What’s that sound? Singapore scare highlights US safety concern
washington — As President Donald Trump was heading to Singapore for a historic summit with North Korea’s leader, a State Department diplomatic security agent who was part of the advance team reported hearing an unusual sound he believed was similar to what was experienced by US diplomats in Cuba and China who later became ill.
The agent immediately underwent medical screening — part of a new US government protocol established to respond to such potential health incidents anywhere in the world. And while the president was flying to the Southeast Asian city state, the US delegation preparing for his arrival was exchanging urgent messages with the State Department headquarters back in Washington, including the agency’s Diplomatic Security and the US Secret Service.
It turned out to be a false alarm, according to four US officials familiar with the matter, who were not authorised to speak to the matter publicly and spoke on condition of anonymity. But the rapid response underscored how seriously the Trump administration views the potential risks at far-flung diplomatic outposts. So far, Americans who have served in at least seven cities in four countries have been tested for possible exposure, with 26 Americans “medically confirmed” to have been hurt.
The incidents have become a new source of anxiety for US officials working overseas and their families — one that remains A State Department diplomatic security agent who was part of the advance team reported hearing an unusual sound he believed was similar to what was experienced by US diplomats in Cuba and China
shrouded in mystery because of investigators’ inability to say what or who is responsible for the unexplained incidents that started more than 18 months ago. Cuba patients have been found to have a range of symptoms and diagnoses including mild traumatic brain injury, also known as concussions.
Details of the previously unreported incident in Singapore, which ended up having no impact on the June 12 meeting with North Korean leader Kim Jong Un, are emerging as the White House moves ahead with planning for Trump’s next high-stakes, face-to-face meeting with a foreign leader outside the United States: a potential mid-July summit with Russian President Vladimir Putin next month in the Austrian capital of Vienna.
To be sure, there has been no determination by the US that the health incidents have occurred in locations other than Cuba and China. Until late last month, the only known incidents affected US officials in Havana who were struck by what the State Department called “specific attacks.”
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