In his 26-year career with the CIA, Mark Polymeropoulos recruited spies into the sketchy neighbors’ past allies, chased terrorists in the Middle East, and helped prosecute Russia.
But nothing in his tenure could frighten him so much as the symptoms that knocked him out of a flat in a hotel room in Moscow in December 2017.
“I couldn’t stand it,” he said. “I was falling. I had an incredible understanding of n bucks and rings in my ears. I was clear, scared. “
Polymerop los Los, who gave his first television interview to NBC’s Andre Mitchell on Monday for the show today, never felt well again, and he was believed to be one of the American diplomats and spies suffering from the so-called air syndrome. Stood for the first time among the officers.
He was so weakened by fatigue and prolonged headaches that he retired from the CIA last year, it was still unclear what effect it had.
Now, a study by some of the world’s leading brain specialists – first reported by NBC News on Friday night – has validated what US intelligence officials have long believed, with the conclusion that at least some patients have suffered symptoms. The most plausible explanation for this is that the affected American officials are given “directed, pulsed radiofrequency energy radiation”, a type of radiation that includes microwaves.
While not conclusive, the report from the National Academy of Sciences, Engineering and Medicine is the most authoritative examination of what could be the cause of mysterious illnesses. It acknowledges the belief made by those affected that something significant has happened to them, and blames skeptics for blaming the features on the voices made by cricket or distorting the findings of the research paper, who ran the “air syndrome”.
The study did not directly conclude that some American intelligence officials believe Americans were targeted in a Russian attack by a microwave device, but it also raises the possibility, as the Russians have done the most work on the microwave energy vacuum.
“What we found was that there is a literature that describes the health effects of a particular form of microwave energy, which is pulsed and directed,” said Dr. David Rilman told Mitchell in an interview. “And that literature is now many decades back, and was widely published by the former Soviet Union. It mimics the literature and is consistent with many of the clinical findings we have noted. ”
“Something different and unusual happened to these individuals,” said Rileman, the basic conclusion of the study.
And, he added, “the opinion of some of the world’s leading neurologists” was that “out of the various possible methods that would explain these cases, there was one that turned out to be. So, it can focus on one room, not just one house. This is the nature of how this kind of energy can be distributed. “
The study has considered whether these symptoms are caused by these chemicals, viruses or psychiatric factors, and it cannot be ruled out that psychiatric factors have affected some cases.
The Russian government has denied any involvement in what happened to American diplomats and spies.
The U.S. says 26 government employees were injured in unprovoked attacks on their homes and hotels in Havana in late 2016, causing brain injuries, hearing loss and cognitive, balance, vision and hearing problems. Strange noises heard by workers initially led investigators to suspect a sonic weapon, but the FBI later determined the sound waves themselves could not cause injuries.
Since then, the number of potential victims has risen to more than 40, and potential incidents have been reported in Europe, Asia and Australia.
A number of new incidents involving CIA officers have been reported in the past year or so, a source with direct knowledge told NBC News that a CIA officer who experienced symptoms in Poland last spring, two CIA officers were allegedly killed in East Asia. And events in London in May and December 2019.
The source said the CIA, using mobile phone location data, determined that some Russian intelligence agents working on microwave weapons programs were present in the cities at the same time when CIA officials found the mysterious symptoms. CIA officials hope there is a promising lead but no conclusive evidence. Reported to GQ Magazine in the first geographical location.
Director Gina Haspel expressed skepticism when she provided intelligence about the geographical location, the source said.
The CBI, in a statement to NBC News, declined to comment: “The top priority of the agency is the health and well-being of our officers. If there was a credible intelligence that the opponent intentionally harmed the CIA officer, you could bet that Director Haspel acted quickly and decisively. “
The agency did not comment on whether there was any such intelligence, or whether its Russian experts concluded possible Russian involvement.
The State Department, responding to a report by the National Academies Sci f Sciences, said “every possible reason remains speculative” and added that the investigation, which is three years old, is still “ongoing.”
While he praises the National Academy of Sciences for its efforts, the state department offered a long list of “challenges to their study” and gave access to limitations in the academy’s data, suggesting not to view the report as conclusive. Should.
“Although the above report limits the scope, it does not reduce its value,” the state department said in an email statement. “We are aware that this report has now come out and we can add to the data and analysis that can help us make a final decision on what happened.”
Over the weekend, legislators from both parties called on the government to continue its investigation into the matter and ensure that every potential victim receives treatment, which Polymorplos and others have said does not always happen.
“There has to be an institutional way in which we treat our people better,” he said. “I talked about when you join an organization like the CIA or you honestly, for the state department, you have asked to work hard, and you have to give it back to your leadership, when you make an agreement. Take care if you are injured. “
He added, “I want to see our medical staff in civic agencies take this more seriously. That if someone gets (hit) they can get treated. And then finally, we have to find out who did this. “
Polymerop los Los was deputy chief of CIA operations for the Europe / Eurasia Mission Center when he went to Moscow, which includes surveillance operations against Russia.
If what happened to him was in fact a Russian attack, he would do his job. He shortened his CIA career by at0, and not a day goes by when he doesn’t have a headache, he says, although he remains so excited that friends and colleagues never know it. He has written a book about leadership and a Strong public profile The former CIA officer is willing to speak in public.
“It’s the kind of headache that just never ends,” he said. “My condition is deteriorating. My children, they are both in college now. You know, he thought his father was Superman. And now I’m not over.
“My kids who saw me as Superman saw me in some pain on the floor of our house.”
