
U.S. State Department reports new instance of American diplomats harmed in Cuba - daegloe
https://www.washingtonpost.com/world/national-security/american-diplomats-suffered-traumatic-brain-injuries-in-mystery-attack-in-cuba-union-says/2017/09/01/9e02d280-8f2f-11e7-91d5-ab4e4bb76a3a_story.html
======
Crontab
I am more interested in knowing why it is happening. I find it hard to believe
the Cuban government itself would want this.

------
in_cahoots
All the initial reports seemed to focus on the diplomats, saying their spouses
and family members were unharmed. If this was planted at the Cuban-supported
housing as I've seen suggested, why weren't staff and family members affected?

~~~
osteele
Officials in Canada said in early August that they were “aware of unusual
symptoms affecting Canadian and US diplomatic personnel and their families in
Havana,” a spokesperson for Global Affairs Canada told the AP. –
[https://qz.com/1062456/a-sonic-weapon-that-caused-
diplomats-...](https://qz.com/1062456/a-sonic-weapon-that-caused-diplomats-in-
cuba-to-lose-their-hearing-last-year-also-caused-brain-injury/)

"CBS reported this week that the diplomats and their families had been
diagnosed with nausea, headaches and balance disorders." –
[http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/29/sixteen-
american-...](http://www.telegraph.co.uk/news/2017/08/29/sixteen-american-
diplomats-relatives-now-confirmed-have-suffered/)

------
quuquuquu
A few questions I feel are pertinent:

1) Who has access to these technologies? Who manufactures them? How much are
they?

2) Are they large devices or small?

3) When do symptoms onset after exposure?

4) Hearing loss is extremely traumatizing and debilitating. Why should we put
civilian staff in harm's way?

~~~
tedunangst
> 4) Hearing loss is extremely traumatizing and debilitating. Why should we
> put civilian staff in harm's way?

Why not ask the people who did this why they're targeting civilians?

~~~
quuquuquu
I do agree that that is an extremely pertinent question.

I imagine that it probably has to do with a general hate towards America.
Whether misguided or not, these people chose an opportune and vulnerable
target to send a message about how they view American policies.

~~~
yohui
I don't think generic hate would help you get ahold of sonic equipment. A
plausible sounding theory I've heard (and I stress that it's total
speculation) is that someone was trying to spy on the diplomats but
miscalibrated their ultrasonic eavesdropping device, turning the effects
harmful.

~~~
pcl
I've heard that theory a number of times. I'm no expert in acoustics or
eavesdropping, but I would assume that ultrasonic eavesdropping equipment
would involve highly sensitive microphones, not powerful speakers.

Is there some sort of ultrasonic-carrier-signal microphone out there, akin to
laser mics?

~~~
arca_vorago
Think of a bat. It clicks and the reverb is what its ears interpret to
understand surroundings. Output can be used to trigger/power passive listening
devices. I always think of the Russian gift to the US embassy that was a
wooden seal with a passive bug in it. Scans didn't catch it for years.

~~~
wavefunction
That was activated by and transmitted radiowaves though.

------
colanderman
Why in the world did the US not put monitoring equipment in place after
discovering the first incident months ago? I can't imagine a broadband SPL
meter or microwave detector to be THAT expensive to protect the health of the
diplomats who remained, or at least rule those out as possible causes. Did
they think the attacks - or perhaps accidents - would not reoccur?

~~~
enkid
Did they know it was actually an attack months ago?

~~~
colanderman
The US expelled Cuban diplomats in May, after the initial attacks. Granted,
the attacks weren't made public, and a reason for the expulsion assigned,
until August, so that could just be the administration trying to look
proactive.

------
slr555
What is most disturbing about these incidents is that while they have been
variously labeled "a sonic attack" or "potentially the by product of a
surveillance system", nothing I have seen has proposed anything like a
mechanism of injury let alone what type of device could surreptitiously visit
this kind of insult on a human subject without any awareness on the subjects
part that they are being exposed to some source of energy powerful enough to
damage their ears and cause mild TBI.

An old surgeon friend used to talk about the kinematics of trauma, and how
trauma was caused by excessive amounts of energy being taken on by a patient.
Sometimes it's mechanical energy, it might be an exothermic reaction but in
this instance the energy not detectable, as of yet by humans.

We'll be talking about this one for a while.

------
matt_wulfeck
It may not have been a weapon. I can imagine some adversarial government
testing some "listening" device that ends up not being well tested and
potentially dangerous.

~~~
heroprotagonist
The first time, maybe it was just innocent espionage. But now that they
continue to use it despite knowledge of the effects, I would consider it a
weapon.

Really, espionage is a weapon of sorts, but crossing the realm to knowingly
cause physical harm to diplomats is a threshold. The quiet war is getting less
quiet.

------
noncoml
Why would Cuban military or government do that on purpose?

What’s the motive? What do they win and what’s their end game?

