Havana Syndrome, Neurostrike, and Brain Warfare
Is human cognition an emerging domain of warfare?
In 2016, American personnel and their families stationed at the US Embassy in Havana, Cuba reported the rapid onset of unusual and concerning symptoms. More than 1000 individuals complained of loud noise, suffered from ear pain, and felt intense pressure on their head. Other symptoms included feeling dizzy, visual problems, and cognitive ‘fog.” Given the geography of the first reports, the “illnesses” quickly became known as “Havana Syndrome.” Many worried it was the emergence of a new energy weapon targeting the brain; others dismissed such theories while noting the enormous stress placed on embassy personnel.
Interestingly, it was later reported that diplomatic personnel at the Canadian Embassy in Havana suffered similar symptoms. But reports were not constrained to Cuba. The mysterious “disease” also reared its head in Guangzhou, China and led to the evacuation of dozens of US diplomats and The New Yorker described Vienna, Austria as the “new Havana Syndrome hot spot” when approximately two dozen American diplomats complained of rapid onset symptoms. And in March 2023, the Wall Street Journal noted
Diplomats and intelligence personnel in Russia, Poland, Georgia, Serbia, Vietnam, India, Colombia, France, Switzerland and Taiwan have also reportedly been affected. A number of U.S. officials stationed in Washington claim to have been affected, including one who was reportedly struck while near the White House.
The US Department of State was so concerned about these reports that it asked the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine to explore possible causes of these symptoms. A committee was formed and “considered the possibilities of directed, pulsed radio frequency energy, chemical exposures, infectious diseases such as Zika, and psychological issues.”
The National Academies issued their findings in a December 2020 report that concluded “pulsed radio frequency energy appears to be the most plausible mechanism” to explain what happened, even if the committee “could not rule out other possible mechanisms.” A later report, however, released by the US Central Intelligence Agency found that “A majority of the 1,000 cases reported to the government can be explained by environmental causes, undiagnosed medical conditions or stress, rather than a sustained global campaign by a foreign power,” according to the New York Times (emphasis added). What if it was a test of a new weapon, rather than a “sustained global campaign”?
With significant confusion and uncertainty around the analysis, it’s hard to definitively conclude anything. Nevertheless, I’m skeptical that government reports would ever publicly acknowledge that America’s been the target or successful brain-altering attacks. What do you think?
I also found it quite curious that the Director of National Intelligence Avril Haines declassified a report in 2022 that concluded “pulsed electromagnetic energy, particularly in the radiofrequency range, plausibly explains the core characteristics” of the unusual health symptoms. Further, Director Haines issued an updated assessment in 2023 that concluded it was “very unlikely a foreign adversary is responsible.” So if Havana syndrome is being caused by pulsed energy, but is not a weapon being tested by an adversary, why is it only happening in certain geographies to certain people? What do you think?
If there is a connection between Havana syndrome and foreign adversaries, how and where might we find out about it? As luck would have it, three open source intelligence analysts formed the CCP Biothreats Initiative and recently penned a 12 pages report about this very link:
It’s also important to note that Chinese efforts to target the brain and human cognition go well beyond the concept of a potential Havana-Syndrome-inducing capability. The CCP Biothreats team goes on to explicitly note ““…CCP’s weaponization of neuroscience extends well beyond the scope and understanding of classical microwave weapons. Their new landscape of NeuroStrike development includes using massively distributed human-computer interfaces to control entire populations as well as a range of weapons designed to cause cognitive damage.”
So what exactly is “Neurostrike”? According to a Washington Times article exploring China’s development of these technologies, “neurostrike is a military term defined as the engineered targeting of the brains of military personnel or civilians using non kinetic technology. The goal is to impair thinking, reduce situational awareness, inflict long-term neurological damage, and cloud normal cognitive function.”
Lest we think the US government is unaware or ignorant of these risks, it’s worth noting the US Department of Commerce in 2021 imposed sanctions on 12 Chinese entities that were using “biotechnology processes to support Chinese military end-uses and end-users, to include purported brain-control weaponry.” Unsurprisingly, these sanctions were focused on China’s Academy of Military Medical Sciences and have not be the subject of public studies or discussions. The only public figure to appropriately highlight the risk of China’s efforts in brain-control weaponry is Nikki Haley, who has used her presidential campaign to shine a spotlight upon Chinese neuro-technological efforts.
The US-China War is intensifying every day. Technological competition, in combination with military rivalry, is leading to new weaponry and domains of conflict. This is, of course, not a new concept and was a hallmark of the Cold War. Edl Schamiloglu, a Distinguished Professor at the University of Mexico who spent decades working on high power microwaves with the US Department of Defense, wrote a piece that described the Cold War origins of directed pulsed power weapons. He recalls how the development of the technology led to a “microwave power derby” between the US and Soviet Union. A pulsed energy race, he notes, is again under way with Chinese investment dwarfing the “dozens of countries" pursuing similar programs. Professor Schamiloglu bluntly states that the “the Russians and the Chinese certainly possess the capabilities of fielding high-power microwave sources.”
All signs point to the emergence of a new class of weapons targeting human cognition. Just as cyber attacks disrupt the “brains” behind the technology that powers our lives, so too are neurostrike weapons targeting the software and neural networks that enable our decision-making. As much as we might want to (protectively) put our heads in the sand, it’s critical we start thinking about the forthcoming brain wars on human cognition and their mind-blowing implications.
About Vikram Mansharamani
Dr. Mansharamani is a global generalist who tries to look beyond the short term view that tends to dominate today’s agenda. He spends his time speaking with leaders in business, government, academia, and journalism…and prides himself on voraciously consuming a wide variety of books, magazines, articles, TV shows, and podcasts. LinkedIn twice listed him as their #1 Top Voice for Global Economics and Worth profiled him on their list of the 100 Most Powerful People in Global Finance. He has taught at Yale and Harvard and has a PhD and two masters degrees from MIT. He is also the author of THINK FOR YOURSELF: Restoring Common Sense in an Age of Experts and Artificial Intelligence as well as BOOMBUSTOLOGY: Spotting Financial Bubbles Before They Burst. Follow him on Twitter or LinkedIn.
https://www.washingtontimes.com/news/2023/dec/20/inside-ring-chinese-brain-warfare-includes-sleep-w/