The President's Daily Brief - PDB Afternoon Bulletin | April 1st, 2024: Havana Syndrome Bombshell & Turkey's Shocking Political Sea Change

Episode Date: April 1, 2024

In this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin:     A bombshell investigation is shedding light for the first time on the mysterious Havana syndrome afflicting U.S. personnel since 2016, and it appears Russia is likely behind the covert attacks. Turkey saw a massive political sea change in local elections over the weekend, with the country’s main opposition dealing a major upset to President Erdogan’s ruling party. To listen to the show ad-free, become a premium member of The President’s Daily Brief by visiting PDBPremium.com. Please remember to subscribe if you enjoyed this episode of The PDB Afternoon Bulletin.  Email: [e-mail] Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices

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Also, Turkey saw a massive political sea change in local elections over the weekend, with the country's main opposition dealing a major upset to President Erdogan's ruling party. Now, before we get to those stories, a bit of breaking news. An Israeli air strike on the Iranian consulate in Damascus, Syria, has reportedly killed the commander of Iran's IRGC Quds Force in Syria and Lebanon, Mohamed Rza Zahedi. Zahedi was the key Iranian military official in charge of relations and operational planning with Hezbollah in Lebanon and also with the pro-Iranian militias operating in Syria. He's the most senior IRGC officer killed since Qasem Soleimani was taken out by a U.S. airstrike in early 2020. This strike follows an Israeli

air strike at the end of this past week that we discussed on the PDB, which targeted a weapons cash and military facilities used by Hezbollah in concert with Syrian military elements. We'll provide an update on this latest strike in Damascus during tomorrow's PDB. Now, let's get to our afternoon spotlight. For years, answers regarding the cause of the mysterious Havana syndrome, which has afflicted U.S. diplomats and intelligence officers across the world, have proven elusive. But, But now, for the first time, we're learning that the attacks are possibly the work of Russian Special Forces, operating, of course, on behalf of President Putin. I'll wait while you put your surprised face on.

For some context, Havana syndrome is the name given to a mysterious collection of symptoms that U.S. personnel have suffered since 2016. These symptoms include migraines, nausea, memory lapses, dizziness, although they can sometimes be much more severe. More than a thousand Americans, including White House. staff, CIA officers, FBI agents, military officers, and family members have been impacted by the attacks. Now, scientists who have studied the victims have said the symptoms could be caused by a beam of microwaves or acoustic sound possibly, essentially a directed energy weapon. As an aside,

while hosting the Discovery Network's investigative series Black Files Declassified, which, according to my mother, was television's finest show, and by the way, is still stringent. on HBO's Max channel, anyway, during the second season, we researched and examined Havana syndrome. There's been some very interesting work done in looking at brain scans of some of those affected. Research by the University of Pennsylvania, as an example, compared brain scans from victims of Havana syndrome to scans from individuals who suffered traumatic brain injuries from explosions and determined that there were a number of similarities to the impact on brain tissue. In other words, victims suffering from Havana syndrome had similar damage in certain cases

to individuals suffering with TBIs and yet had not been exposed to explosions. The insider media group in a joint investigation with CBS's 60 Minutes and Germany's DeSpiegel found that members of a Russian military intelligence sabotage unit likely carried out the targeted attacks using an unknown type of directed energy weapon. The joint report found that a Russian military intelligence unit known as 29155, not exactly a catchy name, had been at the scene of multiple reported health incidents involving U.S. personnel that were later labeled as Havana syndrome. In one incident captured on an intercepted call in the former Soviet Republic of Georgia, a Russian man is heard asking a superior, quote, is it supposed to have blinking green lights, and should I

leave it on all night, end quote. The following day, multiple U.S. personnel in Georgia reported potential incidents of attacks. Their five-year-long investigation also revealed that senior members of Unit 29155 have been showered with awards and promotions by Kremlin leadership in recent years, purportedly for their work developing, quote, non-lethal acoustic weapons, according to Reuters. The investigation further determined that the attacks likely began before 2016 when the U.S. first became aware of the strange symptoms affecting their foreign personnel. The insider report stated, quote, there were likely attacks two years earlier in Frankfurt, Germany, when a U.S. government employees stationed at the consulate there was knocked unconscious by something akin to a strong

energy beam, end quote. Russia has previously denied any involvement in these incidents. Again, that's a surprise. It's worth noting, however, that an intelligence investigation by the U.S. released last year also determined that it was, quote, very unlikely that a foreign adversary was behind the attacks. Now, that report was met with significant skepticism from other intel services as well as from victims. Doubts have persisted about the conclusions of the U.S. intelligence assessment, and victims and their representatives have accused the U.S. government of trying to publicly downplay the risk of attacks facing Americans stationed abroad. Frankly, it took a significant and disappointing amount of time from the intel community, including the CIA, to take Havana syndrome seriously.

At the outset, it was almost as if the organizations involved were more interested in protecting themselves from human resource issues and disability payment concerns than identifying the potential perpetrators. Greg Edgreen, a former Army lieutenant colonel who served as the lead penitent Pentagon investigator into these attacks told 60 Minutes that the evidence always pointed towards Russia. He said the common thread for the victims was that they were all doing work focused on Russia at the time of the incidents. Ed Green told 60 Minutes, quote, consistently, there was a Russian nexus. There was some angle where they had worked against Russia, focused on Russia, and done extremely well, end quote. Mark Zaid, an attorney representing victims of Havana syndrome, agreed that his clients were

all tasked with work focusing on Russia when they came under attack. He also expressed skepticism about the conclusions reached by the U.S. government. Zaid told 60 Minutes, quote, there is, in my view, without a doubt, evidence of a cover-up, end quote. A White House spokesperson responded to the media reports on Monday, promising in a statement to Fox News a renewed prioritization of investigations into the causes of Havana syndrome. Meanwhile, a spokesperson for the FBI, said the causes of Havana syndrome remain a top priority for the Bureau. Congress previously passed the Havana Act in 2021, which compensates any government staff and their families who have been impacted by the mysterious syndrome.

Coming up after the break, we'll discuss the surprise results from Turkey's recent election, which saw the country's main opposition party deal a major upset to President Erdogan's ruling party. I'll be right back. is unpredictable. But you can flare less with ebbglis, a once-monthly treatment for moderate to severe eczema. After an initial four-month-a-longer dosing phase,

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the CHP won approximately 38% of the total vote. That's the most of any single political party. Erdogan's Justice and Development Party, also known as AKP, won approximately 36% of the vote. This weekend's elections marked the first time since Erdogan came to power 21 years ago, seems like just yesterday, that his party was defeated across the country at the ballot box. Istanbul's incumbent mayor, Erdogan's political nemesis and most likely primary challenger in the 2008 presidential election, declared the period of one-man rule to be over. In a statement posted to X, the mayor added, quote, Istanbul stands as a beacon of hope, a testament to the resilience of democratic values in the face of rising authoritarianism, end quote.

Speaking from the balcony of his party headquarters in Ankara, President Erdogan promised to use the four years before the next presidential election to, quote, renew ourselves and compensate for our mistakes, end quote. Now, to understand why this is such a big deal, you have to understand the differences between those two opposing parties. The CHP is the country's oldest political party. It was started by Mustafa Adeturk, the man who founded the Republic of Turkey back in 1923. The party traditionally advocates for closer relations with Western institutions and maintaining strong ties with the European Union and the United States. It supports a more conventional, secular approach to foreign policy, emphasizing international law and cooperation. And that's a stark contrast to Erdogan's AKP party, which was started in 2001. While the CHP champions progressive

policies and civil liberties, the AKP has its roots in political Islam, and has person pursued a far more socially conservative agenda integrating Islamic elements into Turkey's government. And that, my friends, is the PDB afternoon bulletin from Monday, one April. If you have any questions or comments, please reach out to me at pdb at thefirsttv.com. And please be sure to check out our new premium membership at pdbpremium.com. I'm Mike Baker. I'll be back tomorrow. Until then, stay informed. Stay safe. Hey, honey, it's mom. Did you know if we switch to Verizon we can get four phones for $0 $4 lines for $25 a line? Call me back. Me again. That's just $100 a month for four lines on

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