It is incredibly bizarre that we're reading what is ostensibly the report of a new poorly understand device (perhaps a weapon) used extremely recently against US interests from an unknown source. We classify everything under the sun and 'no-comment' anything that could in any way be remotely related to intelligence. But in this situation, that is genuinely directly related to national security and international relations, we spread this about to be headline news to the point that you may as well have the state department on Oprah?
That's a good question, so what do you think might be the answer?
If we work with assumption it's not an accident/idiocy/etc, what is the state of relationships between US & Cuba? Does this send any kind of message and if so who is the audience: Cuban leadership, or local (US) readership, or international readership? Does it change the conversation in any upcoming meeting? Does it alter a stance in some negotiation?
Alternatively, and perhaps closer to where you were going, is there a sub-government entity that benefits - a department or an organization? If intelligence community is not in good relationship with or respected by the government does this help them? "We're under a thread, we need more autonomy/financing/powers"? Alternatively does it hinder them - "we give you all this equipment and money, yet you cannot prevent this"?
etc etc. I honestly don't have an answer - but as much as I like to rant against any given gov't as much as the next person (and perhaps more), I imagine there exists one rather than being fully inexplicable and illogical...
This has Russia written all over it. They've been participating unconventional "warfare" for many years now.
Think of cyber/social media activities against the West, propaganda, invading Crimea without admitting to having troops in the area, covert assassinations of adversaries in the West, and psychological operations against Western diplomats in Russia.
NATO restricts their regular military options, so they exert influence in any way they can. I believe the only reason we haven't been told Russia is number one suspect is Trump administration's warm ties to that direction.
You have a valid point. A logical analysis of this event easily reveals certain political motives. The fact that it has been publicized and spun with negative implications for Cuba and Russia is even more suspicious.
I highly doubt that Cuba would take any action to harm its recently improved relationship with the US. Recall that Guantanamo Bay was used as a testing ground for torture techniques and possibly other unethical research by the US. Guantanamo Bay formerly held 245 prisoners, but during the Obama administration this number shrank to 41. This downsize combined with increased scrutiny/auditing of inhumane practices has likely rendered Guantanamo Bay useless to the US for testing living subjects.
If the US were to test sonic weaponry (or any kind of weaponry/agent) on Cuban citizens or Cuban soil, it would be an act of war. My initial speculation is that the US used its embassy as a legal loophole to test weapons on living subjects. The advantages for the US in this situation are two-fold, especially for the current presidential administration; dodge international law and reverse recent advancements in US-Cuba relations.
perhaps the Trump administration's interest in rolling back Obama's effort to improve relations with Cuba made this news too valuable as a propaganda item to keep it classified. Provided valuable example of their bad intentions. Now that the culprit has become less clear they're already stuck with it out in the news.
It is incredibly bizarre that we're reading what is ostensibly the report of a new poorly understand device (perhaps a weapon) used extremely recently against US interests from an unknown source. We classify everything under the sun and 'no-comment' anything that could in any way be remotely related to intelligence. But in this situation, that is genuinely directly related to national security and international relations, we spread this about to be headline news to the point that you may as well have the state department on Oprah?
This seems inexplicable and illogical.