The Foreign Service Journal, January-February 2022

THE FOREIGN SERVICE JOURNAL | JANUARY-FEBRUARY 2022 43 1977 in perfect health, and I left in 1979 with a high white cell count and was diagnosed six years later with CLL. This came as a shock, as I have no family history of leukemia. It is a puzzle to which there is still no answer. Concluding Thoughts I have often wondered how many others have faced similar unexpected medical issues over the past few decades, and whether Moscow Signal was to blame. Many Moscow veter- ans from the 1960s through the 1980s are already gone, but a substantial number remain. Like the current victims of Havana syndrome, Moscow Signal veterans also deserve definitive answers to the questions that were raised in their time but subsequently ignored. One thing does give me more general cause for hope: The attitude of the interagency community toward “anomalous health incidents,” whether in the present day or in the deep past, appears to be changing for the better. The community has at last mobilized to help Havana syndrome victims. I also I have often wondered how many others have faced similar unexpected medical issues over the past few decades. hope that there will be steady progress toward answers to the current questions about the condition’s causes. Finally, there is one specific question I would like answered: Is there a link between Moscow Signal and Havana syndrome? We may never know for sure. Speaking personally, it would certainly be a lot more positive for the U.S.-Russian relationship if microwaves turned out not to be the cause of Havana syndrome. But either way, we must find the answers to all outstanding questions, past and present, and let the chips fall where they may. Otherwise, we may risk a third generation of victims. n