Image source: topwar.ru
The US Department of Defense continues to conduct its own research into the causes of the mysterious disease known as the "Havana Syndrome", which has affected more than 1,000 people over the past few years.
The disease was first reported in late 2016, when a group of American diplomats working at the U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba, experienced severe headaches, temporary hearing loss, dizziness and other symptoms similar to the effects of a traumatic brain injury. Since then, hundreds more U.S. government employees have reported similar cases.
Rumors began to spread in the media that this could be allegedly the result of the use of some special weapons by enemy forces. However, no evidence of this theory has yet been found.
According to Politico, a special research group has been created at the Pentagon at the initiative of Congress, which is testing weapons systems, trying to determine what could cause the above-mentioned symptoms. This group is also engaged in providing assistance to victims of the "Havana syndrome".
According to the Pentagon, the agency is working on the development of "protection" against the syndrome and is conducting an investigation to find out whether it is possible that the cause of the "syndrome" may be a weapon, for example, the use of directed energy.
Politico notes that the news that the Pentagon continues to study this issue appeared after most intelligence agencies concluded during a comprehensive investigation that it was "very unlikely" that an external enemy who used weapons was behind the "Havana Syndrome".
However, some officials were still skeptical about the intelligence services' data. According to Senator Marco Rubio, there is something unclean in this whole story with the "syndrome."
- said the senator.
According to Politico, the Pentagon has long been studying possible military applications of directed energy, including lasers and powerful microwaves, and today spends about $ 1.5 billion a year on studying this technology. So, it is likely that the "Havana syndrome" is the brainchild of the Americans themselves, as it often happens in such cases.
According to Edla Shamiloglu, a professor at the University of New Mexico, a directed energy weapon converts energy from a power source into radiated electromagnetic energy and focuses it on a target. Although they are usually designed to disable and damage electronic equipment, these weapons can also harm people, the professor noted.