Politico | Trump’s acting Pentagon chief urges Biden to tackle directed-energy attacks: ‘It’s an act of war’
- US officials are increasingly sounding the alarm about the suspected attacks, which cause symptoms similar to ‘Havana syndrome’
- Victims report lasting headaches, loss of hearing and balance, ringing and pressure in the ears, fatigue, and sometimes long-term brain damage
This story is published in a content partnership with POLITICO. It was originally reported by Lara Seligman and Andrew Desiderio on politico.com on May 3, 2021.
The suspected directed-energy attacks on US government personnel worldwide are “an act of war”, said former acting defence secretary Christopher Miller, who launched an initiative to investigate the incidents during his time at the Pentagon last year and is urging the new administration to stay on the issue.
“If this plays out and somebody is attacking Americans [even] with a non-lethal weapon … we owe it to our folks that are out there,” Miller, who served as former president Donald Trump’s acting defence chief from November until January, told POLITICO. “We owe it to them to get to the bottom of this.”
Miller’s comments come as US officials increasingly sound the alarm about the suspected attacks, which cause symptoms similar to those reported in recent years by American spies and diplomats in Cuba affected by the so-called “Havana syndrome”. Victims report lasting headaches, loss of hearing and balance, ringing and pressure in the ears, fatigue, and sometimes long-term brain damage.
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Mystery illness that struck US diplomats in China and Cuba ‘likely caused by surveillance’
POLITICO first reported that Pentagon officials last month briefed lawmakers on the “urgent” and growing threat to US government personnel, including troops. The Senate Intelligence Committee has since vowed to “get to the bottom” of the issue.