The former CIA officer worked with an unnamed co-conspirator in 2001 to provide Chinese intelligence “with a large volume of classified US national defense information” in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars
A former Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officer targeted in an FBI undercover operation pleaded guilty on Friday to providing national defence information to China, the US Justice Department said, CNN reported.
Alexander Yuk Ching Ma (71) of Honolulu, who served as a CIA officer for more than seven years in the 1980s, worked with an unnamed co-conspirator in 2001 to provide Chinese intelligence “with a large volume of classified US national defense information” in exchange for tens of thousands of dollars, the US Department of Justice said, citing the plea agreement, CNN reported.
Later, Ma applied as a linguist with the FBI’s Honolulu Field Office, where he worked from 2004 to 2012, the report said.
In a press release, the US Department of Justice stated, “The FBI, aware of Ma’s ties to PRC (People’s Republic of China) intelligence, hired Ma, as part of an investigative plan, to work at an off-site location where his activities could be monitored and his contacts with the PRC investigated.”
During the course of his monitored employment with the FBI, Alexander Yuk Ching Ma allegedly took a digital camera into the FBI office to take pictures of sensitive documents that he would then take to his handlers in China, CNN reported.
Mentioning one particular set of classified documents provided to Chinese intelligence officers, the US Justice Department said, “Ma confessed that he knew that this information, and the information communicated in March 2001, would be used to injure the United States or to benefit the PRC.”
The US Department of Justice said, “Under the terms of the parties’ plea agreement, Ma must cooperate with the United States, including by submitting to debriefings by US government agencies,” CNN reported.
If the court accepts Ma’s plea, former CIA officer faces a sentence of 10 years in federal prison at a hearing due to take place on September 11. (ANI)
Burns, valued by President Biden for his extensive Middle East contacts, plays a central role in the hostage crisis, given Israel’s reliance on Mossad Chief David Barnea….reports Asian Lite News
CIA Director William J Burns held undisclosed talks in Qatar with Israel’s Mossad chief and Qatar’s prime minister to facilitate an extensive deal between Israel and Hamas, The Washington Post reported.
Burns is pushing for the expansion of ongoing hostage negotiations to include men and military personnel. Additionally, he seeks a longer multiday pause in fighting, taking into consideration Israel’s demand for the release of at least 10 individuals for each day of ceasefire, The Washington Post reported, citing those familiar with the matter.
A crucial aspect of Burns’s efforts is the immediate release of American hostages held by Hamas, numbering eight or nine according to US officials. While the CIA declined to comment on Burns’s classified travel, a US official confirmed his trip to Doha for discussions on the Israel-Hamas conflict, focusing on hostage-related matters. “Director Burns travelled to Doha for meetings about the Israel-Hamas conflict including continued discussion on hostages,” the US official said.
Burns, valued by President Biden for his extensive Middle East contacts, plays a central role in the hostage crisis, given Israel’s reliance on Mossad Chief David Barnea.
“Barnea is the key Israeli person for these negotiations,” said Natan Sachs, an Israel scholar at the Brookings Institution, a think tank. “He’s the one authorised to speak on behalf of the prime minister.”
Far outside of Netanyahu’s circle of trust is Israel’s intelligence minister, Gila Gamliel, and foreign minister, Eli Cohen, observers say, making Burns’s meetings with his counterpart a focal point for dealmaking. “Secretary of State Antony Blinken would be the counterpart if the Israeli foreign minister held any sway in the Cabinet, but he does not,” Sachs said, as reported by The Washington Post.
The Burns-Barnea channel was utilised earlier this month during discussions in Qatar.
Following the meeting’s conclusion, the White House announced Israel’s initiation of four-hour pauses in northern Gaza to facilitate the evacuation of Palestinians–a move welcomed by the White House but falling short of the US request for multiday pauses.
Qatar, located in the gas-rich Persian Gulf peninsula, has been mediating talks between Israel and Hamas since the conflict’s onset.
US officials are advocating for an extended period without fighting to facilitate hostage releases and enable humanitarian aid to reach the enclave. Israeli officials have communicated their willingness to allow a maximum of 10 extra days before considering a resumption of military operations. Despite Prime Minister Benjamin Netanyahu’s commitment to dismantling Hamas, uncertainty remains about Israel’s willingness to exceed the 10-day limit amid efforts to release more hostages, The Washington Post reported.
Netanyahu, speaking over the weekend, vowed to continue fighting after the current phase of hostage negotiations. “We will return with full force to achieve our goals: the elimination of Hamas; ensuring that Gaza does not return to what it was,” he said.
The recent truce, the first pause since the conflict began on October 7, prompted the release of 51 Israeli hostages and 18 foreign nationals, with Israel releasing 150 Palestinian women and teenagers.
The US officials are advocating for an extended ceasefire to facilitate hostage releases and humanitarian aid delivery into Gaza. Israeli officials have indicated a willingness to allow a maximum of 10 extra days before potentially resuming military operations.
Concerns persist about the humanitarian situation in Gaza, with aid agencies working to bolster deliveries. Burns’s objective in Qatar includes exploring alternative formats or mechanisms to secure aid flow outside the hostage negotiations framework.
The main challenge lies in security and logistical issues, restricting aid truck capacity to no more than 200 trucks per day. One potential solution involves upgrading the Rafah border crossing between Gaza and Egypt with modern security equipment, The Washington Post reported. (ANI)
Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy as the “only way forward” in the context of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, according to the statement released by PMO…reports Asian Lite News
Prime Minister Narendra Modi’s views on the use of nuclear weapons had an impact on the Russians and could well have averted a global disaster in the context of the Ukraine war, Director of the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Bill Burns said, according to PBS.
“I think it’s also been very useful that Xi Jinping and Prime Minister Modi in India have also raised their concerns about the use of nuclear weapons as well. I think that’s also having an impact on the Russians,” Bill Burns said in an interview with PBS. “I think the saber-rattling is meant to intimidate. We don’t see any clear evidence today of plans to use tactical nuclear weapons,” he added.
CIA Chief Bill Burns remarks come as Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 3 admitted that the conflict is “going to take a while.” He also warned of the “increasing” threat of nuclear war. In his address at the meeting of Russia’s Human Rights Council at the Kremlin, Putin said that Russia will fight by “all available means” at its disposal, according to CNN. Putin said that he considered Moscow’s nuclear arsenal as a ‘deterrent rather than a provocation.’
“As for the idea that Russia wouldn’t use such weapons first under any circumstances, then it means we wouldn’t be able to be the second to use them either – because the possibility to do so in case of an attack on our territory would be very limited,” CNN quoted Putin as saying.
Notably, India has been calling for dialogue and diplomacy since the war began between Russia and Ukraine. In a telephonic conversation with Russian President Vladimir Putin on December 16, Prime Minister Narendra Modi reiterated his call for dialogue and diplomacy as the “only way forward” in the context of the ongoing war between Russia and Ukraine, according to the statement released by PMO.
During the telephonic conversation, Putin gave a fundamental assessment of Russia’s line in the Ukrainian direction. The talks between the two leaders come after their face-to-face meeting on the sidelines of the Shanghai Cooperation Organisation (SCO) in Samarkand in September.
“At the request of Narendra Modi, Vladimir Putin gave fundamental assessments of Russia’s line on the Ukrainian direction,” according to the statement released by Kremlin.
During the meeting in Samarkand, PM Modi had said, “today’s era is not of war.” Meanwhile, Russian President Putin had said, “I know about your position on the Ukraine conflict. I know about your concerns. We want all of this to end as soon as possible.”
“Today’s era is not of war and I have spoken to you about it on the call. Today we will get the opportunity to talk about how we can progress on the path of peace. India and Russia have stayed together with each other for several decades. We spoke several times on the phone about India-Russia bilateral relations and various issues. We should find ways to address the problems of food, fuel security and fertilizers,” PM Modi had said.
Earlier in October, Prime Minister Narendra Modi spoke to Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelenskyy. During the telephonic conversation, PM Modi underscored that endangering nuclear facilities could have catastrophic consequences on public health and the environment.
“Prime Minister emphasized the importance India attaches to the safety and security of nuclear installations, including in Ukraine. He underlined that endangerment of nuclear facilities could have far-reaching and catastrophic consequences for public health and the environment,” according to the press release issued by Prime Minister’s office. (ANI)
According to the NDTV reports, The CIA, US Intelligence and the U.S. State Department did not respond to the allegations…reports Asian Lite News
Russia’s ambassador in US alleged that Russian diplomats in US are being threatened with violence and U.S. intelligence services try to establish contact with them.
Russian ambassador Anatoly Antonov said that since Russia invaded Ukraine, face-to-face meetings with U.S. officials had ended, NDTV reported.
“It’s like a besieged fortress. Basically, our embassy is operating in a hostile environment … Embassy employees are receiving threats, including threats of physical violence,” NDTV quoted him as saying.
“Agents from U.S. security services are hanging around outside the Russian embassy, handing out CIA and FBI phone numbers, which can be called to establish contact,” He added.
According to the NDTV reports, The CIA, US Intelligence and the U.S. State Department did not respond to the allegations.
Meanwhile, Moscow has demanded that the United States immediately stop persecuting Russian journalists and provide them with normal working conditions, Russian Foreign Ministry spokeswoman Maria Zakharova said Friday.
“We demand that the trampling upon Russian journalists be immediately stopped and that they be allowed to work under normal conditions, in accordance with the standards of freedom of speech that Washington loves to tout so hypocritically,” Zakharova said in a statement.
The spokeswoman said that more restrictions are being constantly imposed on the Russian journalists accredited in the US to make their work more difficult or to intimidate them into leaving.
Zakharova said that the US continues its “Russophobic witch-hunt” of pressuring “unwanted journalists” using security services into covering events in a way that benefits Washington.
She noted that the Federal Bureau of Investigation recently attempted twice to involve a head of a Russian correspondent office in Washington in “compromising cooperation,” saying it was yet another example of the unprecedented pressure Russian journalists have to face.
Meanwhile, the United States has targeted 8 Sberbank executives and 27 Gazprombank executives, as well as Moscow Industrial Bank and its ten subsidiaries in its latest sanctions package, the White House announced in its Fact Sheet on Sunday.
“The United States also sanctioned eight executives from Sberbank- the largest financial institution in Russia and uniquely important to the Russian economy, holding about a third of all bank assets in Russia; twenty-seven executives from Gazprombank – a prominent Russian bank facilitating business by Russia’s Gazprom, one of the largest natural gas exporters in the world; and Moscow Industrial Bank and its ten subsidiaries,” the Fact Sheet said.
Prior to joining CIA, Mulchandani most recently served as the CTO and Acting Director of DoD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center….reports Asian Lite News
Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) Director William J. Burns announced the appointment of Nand Mulchandani to serve as the US spy agency’s first-ever Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
With more than 25 years’ experience working in Silicon Valley as well as the Department of Defense (DoD), Mulchandani brings substantial private sector, startup, and government expertise to CIA, CIA said in a statement.
As the CTO, Mulchandani will ensure the Agency is leveraging cutting-edge innovations and scanning the horizon for tomorrow’s innovations to further CIA’s mission. “Since my confirmation, I have prioritised focusing on technology and the new CTO position is a very important part of that effort. I am delighted Nand has joined our team and will bring his extensive experience to this crucial new role,” said Burns.
#CIA Director William J. Burns appoints Nand Mulchandani as CIA's first Chief Technology Officer (CTO).
With more than 25 years of experience, Mr. Mulchandani will ensure the Agency is leveraging cutting-edge innovations to further CIA's mission.
Prior to joining CIA, Mulchandani most recently served as the CTO and Acting Director of DoD’s Joint Artificial Intelligence Center. He also co-founded and was CEO of several successful startups Oblix (acquired by Oracle), Determina (acquired by VMWare), OpenDNS (acquired by Cisco), and ScaleXtreme (acquired by Citrix).
He has a degree in Computer Science and Math from Cornell, a Master of Science degree in Management from Stanford, and a Master in Public Administration degree from Harvard.
“I am honoured to join CIA in this role and look forward to working with the Agency’s incredible team of technologists and domain experts who already deliver world-class intelligence and capabilities to help build a comprehensive technology strategy that delivers exciting capabilities working closely with industry and partners,” said Mulchandani.
The reality of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the targeting of civilians and displacement of millions of Ukrainians, may have shifted China’s calculus…reports Asian Lite News
CIA Director William J. Burns hinted at a potentially tenuous China-Russia relationship in the wake of Moscow’s increasingly brutal tactics against Ukraine, with Burns telling the Senate Intelligence Committee that Chinese leader Xi Jinping is “unsettled”.
“The Chinese leadership, first, has invested a lot in partnership with Russia, and I don’t expect that to change anytime soon,” Burns said during the Senate Intelligence Committee’s annual worldwide threats hearing. “I do however believe that the Chinese leadership, President Xi in particular, is unsettled by what he’s seeing, partly because his own intelligence doesn’t appear to have told him what was going to happen.”
Xi and Russian President Vladimir Putin issued a 5,000-word joint statement ahead of the Winter Olympics last month outlining how the two nations approached different issues, with the statement released following a meeting of the leaders in Beijing. The New York Times reported last week that Chinese officials asked the Russian government to hold off on invading Ukraine until the end of the Winter Olympics.
But the reality of the Russian invasion of Ukraine, including the targeting of civilians and displacement of millions of Ukrainians, may have shifted China’s calculus.
At the committee’s hearing, Burns pointed to Xi’s concerns over reputational damage to China by its association with Russia, potential economic consequences and the invasion resulting in bringing the U.S. and its European allies closer together.
“What has unfolded in Ukraine, the ugliness of it, the flawed assumptions that underpinned it from the point of view of President Putin, have unsettled the Chinese leadership a little bit, they are unsettled by the reputational damage that could come from that,” Burns said.
The CIA Director also said the Russian President may be overestimating to the extent that Chinese leadership will be able or willing to help him deal with severe economic consequences of military action in Ukraine.
“It remains to be seen how it will play out,” he added.
Burns’s remarks come a few days after the US threat assessment report had said that it expects that Moscow will remain a formidable challenge to Washington amidst the changing geopolitical landscape during the next decade.
“We assess that Russia does not want a direct conflict with U.S. forces. Russia seeks an accommodation with the United States on mutual non-interference in both countries’ domestic affairs and U.S. recognition of Russia’s claimed sphere of influence over much of the former Soviet Union,” the report added.
It further stated that Russia’s officials have long believed that the United States is trying to undermine Russia, weaken Putin, and install Western-friendly regimes in the former Soviet states and elsewhere, which they conclude gives Russia leeway to retaliate. (ANI)
Emphasizing that the threat is from the Chinese government, Director Burns said that the new Mission Center will bring a whole-of-Agency response and unify the exceptional work CIA is already doing against “this key rival,” reports Asian Lite News
The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) has announced the setting up of a new China Mission Center to confront threats from Beijing and address the global challenge posed to the United States.
“Director William Burns announced the formation of a China Mission Center (CMC) to address the global challenge posed by the People’s Republic of China that cuts across all of the Agency’s mission areas,” CIA said in a statement.
Emphasizing that the threat is from the Chinese government, Director Burns said that the new Mission Center will bring a whole-of-Agency response and unify the exceptional work CIA is already doing against “this key rival.”
The statement said that these changes resulted from the strategic reviews Director Burns launched this past spring that focused on areas including China, technology, people, and partnerships.
Burns emphasised that the CIA will continue to focus sharply on other important threats, including an aggressive Russia, a provocative North Korea and a hostile Iran, as well as combatting terrorism.
“The changes Director Burns unveiled also include a new position, the Chief Technology Officer, as well as a Transnational and Technology Mission Center, which will address global issues critical to US competitiveness–including new and emerging technologies, economic security, climate change, and global health,” he said.
Director Burns told the CIA workforce said that throughout its history, the CIA has stepped up to meet whatever challenges that come their way. “And now facing our toughest geopolitical test in a new era of great power rivalry, CIA will be at the forefront of this effort.”
CIA lost dozens of informants
Leading counterintelligence officials issued a memo to all of the CIA’s global stations saying that a concerning number of U.S. informants were being captured and executed., according to The New York Times.
The CIA’s counterintelligence mission center investigated dozens of incidents in the last few years that involved killings, arrests or compromises of foreign informants. In an unusual move, the message sent via a top secret cable included the specific number of agents killed by other intelligence agencies, according to The New York Times.
Top American counterintelligence officials — in an unusual top-secret cable — said that the CIA’s counterintelligence mission centre had looked at dozens of cases in the last several years involving foreign informants who had been killed, arrested or most likely compromised, reported The New York Times.
The cable also noted the specific number of agents executed by rival intelligence agencies. Usually, these specific details are not shared in such cables.
Highlighting the struggle of the CIA, the cable stressed that the agency is having issues as it works to recruit spies worldwide in difficult operating environments.
Recently, adversarial intelligence services in countries such as Russia, China, Iran and Pakistan have been hunting down the CIA’s sources and in some cases turning them into double agents, said The New York Times.
The cable also acknowledged that recruiting spies is a high-risk business. It also emphasised that in recent years, various issues have plagued the agency such as poor tradecraft, being too trusting of sources, underestimating foreign intelligence agencies, and moving too quickly to recruit informants while not paying enough attention to potential counterintelligence risks — a problem the cable called placing “mission over security”, according to New York Times.
Various compromised informants have highlighted the growing prowess of other countries in employing innovations like biometric scans, facial recognition, artificial intelligence and hacking tools to track the movements of CIA officers in order to discover their sources.
The CIA has many ways to collect intelligence but networks of trusted human informants around the world remain the centrepiece of its efforts, the kind of intelligence that the agency is supposed to be the best in the world at collecting and analysing.
Former officials have said that the CIA case officers — its frontline spies — earn promotions through recruiting new informants.
In the last two decades, the CIA had been devoted to terrorist threats and the conflicts in Afghanistan, Iraq and Syria. But now again a centrepiece of the CIA’s agenda has been to improve intelligence collection on adversarial powers, both great and small, particularly as policymakers demand more insight into China and Russia. The loss of informants, former officials said, is not a new problem. But the cable demonstrated the issue is more urgent than is publicly understood, according to New York Times.
It is said that the main purpose of the CIA chief’s visit to Pakistan and India was because Islamabad remained an ally to the US in the war on terror, and the US proposed increased influence and presence of India in Afghanistan, when it announced its South Asia policy under the Donald Trump administration, reports Hamza Ameer
In view of the developing situation in Afghanistan with the interim Taliban government being questioned broadly by the western countries, including the US, CIA Director Willian Burns flew to Pakistan and India recently to have important meetings and consultations on the way forward for the war-torn nation.
During his stay in Pakistan, Burns met the head of the army, General Qamar Javed Bajwa, and the Intelligence chief, Lieutenant General Faiz Hameed.
Pakistani Army chief, General Qamar Javed Bajwa
“It was reiterated that Pakistan remains committed to cooperate with its international partners for peace in the region, ensuring a stable and prosperous future for the Afghan people,” read a press release issued by the Inter-Services Public Relations (ISPR) in Pakistan.
However, the situation is not as bright as it is reported. It is said that the main purpose of the CIA chief’s visit to Pakistan and India was because Islamabad remained an ally to the US in the war on terror, and the US proposed increased influence and presence of India in Afghanistan, when it announced its South Asia policy under the Donald Trump administration.
Pakistan is playing an important role in the evacuation of foreign nationals from Afghanistan and became a vital destination when the US and other NATO troops were evacuated from Kabul during the troop withdrawal process.
Director-General of Inter-Services Intelligence Faiz Hameed.
Since the withdrawal of the US and NATO forces from Afghanistan, countries like Turkey, Qatar, Iran, Russia, China and Pakistan are converging in Afghanistan with constant consultations and active contacts with the Taliban regime, an alliance-based convergence that is raising serious concerns in Washington.
The Joe Biden administration has stated that it would keep a close eye on the developing situation in Afghanistan, insisting that if would take out terror hideouts through drone strikes at the time of its choosing and whenever needed.
It should be noted that US drone strike claimed the lives of at least 10 members of a family, including children, as it targeted a vehicle carrying an alleged Islamic State (IS) member. The drone strike was carried out after the deadly blast at the Kabul airport that claimed the lives of hundreds of Afghans and dozens of US troops. The attack was claimed by ISIS-K (Islamic State of Iraq and Levant – Khorasan).
Afghans protest in New Delhi against Taliban atrocities in Kabul
Taliban spokesperson Zabiullah Mujahid slammed the US for carrying out the drone strike, which he said claimed the lives of innocent civilians, adding that the US has no right to carry out attacks in Afghanistan anymore.
“If there was any potential threat in Afghanistan, it should have been reported to us, not an arbitrary attack that has resulted in civilian casualties,” he said.
The CIA chief’s agenda seems to be on the same lines, as he met with the top military brass of Pakistan and India and discussed security concerns linked to the Taliban takeover of Afghanistan.
However, it is believed that the US is trying to keep its influence in Afghanistan alive through intelligence sharing through Pakistan and eyes on ground through India as it sees Afghanistan being wrapped with its important opponents from the region.
Robert Laurent Grenier who was CIA Station Chief in Islamabad opened a Lobby Firm Grenier Consulting LLC in 2020. And within a year, he is awarded a Lobbying contract on behalf of Pakistan…reports Sanjeev Sharma
Robert Laurent Grenier who was CIA Station Chief in Islamabad was given a lobbying contract on behalf of Pakistan after he founded his own firm.
Robert Laurent Grenier is a former CIA official, who was CIA Station Chief in Islamabad, Pakistan (2001-02) — right in the center of storm post 9/11. In 2002 he was promoted to the chief of the Iraq Issues Group, where he helped coordinate covert operations in support of the 2003 invasion of Iraq.
Grenier served as Director, CIA’s Counter-terrorist Center for about a year, but was fired from that position on February 6, 2006 by the Director of the National Clandestine Service Jose A. Rodriguez, Jr in the CIA leak case and Libby trial.
Grenier was identified in court documents in connection with the CIA leak grand jury investigation and charges against I. Lewis “Scooter” Libby.
CIA (Pic credit:Wikipedia)
In 2009 Grenier was appointed Chairman of ERG Partners, an independent financial and strategic advisory firm solely focused on the security and intelligence sectors. He is a lifetime member of the Council on Foreign Relations.
Subsequently, Grenier opened a Lobby Firm Grenier Consulting LLC on April 1, 2020. And within a year, in July 2021 he is awarded a Lobbying contract on behalf of Pakistan, signed by Iftikhar Ur Rehman Durrani the then Special Advisor to Pak PM Imran Khan. An advance of $25,000 and another $5,000 for research for six months was given by the Pakistan side, with the clause of renewal of contract in six months, according to an investigation by Disinfo Lab.
Another contract was given to a firm affiliated to Robin Raphel, a former Diplomat/CIA Analyst/US AID functionary about lobbyist.
Raphel retired in 2005, and soon joined Cassidy & Associates, a Washington based lobby firm as Senior Vice President, heading its Global Affairs and Trade Group. Shortly after she comes on board, Cassidy & Associates bags $1.2 million lobbying contract from Pakistan.
Cassidy subsequently had to cancel the contract after Gen Musharraf declared Martial Law in Pakistan.
In 2013, Raphel was under investigation of FBI based on an intercept of Pakistani officials by FBI, which indicated that Raphel might have been working for Pakistani agencies. FBI had also found unauthorized classified documents at Raphel’s residence, which they suspected were being supplied to a ‘foreign country’. However, in 2016 FBI decided not to pursue the matter further. Raphel is reported to be active again, being one of the major back-channels to Taliban.
Raphel started her carrier with CIA in Iran, and later joined US-Aid Diplomatic Corps as economics analyst till 1978. In 1991, she joined as Political Counselor at US Embassy in New Delhi.
DisinfoLab reported that she is credited with the creation of All Party Hurriyat Conference (APHC), which earned her the moniker of Mother of Hurriyat. She was married to Arnold Raphel, who was US Ambassador to Pakistan (1987-88), and who died in the plane crash with Zia-ul-Haq.
During her stint with US State Department during 1992-96, she worked towards shaping the US Govt policy towards engagement with Taliban. She was also instrumental in ensuring an exception to Pakistan from the Pressler Amendment that banned military export to Pakistan.
The agency also has shortened from eight weeks to two weeks the time that CIA-affiliated people must wait for admission to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center…reports Asian Lite News
About 100 CIA officers and family members are among some 200 US officials and kin sickened by “Havana syndrome,” CIA Director William Burns said on Thursday, referring to the mysterious set of ailments that include migraines and dizziness.
Burns, tapped by US President Joe Biden as the first career diplomat to serve as CIA chief, said in a National Public Radio interview that he has bolstered his agency’s efforts to determine the cause of the syndrome and what is responsible.
He confirmed that among other steps, he tapped a senior officer who once led the hunt for Osama bin Laden to head a task force investigating the syndrome, and said he tripled the size of the medical team involved in the probe.
The agency also has shortened from eight weeks to two weeks the time that CIA-affiliated people must wait for admission to Walter Reed National Military Medical Center, he said.
“It’s a profound obligation I think of any leader to take care of your people and that is what I am determined to do,” Burns told NPR in his first interview since becoming CIA director in March.
Havana Syndrome, with symptoms such as dizzines, nausea, migraines and memory lapses, is so named because it first was reported by US officials based in the US embassy in Cuba in 2016.
Burns noted that a US National Academy of Sciences panel in December found that a plausible theory is that “directed energy” beams caused the syndrome. There is a “very strong possibility” that the syndrome is intentionally caused, and that Russia could be responsible, he said, adding that he is withholding definitive conclusions pending further investigation.
