By Alexandra Jaffe and Jonathan Lemire
- The Associated Press
US Vice President Kamala Harris' trip from Singapore to Vietnam was delayed for several hours Tuesday by an investigation into
two possible cases of the so-called Havana syndrome in Hanoi
, administration officials said.
The investigation was in its early stages, and officials deemed it safe for Harris to make his scheduled stop in Vietnam, which
is part of his Asia trip to reassure allied countries about US foreign policy amidst the tumultuous evacuation of US forces from Afghanistan
.
The Havana syndrome is the name by which a series of mysterious health incidents is known, first reported by US diplomats and other government employees in the Cuban capital in 2016.
Vice President Kamala Harris during her visit to Singapore.
Reuters / Evelyn HockStein
In the past week there have been two separate cases of unexplained health incidents reported by US personnel
, officials said.
It was not yet clear who had been affected by the syndrome, although officials said it was not someone from the vice president's task force or the White House.
Officials were not authorized to speak publicly about the ongoing investigation.
The US Embassy in Hanoi issued a statement explaining that
the delay was because Harris's office learned of a report about a "recent possible anomalous health incident"
in the Vietnamese capital.
The embassy did not provide further details, but reported that Harris's office decided to travel to Hanoi "after careful evaluation."
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The US government uses the term "abnormal health incident" to describe the syndrome.
Some of those affected claim to have heard a loud penetrating sound and to have felt intense pressure on their face.
Sometimes pain, nausea, and dizziness follow.
Since then, Americans serving in other countries, including Germany, Austria, Russia and China, have reported similar and unexplained ailments.
Various theories have been shuffled to explain the incidents, including directed microwaves or sonic attacks
as part of an espionage or hacking effort.
[They investigate the cause of Havana Syndrome]
The revelations of at least two possible incidents in Washington are especially alarming, including a case nearby at the White House in November in which an official said he had dizziness.
Administration officials have speculated that Russia is involved
, but Moscow has denied that suspicion.
Harris was scheduled to travel to Hanoi on Tuesday afternoon, after delivering a speech in Singapore lashing out at China for its forays into the South China Sea, and after discussing supply chain issues with business leaders. .
[Diplomats lament the lack of attention to the mysterious attacks of the 'Havana syndrome']
But the flight was delayed for more than three hours and Symone Sanders, Harris' chief spokesman, declined to explain.
Sanders voluntarily told reporters that Harris, whom they had seen several times Tuesday, was "fine" and that
there was no reason to be concerned about his health.
Congress has set off alarms about these types of attacks, finding rare bipartisan support in the House of Representatives
and Senate to continue the investigation of the syndrome throughout the Government, as well as millionaire support for monitoring and medical treatment of US officials.
Biden faces new pressure to solve the mystery, as
the number of reported cases of possible attacks has risen sharply
.
But scientists and government officials are still not sure who may be behind this, if the symptoms may have been inadvertently caused by surveillance teams, or if the incidents were, in fact, actually attacks.
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Whatever the official review concludes could have huge consequences.
Confirmation that an adversary of the United States has been carrying out damaging attacks against US officials would trigger calls for a strong response from the United States.
For now, the administration assures that it has taken the matter seriously, that it is investigating aggressively and that it will ensure that those affected have good medical care.
A key analysis identified "directed and pulsed radio frequency energy" as the most plausible culprit.
Published in December by the National Academy of Sciences, the report said that a radio frequency attack could alter brain function without causing "serious structural damage."
However, the think tank could not come to a definitive conclusion about how the US officials could have been reached.
[Senate approves law in favor of the victims of the "Havana Syndrome"]
Furthermore, a declassified 2018 State Department report indicated
"a lack of high-level leadership, ineffective communications and systemic disorganization"
in the response to the Havana syndrome cases. The report says the cause of the injuries is "currently unknown."
The document was published by the George Washington University National Security Archive.
Chris Miller, acting Secretary of Defense for the final months of the Trump Administration, created a Pentagon team to investigate the alleged attacks. That was after he met with a soldier late last year who described, while serving in a country Miller did not want to identify, how he
had heard a "screeching" sound and then had a severe headache
.
