The Shadow
WASHINGTON (VR) – Chairman of the Senate Select Committee on Intelligence Mark R. Warner (D-VA) and Vice Chairman Marco Rubio (R-FL) released a declassified summary of the results of a yearlong investigation conducted by the Committee’s nonpartisan Audits and Projects staff into the intelligence Community’s response to anomalous health incidents (AHIs). The report is based largely off hundreds of hours of testimonial evidence provided by Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) officials, other U.S. government officials, medical professionals who provided care, and those who reported AHI symptoms.
The report found that:
- The CIA facilitated AHI-related medical care for nearly 100 CIA-affiliated incidents, but many individuals faced obstacles to timely and sufficient care;
- AHI clinical research studies have identified unexplained clusters of symptoms, but the CIA has stopped collecting clinical data on AHIs while Department of Defense research efforts continue;
- The CIA has provided benefits and compensation to many AHI reporters, but ease of access to these programs has been inconsistent and affected by the agency’s organizational position on AHIs;
- The CIA’s AHI response has been hampered by communication and messaging challenges.
- The CIA’s response to AHIs has negatively affected AHI reporters and led to a trust deficit with portions of its workforce; and,
- The unknown nature of AHIs and AHI analytic efforts complicated the CIA’s organizational response to reported incidents.
The report also includes several recommendations to the CIA to improve care for those reporting AHI symptoms.
This report does not address the question of causality or attempt to attribute AHI symptoms to a specific actor or device. Much work on that front remains to be done by the Intelligence Community and Congress.
