they would be unwitting to attacks of this nature since
the Castro regime monitors and tracks anybody they
Gene Poteat
President Emeritus
The Weaponization
of Sound
Disabling, Mysterious Noises Cloud
Diplomatic Relations in Cuba
T
hose mysterious attacks on our diplomats,
national security officials, and their spouses in
Havana, Cuba has awakened us to the hidden
dangers of living and working abroad in despotic
countries. These attacks, apparently from an acoustic,
sonic, or other type of directed-energy weapon (DEW),
targeted specific indi-
viduals in homes and
hotels outside the
American embassy.
Some vict ims said
they heard a noise
that was confined to
a single room or part
of a room, and what-
ever or wherever the
attacks occurred, it
left them with seri-
ous medical problems involving hearing, cognition,
vision, equilibrium, sleep, headaches, concussions up
to possible brain damage. At least 24 victims, so far,
reported hearing sounds like a mass of crickets and a
high-pitched whine, leading investigators to suspect
a multi-frequency sonic or acoustic weapon of some
kindbut what kind and what culprit?
US officials do not understand why Havana would
perpetrate attacks which stand to destroy its new,
lucrative relationship with Washington. The Castro
regime quickly denied involvement in, or knowledge
of, the attacks and has been cooperative, even inviting
the FBI to fly down to Havana. They have insisted in
numerous media accounts that they are aware of no
targeting of US diplomats. Cubas surveillance of
diplomats in Havana is intense. Cuban authorities
know who is staying where. So, it is hard to believe
Fall 2017 Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies
suspect would be inimical or a potential threat to the
Communist government.
For senior officials of foreign governments,
Cuban operatives know much of their comings and
goings, and many of the offices and residences are
under surveillance. Could it be, if this is not the actions
by Cubans, that another foreign country is seeking to
sour Americas relationship with Cuba? Or conduct-
ing unauthorized field tests of experimental acoustic
weapons? Some security analysts say the attacks may
have been carried out by a third country hostile to the
US. However, when Canadian officials also became
ill, the mystery deepened. After all, Canada has
maintained good relations with Cuba throughout the
Castros reign, even supporting the regime financially
with extensive promotion of tourism.
The problem thwarting analysis is that human
hearing ranges from about 20Hz to 20,000Hz and
most audio recording devices are designed and lim-
ited to this frequency range, preventing the capturing
of the sounds of sonic weapons for analysis since
they operate outside
this range. Carefully
designed directed-en-
ergy weapons would,
seek to avoid all spill-
age or scatter within
human hearing, to
remain hidden. What
is known, however, is
sounds below 20Hz
called Infrasound
and sounds above
20,000Hz called ultrasound are inaudible to
humans. And any pure infrasound weapon would
require an extra-large array of subwoofers and
wouldnt be portable or covert. Also, infrasound waves
travel widely, making them difficult to aim with preci-
sion. And theres little evidence in the open literature
that infrasound can cause lasting damage.
Ultrasound frequencies above 20,000Hz, also
inaudible to humans, can damage parts of the ear,
including inner ear hairs. Ultrasound has been in
the forefront of directed energy research, and also
has many medical applications. Ultrasound devices
are now in wide use as directional speakers for home
use, and can direct sound through walls. But, again,
any ultrasound weapon would require a large, heavy
power source and would be a danger to other people
in the vicinity, as well as the user.
Page 3
 A few recordings, operating in the 20Hz to
20,000Hz human hearing range, have been made and
sent to intelligence officials and the Navys highly
capable sound experts. The Associated Press analyzed
one of these recordings, using a spectrum analyzer,
and found a range of different pitches contained in
the noise which lasted for about 10 seconds before
pausing and then resuming. Acoustic experts are
skeptical a sonic weapon based on these recordings
could cause the reported health problems. A paper in
this issue of Intelligencer discusses ways that infra-
sound or ultrasound, of varying frequencies, have
been combined when targeted to create a weapon
with deleterious impact on human health. Who has
this kind of technology? And could it have been min-
iaturized? Again, its not clear. And its also unclear
who would have carried out such
an attack against Canadian and US
diplomats and the mission. The
AP recording doesnt answer any
of the questions about the who,
what, and how such an acoustic
weapon would work, or if that
sound captured the actual weapon
or might be an auditory diversion.
Although the evidence thus far seems to support
a sonic weapon and tends to rule out the possibility
for a high-tech electromagnetic or microwave weapon,
there is ample evidence that a microwave weapon could
fit the Cuban scenario. A microwave weapon can be
miniaturized, be highly directed, and produce many
of the medical problems seen in the Cuban attacks.
Microwave weaponization is well known by Americas
adversaries. Since the invention of radar, there have
been extensive studies and research into the possible
effects on humans exposed to radars microwaves
and many of the symptoms are similar to those
reportedly caused by a sonic weapon. Short, intense
microwave bursts can cause people to hear clicking
sounds. Yet microwaves generally harm electronics,
not humans; albeit, unshielded microwaves from
ordinary microwave ovens, aimed at humans, could
cause seemingly mysterious tissue or organ damage.
During the early days of the cold war, in an
episode remarkably similar to the Havana attacks,
Russians flooded the American Embassy with micro-
waves, from 1953 to 1976, leaving analysts to puzzle
over the purpose of the attack and the effects, if any,
on personnel. While the microwaves were of relatively
low level and thus not considered a serious or immi-
nent danger at the time, its hard to understand why
the US put up with it for so long and failed to demand
Page 4 Intelligencer: Journal of U.S. Intelligence Studies
it be stopped since it was deliberately targeted against
the embassy. Eventually it was discovered that the
Russians had concealed a passive, tiny cavity resona-
tor microphone inside the Great Seal of the United
States presented to the U.S. ambassador as a gift and
hanging prominently on his wall where sensitive
discussions sometimes took place. The device had no
power source, making it hard to detect during normal
room sweeps for electronic bugs. The microwaves
flooding the embassy were interrogating the device
to hear conversations inside the embassy. Once the
device was discovered and removed, the MW flooding
ceased. An exhaustive analysis of the health status
of the employees who served in Moscow at the time
revealed no adverse effects.
What we face in Cuba, and perhaps elsewhere,
is of a different magnitude and a
serious affront disabling some dip-
lomats for life. Whatever is harming
US diplomats in Havana has eluded
our best doctors, scientists, and
intelligence analysts scouring for
answers. The biggest mystery is why
the symptoms, sounds, and sen-
sations vary so dramatically from
person to person. Stress and anxiety, and the spread to
others of the risks they are operating under, regarding
the attacks could be complicating the situation. If the
attacks cease, and never resume, we are likely to never
solve the mystery.
Loud noise can permanently damage hearing
and trigger ear-ringing tinnitus, ruptured ear drums,
cause permanent hearing loss as anyone who has
attended a loud rock concert knows. Directed energy
weapons, miniaturized and covertly used by economic,
political, or state-sponsored rivals, adds to the grave
risks our intelligence and diplomatic personnel face
as they seek to operate on our behalf abroad.
Gene Poteat retired at the end of 2014 after fifteen
years of service as AFIOs president. He was a senior
CIA Scientific Intelligence Officer. Educated as an
electrical engineer and physicist, he holds a Masters
in Statecraft and National Security affairs from the
Institute of World Politics, and awarded an honorary
LL.D. His career in intelligence included work with
U-2 and SR-71 class of aircraft, and various space
and naval reconnaissance systems. He also managed
the CIAs worldwide network of monitoring sites. He
received the CIAs Medal of Merit and the National
Reconnaissance Offices Meritorious Civilian Award
for his technological innovations.
Fall 2017