[Mb-civic] Why the U.S. should never deploy its latest weapon
ean at sbcglobal.net
ean at sbcglobal.net
Sun Jan 22 16:25:37 PST 2006
Why the U.S. should never deploy its latest weapon
- Brett Wagner
Wednesday, January 18, 2006
The U.S. military-industrial complex has just developed a dangerous
weapon that should never, under any circumstances, be deployed. No,
I'm not talking about the "bunker-buster" nukes that were, thankfully,
denied funding once again in next year's federal budget.
The new weapon -- first reported in the press in 2004 -- is known in
military circles as the Active Denial System. It has been nicknamed the
"pain ray" -- and with good reason. According to DefenseTech.org, an
online military information service, the new weapon "fires out millimeter
waves -- a sort of cousin of microwaves, in the 95 GHz range. The
invisible beams penetrate just 1/64th of an inch beneath the skin. But
that's deep enough to heat up the water inside a person. Which is
enough to cause excruciating pain. Seconds later, people have to run
away. And that causes mobs to break up in a hurry." Charles Heal, a
widely recognized authority on nonlethal weapons who has dubbed the
ray the "Holy Grail of crowd control," likened it to having a hot iron
pressed against the skin.
Raytheon has reportedly developed such a device that can be
mounted on a Humvee for the Pentagon. According to a recent report
on Military.com, the head of the Army unit charged with rapidly
securing new gear for use by troops, Col. Robert Lovett, "has
requested that [the device] be rushed to the field to support military
operations in Iraq." Lovett's memorandum cites a request by Col.
James Brown, commander of the 18th Military Police Brigade, for the
immediate deployment of the Active Denial System to help "suppress"
insurgent attacks and quell prison uprisings.
As a national security expert and a former professor for the U.S. Naval
War College, I understand the urgency felt by commanders on the
front lines to provide U.S. troops with the best weaponry available. But
because of that built-in bias, we are fortunate to have a civilian-led
military in order to keep our long-term interests in the proper
perspective. Not only do I strongly disagree with the two colonels; I feel
compelled to publicly oppose their request.
Today's innovation is tomorrow's copy. For example, the baseball team
lucky enough to include on its roster the pitcher who first developed the
curveball had a temporary advantage, to be sure -- at least until all the
other pitchers learned the same technique. Likewise, military
innovation, once deployed, enjoys only a temporary advantage until
adversaries and allies alike are able to catch up.
That's why developing a pain ray and deploying one are inherently
different actions. Studying the capability of millimeter waves to cause
pain might help us develop defenses against that technology; however,
deploying the weapon merely invites other nations to follow suit. The
stigma of deploying such weapons, once the line is crossed, is difficult
to "uncross" -- much like trying to put the "nuclear genie" back in the
bottle.
Rather than deploying a pain ray, President Bush should instead begin
developing a plan -- drawing inspiration from the post-World War I
leaders who banned the use of chemical weapons -- to forever ban the
use of millimeter waves (or similar technologies) in combat or any
other form of "crowd control." Otherwise, it will only be a matter of time
before such weapons are used against American troops or by
repressive regimes against their own citizens -- or perhaps even by the
U.S. government against dissidents or unruly crowds in our own
country.
Harlan Ellison observed in August 1975, on the 30th anniversary of the
atomic bombing of Hiroshima: "For the first time we have a weapon
that nobody has used for 30 years. This gives me great hope for the
human race."
Let's hope that 30 years from now, the same can be said about the
pain ray.
A new breed of weapon
Directed-energy weapons could play a role in fighting conflicts in
coming years and bring numerous advantages to U.S. troops who
have to deal with a hostile but unarmed crowd.
Active Denial System
Sends a nonlethal beam of energy to repel people without injury
Beam traveling at the speed of light, penetrates the skin to 1/64 of an
inch, causing a burning sensation
Antenna focuses the invisible beam
Transmitter produces energy at a frequency of 95 GHz
Range
Beam: 700 yards
Small-arms fire: about 1,100
A 2-second burst can heat the skin to 130° F
Normal: 98.6° F
Source: Boeing; Defense Department; GlobalSecurity.org Associated
Press
Brett Wagner is president of the California Center for Strategic Studies
(www.thecaliforniacenter.org) and executive director of the Swords into
Plowshares Project.
Page B - 9
URL: http://sfgate.com/cgi-
bin/article.cgi?file=/chronicle/archive/2006/01/18/EDGN8GOBER1.DTL
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