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tedunangst·

> 4) Hearing loss is extremely traumatizing and debilitating. Why should we put civilian staff in harm's way?

Why not ask the people who did this why they're targeting civilians?

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I do agree that that is an extremely pertinent question.

I imagine that it probably has to do with a general hate towards America. Whether misguided or not, these people chose an opportune and vulnerable target to send a message about how they view American policies.

I don't think generic hate would help you get ahold of sonic equipment. A plausible sounding theory I've heard (and I stress that it's total speculation) is that someone was trying to spy on the diplomats but miscalibrated their ultrasonic eavesdropping device, turning the effects harmful.

I've heard that theory a number of times. I'm no expert in acoustics or eavesdropping, but I would assume that ultrasonic eavesdropping equipment would involve highly sensitive microphones, not powerful speakers.

Is there some sort of ultrasonic-carrier-signal microphone out there, akin to laser mics?

Think of a bat. It clicks and the reverb is what its ears interpret to understand surroundings. Output can be used to trigger/power passive listening devices. I always think of the Russian gift to the US embassy that was a wooden seal with a passive bug in it. Scans didn't catch it for years.

That was activated by and transmitted radiowaves though.

Hmm... A speaker is a microphone. I am not sure if that is salient, but it seems worth noting.

How do we know these are diplomats, and not CIA agents under diplomatic cover? It's publicly known that the CIA maintains stations in diplomatic facilities (most other countries also send in spies under diplomatic cover too).

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