US Slashing Embassy Staff In Cuba Because of Apparent Sonic 'Attacks' (qz.com)

PolygamousRanchKid shares a report from The Washington Post (Warning: may be paywalled; alternative source): The United States is yanking more than half its diplomatic personnel from its embassy in Havana and warning Americans not to visit Cuba, saying it is for their own safety after a string of mysterious injuries harmed at least 21 Americans stationed there. "We have no reports that private U.S. citizens have been affected, but the attacks are known to have occurred in U.S. diplomatic residences and hotels frequented by U.S. citizens," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement. "The Department does not have definitive answers on the cause or source of the attacks and is unable to recommend a means to mitigate exposure." Investigators are looking into the possibility that they were subjected to some sort of "sonic attack," among other theories, though it is not clear why American diplomats and a handful of Canadian envoys would be the only ones to complain of symptoms. Cuba has denied having anything to do with the injuries. Among the possibilities being explored is that agents acting on behalf of a third country may be responsible.

Comments

Re:Gulf of Tonkin, with a side of bossa nova

[ClickOnThis]

First sentence of TFS:

The United States is yanking more than half its diplomatic personnel from its embassy in Havana and warning Americans not to visit Cuba, saying it is for their own safety after a string of mysterious injuries harmed at least 21 Americans stationed there.

Second sentence of TFS:

"We have no reports that private U.S. citizens have been affected, but the attacks are known to have occurred in U.S. diplomatic residences and hotels frequented by U.S. citizens," Secretary of State Rex Tillerson said in a statement.

PopeRatzo is right. Those sentences contradict each other. Why would the State Department warn private citizens if only government officials have been affected? There might be a case for avoiding hotels where US diplomats have stayed, but discouraging civilians from visiting Cuba altogether? That seems like fear-mongering.

I have to wonder whether your reading comprehension is up to snuff.

Re:It's a shame we know this

[GodfatherofSoul]

Was listening to an NPR interview a while back, one of the guests was former intel and seemed certain it was Russia. I agree that this is a great way for them to try to stifle the warming of relations between the US and Cuba. Notice how certain elements are blaming Cuba for not securing Embassy staff. Great excuse for an anti-Cuba administration to kill normalization efforts.

Re:I am baffled

[Dan East]

This was discussed before. It's most likely highly directional RF (microwaves), which easily penetrate walls, etc, while staying well focused. There are numerous studies where microwaves directed at a person's head will manifest as sounds they can "hear", although it is likely caused by the direct stimulation of the structures in the ear by the radio waves.

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/...
http://grouper.ieee.org/groups...