Anomalous Health Incidents of the Havana Syndrome: Implications and Lessons for Global Biosecurity and Defense
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Description
Last week, the United States Office of the Director of National Intelligence (ODNI) released the Annual Threat Assessment of the US Intelligence Community. [1] The report noted that, "global shortcomings in preparedness for…biosecurity may inspire some adversaries to con-sider…biological weapons developments." The report further stated that "recent advances in dual-use technology…could enable development of novel biological weapons that complicate detection, attribution, and treatment." Particular in this regard, the report addressed "anomalous health incidents", of the so-called Havana Syndrome, with the ODNI "focusing…upon a subset of priority cases for which it has not ruled…the possibility that one or more foreign actors were involved." The new ODNI Report echoes the Central Intelligence Agency's (CIA) previously stated position on Havana Syndrome [2], which, when taken together, establish that: • the approximately two dozen individuals originally affected in Havana in 2016 are regarded as verified cases of a physical injury. • the exact nature and probable cause of this injury remains under investigation; but exposure to some form of directed energy device remains a valid and viable possibility. • several lines of evidence support that the multinational state-of-the-science and-technology is sufficiently advanced and developed to produce and operationally employ such devices.
Document Type
Research Paper
Publication Date
2022
Publisher
Academia Letters
Keywords
biosecurity, defense, Havana syndrome
Recommended Citation
Giordano, James and DiEuliis, Diane, "Anomalous Health Incidents of the Havana Syndrome: Implications and Lessons for Global Biosecurity and Defense" (2022). Research and Case Studies. 1.
https://digitalcommons.ndu.edu/cdtfw-research/1