It's based on the reports sharing symptoms and onset patterns. Nothing to do with someone carrying around "equipment required"

Oh so an entirely subjective, impossible to verify set of facts are the reason our intelligence community decided to publicly provoke a nuclear power?

I didn't know Russia / China were so easily provoked.

I'd recommend looking at the history of the articles. These events have been reported for several years. And at least publicly nobody knows what is causing it.

I have looked at them, I've been following this since it started. And I agree that "And at least publicly nobody knows what is causing it" (but Id also add "or even if it's actually happening at all") that's why its dangerous to say things like what was said there. If I wanted to harm America, I'd start another cold war, a great way to do that would be to manipulate a war-hungry-revolving-door-to-defence-contractors organization into making public accusations against Russia on a continual basis.

Exhibiting paranoia so great that they leap to food poisoning as evidence of beam weapons is pretty harmful, too.

I’m not saying it’s right but it’s worth baring in mind that Russian and Chinese state media make the same claims about unverified attacks being US lead. At best it’s just speculation and at worst it’s just the same old propaganda machine that’s been happing since as long as people have been reading the news. Nation states, if they’re genuinely are innocent, will laugh it off. And if they’re not innocent, well you can hardly argue the press are the ones provoking the situation

Not subjective no...it's how medical issues get investigated.

Similar to food borne outbreaks.

Man, there's no pleasing some people.

Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence.