Physicists, victims contradict feds' report on 'Havana Syndrome' attacks on US diplomats
The suspected 'patient zero' was a U.S. diplomatic employee posted in Cuba
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}New analysis into what may have caused the condition often called "Havana Syndrome" – where victims feel intense pain and potentially momentary cognitive dysfunction – suspected to be sourced from directed microwave attacks at places like the U.S. embassy in the Cuban capital.
On "Special Report," anchor Bret Baier spoke with the suspected "patient zero" of Havana Syndrome, a former U.S. diplomat named Adam.
The first cases reportedly cropped up in 2016, as American officials around the world complained of similar symptoms – vertigo, headache and "brain fog," – at times long-lasting. Experts soon believed the source to be radiofrequency or microwave energy, but the culprit or culprits remained at-large.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Adam, stationed at the time in Cuba, said he'd awake in a "pool of my own blood on my pillow from gushing nosebleeds," without explanation. He also experienced cranial pressure and "stabbing" ear pain that led to blackouts.
REPORT SAYS HAVANA SYNDROME NOT LIKELY CAUSED BY FOREIGN ADVERSARY
The U.S. Embassy in Havana, Cuba. (Adalberto Roque/AFP via Getty Images)
"The majority of the people I know who I've talked to about this, who do know the field agree It certainly fits with a microwave beam as the attacking element," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Adam sad the U.S. intel report on Havana Syndrome that concluded it is "very unlikely a foreign adversary is responsible" and cited potential "preexisting conditions and conventional illnesses, and environmental factors" was a "travesty."
"I wasn't interviewed for the CIA report. If it was that comprehensive, you think you'd want to go back to the 'patient zero' and ask questions," he said.
Microwave expert and physicist James Benford said it is clear the victims were attacked by some other entity.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}DOD PROBES CAUSES OF HAVANA SYNDROME
Police stand guard near the National Capitol building in Havana, Cuba. ( (AP Photo/Ismael Francisco))
"Secondly, the explanations for the government seem to be planned to obscure the real origins and deny any foreign capability. That is simply not the case," he said.
Benford said microwave technology came into existence 50 years ago, chiefly in the American and Soviet spheres. Since then, the technology has been able to be spatially minimized, and therefore "completely deployable."
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}Benford further criticized the U.S. report, saying Russia has long specialized in such "compact systems" and their scientists have written about the effects on microwaves on lab rats and the like.
"I think there's a really good chance that the Russian capability could be used by them, but it could be used by anybody else who reads this open literature as well," he said.
{{#rendered}} {{/rendered}}He also called the U.S. conclusion that "a deliberate cause is unlikely" to be "false and falsifiable."
While Havana Syndrome attacks appear to have tapered off as of late, Benford said one of the reasons the potential culprits may want to remain anonymous is because an attack on an American diplomat is politically considered an attack on the United States itself – which could lead to military or other serious consequences.
"It's essentially an act of war," he said.