https://www.npr.org/2021/07/22/1013402176/cia-director-says-he-is-escalating-efforts-to-solve-havana-syndrome-mystery

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CIA Director Renews Efforts To Solve 'Havana Syndrome' Mystery In an
NPR interview, William Burns says he has appointed a senior officer
who led the hunt for Osama bin Laden to head the investigation into
ailments that has afflicted U.S. officials worldwide.

National Security

CIA Director Says He Is Escalating Efforts To Solve 'Havana Syndrome'
Mystery

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July 22, 20212:56 PM ET
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CIA Director Says He Is Escalating Efforts To Solve 'Havana Syndrome'
Mystery

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CIA Director William Burns says he has appointed a senior officer who
led the hunt for Osama bin Laden to head the investigation into
ailments that have afflicted U.S. officials around the world. Ian
Morton/NPR hide caption

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Ian Morton/NPR

CIA Director William Burns says he has appointed a senior officer who
led the hunt for Osama bin Laden to head the investigation into
ailments that have afflicted U.S. officials around the world.

Ian Morton/NPR

CIA Director William Burns says he has redoubled the agency's efforts
to uncover the cause of Havana syndrome -- the mysterious set of
ailments that has afflicted more than 200 U.S. officials and family
members around the world.

That includes the assignment of a senior officer who once led the
hunt for Osama bin Laden to lead the investigation and tripling the
size of a medical team involved in the probe, Burns told NPR on
Thursday in his first sit-down interview since being confirmed as the
agency's chief in March.

Transcript: NPR's Full Conversation With CIA Director William Burns

National Security

Transcript: NPR's Full Conversation With CIA Director William Burns

"I am absolutely determined -- and I've spent a great deal of time and
energy on this in the four months that I've been CIA director -- to
get to the bottom of the question of what and who caused this," Burns
said.

In a wide-ranging, exclusive interview with NPR's Mary Louise Kelly,
Burns also discussed the CIA's future in Afghanistan and the theory
that the coronavirus outbreak was caused by a leak from a Chinese
state-run laboratory in Wuhan.

He called the present moment "a really important moment of transition
in the world."

"We're no longer the only big kid on the geopolitical block,
especially with the rise of China. And as you know very well, there's
a revolution in technology which is transforming the way we live,
work, compete and fight. And so, CIA, like everyone else in the U.S.
government, has to take that into account," he said.

Havana syndrome is "real, and it's serious," Burns says

Under Burns' direction, the CIA has tripled the number of full-time
medical personnel at the agency who are focused on Havana syndrome
and has shortened the waiting period for afflicted personnel to be
admitted to the Walter Reed National Military Medical Center.

"I'm certainly persuaded that what our officers and some family
members, as well as other U.S. government employees, have experienced
is real, and it's serious," Burns said.

The director says he is seriously considering the "very strong
possibility" that the syndrome is the result of intentional actions,
adding that there are a limited number of "potential suspects" with
the capability to carry out an action so widely across the globe. A
report from last December by the National Academies of Sciences,
Engineering, and Medicine found that microwave radiation is the "most
plausible" explanation for the symptoms.

Microwave Radiation 'Most Plausible' Cause Of Diplomats' Ailments,
Report Says

National Security

Microwave Radiation 'Most Plausible' Cause Of Diplomats' Ailments,
Report Says

To head the task force investigating the syndrome, Burns has
appointed a veteran officer who helped lead the hunt for Osama bin
Laden. The identity of that officer is still undercover, according to
The Wall Street Journal.

"We're throwing the very best we have at this issue, because it is
not only a very serious issue for our colleagues, as it is for others
across the U.S. government, but it's a profound obligation, I think,
of any leader to take care of your people," Burns said.

The syndrome -- which can reportedly include as its symptoms
migraines, dizziness and memory loss -- first appeared in 2016 at the
U.S. Embassy in Havana, where more than 40 diplomats have since
complained of the symptoms.

In the years since, dozens of additional cases have been reported at
U.S. diplomatic facilities in China, Russia, Europe and Central Asia.
Just last week, the Biden administration announced it is "vigorously
investigating" reports of possible new cases in Vienna.

Officials say they are still unclear on the causes of the syndrome.

"Here's the hard reality right now: We do not know what caused these
incidents. We do not know who, if anyone, is actually responsible,"
Secretary of State Antony Blinken said at a congressional hearing
last month. The State Department is now requiring a baseline testing
program for diplomatic employees before they leave for field
assignments.

State Department employees had complained that the agency had been
slow to respond and support affected staff. Some have since retired,
blaming their symptoms.

Senate OKs Bill That Would Provide Aid For Mysterious 'Havana
Syndrome' Injuries

Politics

Senate OKs Bill That Would Provide Aid For Mysterious 'Havana
Syndrome' Injuries

Burns says China is America's "single biggest geopolitical challenge"

Under the Trump administration, the U.S. foreign policy and
intelligence apparatus shifted emphasis to great-power rivalries,
particularly China.

Speaking on Thursday, Burns said China remains a top focus of the CIA
in the Biden era, saying it is "the single biggest geopolitical
challenge that the United States faces" this century. He added that
the CIA must strengthen its China expertise, including employing more
Mandarin speakers.

Biden's National Security Team Lists Leading Threats, With China At
The Top

National Security

Biden's National Security Team Lists Leading Threats, With China At
The Top

One immediate challenge is the CIA's investigation into the origin of
the coronavirus.

"The honest answer today is that we cannot offer a definitive
conclusion about whether this originated in a lab accident or whether
it originated in a natural transmission from infected animals to
human beings," Burns said, referring to the theory that the
coronavirus outbreak began at the Wuhan Institute of Virology, a
state-run laboratory in the city where the pandemic is thought to
have originated in late 2019. Chinese officials have consistently
denied the theory.

"It is possible, like so many things, that we may never come to a
definitive judgment," Burns said. "But it's not going to be for lack
of hard work or effort on this issue to try to uncover as much as we
can about what happened."

New Data Leads To Rethinking (Once More) Where The Pandemic Actually
Began

Goats and Soda

New Data Leads To Rethinking (Once More) Where The Pandemic Actually
Began

A group of scientists in May published a letter in the journal
Science urging the scientific community to give more consideration to
the lab-leak theory, though at least one has since stated that he
believes the animal origin theory is the most likely scenario.

"[The reality is] that the Chinese government has not been
transparent, has not fully cooperated in the WHO's investigation
initially, and it's more recently suggested it's going to refuse to
cooperate in a follow-up as well. And that is deeply unfortunate,"
Burns said.

The CIA will retain "significant capabilities" in Afghanistan

For nearly two decades, the national security establishment focused
on U.S. wars in the Middle East and the threats posed by extremist
groups such as al-Qaida and the Islamic State.

Now, as the U.S. military nears finalizing its withdrawal from
Afghanistan -- a process that officials say is more than 95% complete
-- Burns acknowledged the pullout will affect CIA operations but said
the agency will retain "significant capabilities" in the country.

The U.S. intelligence community has concluded that the government of
Afghanistan could collapse as soon as six months after the withdrawal
is complete, according to reports by The Wall Street Journal and
others that Burns declined to dismiss.

"I have to be honest: Those trend lines are troubling right now," he
said.

The agency's principal mission in the country, he said, will be to
stay focused on the danger that groups like the Islamic State or
al-Qaida will reconstitute themselves if the Afghan government and
military fall without the backing of U.S. and coalition forces.

"The big question, it seems to me and to all of my colleagues at CIA
and across the intelligence community, is whether or not [the Afghan
government's military] capabilities can be exercised with the kind of
political willpower and unity of leadership that's absolutely
essential to resist the Taliban," he said.

Burns is the first career diplomat to lead the CIA

Burns, 65, is the first career diplomat to lead the CIA. He served
three decades as a diplomat, including as ambassador to Russia and to
Jordan, while also holding top posts at the State Department in
Washington.

Burns had the No. 2 job at the State Department when he retired in
2014. He was leading the Carnegie Endowment for International Peace
in Washington when Biden tapped him to become CIA director.

Longtime Diplomat William Burns Is Biden's Pick To Lead CIA

Biden Transition Updates

Longtime Diplomat William Burns Is Biden's Pick To Lead CIA

"I know that I was a better ambassador, a better negotiator, a better
policymaker because of the work of CIA officers, the intelligence
they collected, the insights that they provided," Burns said. "And I
hope very much that I'll be a better director of CIA because my
experience as a policymaker, as a diplomat, should help me better
connect intelligence work to what matters most."

Burns said increasing diversity and inclusion at the CIA, an agency
that has traditionally been dominated by white men from elite
backgrounds, is among his top priorities as director.

"We cannot be effective around the world if everybody looks like me,"
he said.

Producer Connor Donevan and editor Courtney Dorning produced the
radio version of this interview.

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