Post by Enchant on Sept 6, 2007 7:24:34 GMT -5
US MILITARY commanders in Iraq have repeatedly requested the deployment of a new non-lethal weapon to avoid civilian casualties - only to have their requests turned down by a Pentagon fearful that it might be seen as a torture device.
Essentially a ray-gun that neither kills nor maims, it uses energy beams instead of bullets and lets soldiers break up angry crowds without firing a shot.
Mounted on a Humvee or a flatbed truck, the Active Denial System gives people hit by the invisible beam the sense that their skin is on fire. They move out of the way quickly and without injury.
In August 2003, Richard Natonski, a US marine corps brigadier-general who had just returned from Iraq, filed an "urgent" request with officials in Washington for the energy-beam device.
The device would minimise what Natonski described as the "CNN Effect": the instant relay of images depicting US troops as aggressors. A year later, Natonski, by then promoted to major-general, again asked for the system, saying a compact and mobile version was "urgently needed," particularly in urban settings.
Natonski, now a three-star general, is the Marine Corps' deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations.
In October 2004, the commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force "enthusiastically" endorsed his request. Lieutenant General James Amos said it was "critical" for US marines in Iraq to get the system.
Senior officers in Iraq have continued to make the case. One December 2006 request noted that as US forces are reduced, the weapon "will provide excellent means for economy of force." Another urgent request in that month - from Major-General Robert Neller of the marines - sought eight of the devices in a version produced by the company Raytheon, called "Silent Guardians".
Neller, then deputy commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq, called the lack of such a non-lethal weapon a "chronic deficiency" that would harm efforts to resolve showdowns with as little firepower as possible.
Although Colonel Kirk Hymes, head of the US defence department's joint non-lethal weapons directorate, said the Raytheon product "is not ready yet", company representatives say it is.
The main reason the tool has been missing in action is public perception. With memories of the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison scandal still fresh, the Pentagon is reluctant to give troops a space-age device that could be seen as a torture machine.
"We want to just make sure all the conditions are right, so when it is able to be deployed the system performs as predicted - that there isn't any negative fall-out," said Col Hymes.
Reviews by US military lawyers have concluded it is a lawful weapon under current rules governing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a 15 November document prepared by marine corps officials in western Iraq.
Private organisations remain concerned, however, because documentation that supports the testing and legal reviews is classified. There is no way to verify independently the Pentagon's claims, said Stephen Goose of Human Rights Watch in Washington.
"We think that any time you have an emerging technology that's based on novel physical principles, that this deserves the highest level of scrutiny," he said. "And we really haven't had that."
There is no firm schedule for introducing the system to US troops. But commanders in Iraq say the go-slow approach has had devastating consequences.
There is no way to calculate how many civilian deaths could have been avoided had the energy beam been available in Iraq. The bulk of the civilian casualties are due to sectarian warfare.
According to Associated Press statistics, more than 27,400 Iraqi civilians have been killed and over 31,000 wounded in war-related violence just since the new government took office in April 2005.
The Active Denial System uses a large, dish-shaped antenna and a V-shaped arm to send an invisible beam of waves to a target as far away as 500 yards.
With the unit mounted on the back of a vehicle, troops can operate a safe distance from bombs and small-arms fire. The beam penetrates the skin just enough to cause intense pain - like "having a hot light bulb pressed on your skin".
[thescotsman.scotsman.com]
Why would the Pentagon worry about a perception of torture with a non-lethal device? Why bother having a non lethal weapon when you can use a m-16? Mwhy spend millions of tax dollars on something they arn't using when they could have put that money to better use?
Essentially a ray-gun that neither kills nor maims, it uses energy beams instead of bullets and lets soldiers break up angry crowds without firing a shot.
Mounted on a Humvee or a flatbed truck, the Active Denial System gives people hit by the invisible beam the sense that their skin is on fire. They move out of the way quickly and without injury.
In August 2003, Richard Natonski, a US marine corps brigadier-general who had just returned from Iraq, filed an "urgent" request with officials in Washington for the energy-beam device.
The device would minimise what Natonski described as the "CNN Effect": the instant relay of images depicting US troops as aggressors. A year later, Natonski, by then promoted to major-general, again asked for the system, saying a compact and mobile version was "urgently needed," particularly in urban settings.
Natonski, now a three-star general, is the Marine Corps' deputy commandant for plans, policies and operations.
In October 2004, the commander of the 2nd Marine Expeditionary Force "enthusiastically" endorsed his request. Lieutenant General James Amos said it was "critical" for US marines in Iraq to get the system.
Senior officers in Iraq have continued to make the case. One December 2006 request noted that as US forces are reduced, the weapon "will provide excellent means for economy of force." Another urgent request in that month - from Major-General Robert Neller of the marines - sought eight of the devices in a version produced by the company Raytheon, called "Silent Guardians".
Neller, then deputy commander of the 1st Marine Expeditionary Force in Iraq, called the lack of such a non-lethal weapon a "chronic deficiency" that would harm efforts to resolve showdowns with as little firepower as possible.
Although Colonel Kirk Hymes, head of the US defence department's joint non-lethal weapons directorate, said the Raytheon product "is not ready yet", company representatives say it is.
The main reason the tool has been missing in action is public perception. With memories of the 2004 Abu Ghraib prison scandal still fresh, the Pentagon is reluctant to give troops a space-age device that could be seen as a torture machine.
"We want to just make sure all the conditions are right, so when it is able to be deployed the system performs as predicted - that there isn't any negative fall-out," said Col Hymes.
Reviews by US military lawyers have concluded it is a lawful weapon under current rules governing the conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan, according to a 15 November document prepared by marine corps officials in western Iraq.
Private organisations remain concerned, however, because documentation that supports the testing and legal reviews is classified. There is no way to verify independently the Pentagon's claims, said Stephen Goose of Human Rights Watch in Washington.
"We think that any time you have an emerging technology that's based on novel physical principles, that this deserves the highest level of scrutiny," he said. "And we really haven't had that."
There is no firm schedule for introducing the system to US troops. But commanders in Iraq say the go-slow approach has had devastating consequences.
There is no way to calculate how many civilian deaths could have been avoided had the energy beam been available in Iraq. The bulk of the civilian casualties are due to sectarian warfare.
According to Associated Press statistics, more than 27,400 Iraqi civilians have been killed and over 31,000 wounded in war-related violence just since the new government took office in April 2005.
The Active Denial System uses a large, dish-shaped antenna and a V-shaped arm to send an invisible beam of waves to a target as far away as 500 yards.
With the unit mounted on the back of a vehicle, troops can operate a safe distance from bombs and small-arms fire. The beam penetrates the skin just enough to cause intense pain - like "having a hot light bulb pressed on your skin".
[thescotsman.scotsman.com]
Why would the Pentagon worry about a perception of torture with a non-lethal device? Why bother having a non lethal weapon when you can use a m-16? Mwhy spend millions of tax dollars on something they arn't using when they could have put that money to better use?