Opinion

Why the U.S. should never deploy its latest weapon

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