The CIA has removed its Vienna station chief following criticism of her management, including what some considered an inadequate response ...
The CIA has removed its Vienna station chief following criticism of her management, including what some considered an inadequate response to reports of Havana syndrome incidents at the U.S. embassy there.
The Washington Post, which cited current and former U.S. officials, said the action would send a message that leaders must take seriously the Havana syndrome, a mysterious set of ailments that include migraines, nausea, memory lapses and dizziness, first reported by officials based in the U.S. embassy in Cuba in 2016.
Some have reported hearing a loud noise before the sudden onset of symptoms.
A CIA spokesperson said the agency does not comment on specific incidents or on officials.
Vienna, where the United States has a large embassy and an intelligence gathering operation, is labelled as a 'hotbed' of Havana Syndrome-related incidents, with dozens of people reporting unexplained symptoms
Symptoms associated with Havana syndrome, which has afflicted Americans serving at diplomatic posts in several countries, include nausea, intense pressure or vibration inside the head and difficulty with memory or concentration among other indicators
The department said Ambassador Pamela Spratlen was exiting because she had 'reached the threshold of hours of labor' permitted under her status as a retiree as well as her mismanagement of the mysterious illness.
The Washington Post said dozens of U.S. personnel in the Austrian capital, including diplomats and intelligence officials, as well as some of the children of US employees, have reported symptoms of the syndrome since President Biden was inaugurated.
The problem has been labeled the 'Havana Syndrome,' because the first cases affected personnel in 2016 at the U.S. Embassy in Cuba.
In May, officials said at least 130 cases across the government are were under investigation, up from several dozen last year.
CIA Director William Burns said in July that about 100 CIA officers and family members were among some 200 U.S. officials and kin sickened by Havana syndrome.
CIA Director William Burns (pictured) said some 200 U.S. officials and relatives were sickened by Havana syndrome in July
'In coordination with our partners across the U.S. government, we are vigorously investigating reports of possible unexplained health incidents among the U.S. Embassy Vienna community,' the State Department said back in July.
'Any employees who reported a possible UHI received immediate and appropriate attention and care.'
Some believe the unexplained injuries, which include brain damage, are the result of attacks with microwave or radio wave weapons.
However, despite years of study there is no consensus as to what or who might be behind the incidents or whether they are, in fact, attacks.
The Vienna cases were first reported by The New Yorker magazine.
Vienna has for centuries been a center for espionage and diplomacy and was a hub for clandestine spy-versus-spy activity during the Cold War.
Symptoms of Havana Syndrome have been reported worldwide, making many American diplomats and politicians suspicious of Russia's involvement behind the mysterious illness
The city is currently the site of indirect talks between Iran and the United States over salvaging the nuclear deal that was negotiated there in 2015.
Those talks are now in hiatus and it was not immediately clear if any members of the U.S. negotiating team were among those suffering from injuries.
Particularly alarming are revelations of at least two possible incidents in the Washington area, including one case near the White House in November in which an official reported dizziness.
Although some are convinced the injuries are the result of directed energy attacks, others believe the growing number of cases could actually be linked to 'mass psychogenic illness,' in which people learning of others with symptoms begin to feel sick themselves.
Last year, a U.S. National Academy of Sciences panel found that the most plausible theory is that 'directed, pulsed radio frequency energy' causes the syndrome.
Burns has said there is a 'very strong possibility' the syndrome is intentionally caused and that Russia could be responsible. Moscow denies any involvement.
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