplomats could be the victims of a sonic listening device that emits harmful waves. A sonic device used for spying — and wielded by Cuba, China, or even another country like Russia — could unintentionally cause brain damage.
These devices usually operate at the ultrasonic level (above audible range) or the infrasonic level (below audible range). Some doctors believe infrasound is more likely to have been used because it travels greater distances than ultrasound, so attackers could use it from farther away.
US officials said some of the possible attacks in Cuba were audible and made a “deafeningly loud sound, similar to the buzzing created by insects or metal scraping across a floor.”
Infrasound can also cause some of the effects the American and Canadian diplomats experienced. For example, a November 2001 study by the National Institutes of Health noted that one of the symptoms of exposure to infrasound is hearing loss.
And listening devices have been used against diplomats before.
From 1953 to 1976, the US Embassy in Moscow was subjected to microwave radiation from the Soviets as they tried to listen in on conversations. But according to a government study, there was “no convincing evidence” that the microwaves caused any adverse health effects.
3) Toxin
The New York Times notes that a toxin could be causing the brain injuries and hearing problems.
But Mitchell Valdes-Sosa, an expert in auditory physiology from Cuba, told Scientific American in February that poisoning or infectiousdisease is unlikely. Part of the reason is that diseases in the area — like dengue or Zika — wouldn’t produce concussion-like symptoms as described by the potential victims. Further, it would be hard to target all these separate individuals with such a precise poisoning agent.
4) Mass hysteria
And for mass hysteria, it would mean other US diplomats in China feared so much about what happened to their colleagues that they’ve effectively worried themselves sick.
It’s unclear if victims told each other what they were experiencing, and if that made others feel that they had similar symptoms.
Stranger things have happened. Here’s one particularly odd case of mass hysteria: In 1518, Frau Troffea started dancing — without any music — in Strasbourg. She kept dancing for six days. After a week, 34 people joined her; after a month, 400 dancers were participating. According to the BBC, “15 residents were dying each day from strokes, heart attacks, and sheer exhaustion.”
That said, medical investigators wrote in their March report that some of the diplomats who had complained of symptoms did lose some of their hearing — meaning the harm was serious and, in fact, real.
The hope now is that someone can solve this odd mystery before even more US officials get hurt.
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( Deleted, No Value {SP} ) This article is not bout current elected officials. It is about what is going on in our embassies and the theories currently available.
As my friend Enoch says, "Be on topic or Be Gone"
Its patently obvious something is going on affecting our diplomats and some form other countries in North America. Have to wonder if this is some type of covert weapon or action to unnerve our diplomats and to cause them distress?
It's unlikely that Cuba or China would use a weapon like this on our diplomats since both have more to gain by remaining on friendly terms. It's more likely a 3rd party is trying to make us distrust Cuba and China and if we accuse them and they're innocent they'll be pissed at us. Could be N Korea or Russia who doesn't like their old allies forming closer ties to the USA. Could be rouge elements in our own Government trying to steer political sentiment.
Hmmm - Russia became a large influence to Cuba in the 50's/60's and left a huge cadre of physicians/scientists there while/after they built the missile sites. The Russians, if you believe the stories, have been using experimental medicine similar to the Germans during WWII in the KGB and other government sectors.
Could it be??????
More Frankenstein?
But in China too? China and Russia are not very close friends........but birds of a feather, I suppose.....
There are American diplomats all over China, in consulates in many cities, and of course in the Embassy in Beijing. Why is this effect happening only in one city in China, if it is at all?
About the sound pitch outside of human hearing ability - aren't animals, such as dogs, capable of hearing sound outside of human ability, and if so, why hasn't there been any evidence of dogs being located in those locations?
Something is very fishy here.
Agreed, something is very weird with all this, but reported in Cuba and now China........
they said the cause of the trauma “remains elusive” but raises “concern about a new mechanism for possible acquired brain injury from an exposure of unknown origin.”
This is nothing less than horrifying.
Your making this way to complicated....Geez, it's simple...Earworms, yes earworms...
Very interesting information. I think I had a few of those at times, but, thankfully, they didn't last very long. I guess they don't like Country music.
The only one that lasted rather long was when I went to Disneyland and rode the It's a Small World ride.
Oh no, not the dreaded ''it's a small world''...
Yeppers.....that song stayed with me for weeks!!!!!! I promised myself that if I ever went to Disneyland again I would NEVER ride that thing again.
Oh no!!! Now it's going to go through my head again for ages. It's bad enough that the street-watering trucks play it over and over out loud. I can't wait until Christmas when they change it to play Jingle Bells all day long instead.
After I wrote it my head started to hear it again. But, I turned on Sweet Home Alabama and now that one is echoing through my head. But, at least it is not the other one that lasts forever. (grin)
Many here are laughing/joking about this but is the fact that various U.S. diplomats have suffered brain damage and hearing loss a laughing matter ?
“concern about a new mechanism for possible acquired brain injury from an exposure of unknown origin.”
If this doesn't scare the shit out of you then we are all fucked, pardon my fucking french !
Your correct pat, it really isn't a laughing matter. It is just so damn strange and unexplained that it leads to not wanting to believe it. I followed it pretty closely when it happened in Cuba. It doesn't make a lot of sense that the Cuba's would do something like this, what would be their goal?
Now we see it happening again in China, but only at one facility there. Why would the Chinese do anything like that. It simply doesn't make sense that to me that Cuba or China would be involved.
No, it doesn't make sense that either of them would be involved, however, the fact that the events happened in their countries does seem to point the finger of culpability at them. And perhaps that is also intended by those who are actually to blame. It is curious as to how they are able to carry it off. How they are able to create the kind of environment that would cause the problem.
As for hearing loss, that absolutely is no laughing matter to a great number of Americans who have loss of hearing, including myself, which is due to a hereditary issue that has affected every member of my family for many generations and likely will continue to do for future generations, as there is no way to prevent the cause of the hearing loss.