What is Havana syndrome?
The IndependentSign up for the daily Inside Washington email for exclusive US coverage and analysis sent to your inbox Get our free Inside Washington email Get our free Inside Washington email SIGN UP I would like to be emailed about offers, events and updates from The Independent. Later in the summer, Vice President Kamala Harris’ flight to Hanoi, Vietnam, was delayed after US personnel in the Vietnam capital reported experiencing Havana Syndrome-related symptoms over the weekend ahead of her trip. “There’s a mysterious, direct energy weapon that is being used,” Senator Susan Collins, who is on the Senate Intelligence Committee, told CNN after the briefing. “So alleged Russian aggression through a curious and not fully defined – be it sound attack, be it microwave attack on US personnel – is clearly not something that would rise to the top of their to-do lists when clear Russian aggression is not something that they were contending with.” President Biden, however, has taken a more confrontational approach to Russia than his predecessor. His CIA director, William Burns, has also vowed to make investigating the directed energy incidents an “extraordinarily high priority.” What the new administration will do if Russia is proven responsible remains to be seen.