Continuing in a long history of oxymorons, the US military and law enforcement agencies are developing a new series of additions to their arsenal: nonlethal weapons, also called less-than-lethal, soft kill, and limited effects weaponry. These space-age gadgets that promise to rid the world of lethality include:
All nonlethal, except if you happen to spray sticky foam over someone's mouth and nose (the stuff takes forever to remove, a lot longer than the four minutes it takes you to suffocate). Except if you breathe too much gas and get your lungs scorched and die (happens even with pepper spray) . Except if immobilizing agents are use in a dangerous environment, like riots or the middle of a battlefield (exactly the places they're designed for), or, let's say, a compound on fire being bombarded by tanks. Except if an EMP happens to hit a helicopter in flight, as dramatically demonstrated in the film Broken Arrow.
Sure, nonlethal. Like infrasound that can cause epileptics to have seizures, along with 4% of the non-epileptics population. (1) But at least it won't kill you, unless you crank it up loud enough for the vibrations to cause internal organs to grind together and rupture, but for that you'll need a really big speaker (2).
Lasers that cause permanent blindness and can even cause eyeballs to explode are nonlethal, too, but evidently the US military doesn't find that especially cruel. Hey, it's better than shooting them. Even non-laser flash devices can cause permanent blind spots. (3) As for microwave and electromagnetic weapons - any weapon that changes brain waves has the potential to cause seizures.
Yep, nonlethal weapons. Nonlethal except that they can kill or maim. This kind of newspeak should come to no surprise to those accustomed to the Pentagon's brand of "peace". In fact, nonlethal weapons increase the odds of conflict because of their level of political acceptability, as evident by mace-happy cops spraying first and asking questions later. The preservation of human life doesn't seem to be high on the list of priorities for the military: cost-effectiveness and strategic value are the main pluses for using nonlethal tech, as well as the applications for propaganda (now called "information warfare"). "We need to eliminate the notoriety associated with war. If we use nonlethal technology to achieve paralysis, eliminate unintentional killing, and erase signs of visible destruction, then perhaps in some situations we can rid the news of sensationalism. Without a riveting story to tell, the media may be silenced." (4)
No, nobody is trying to de-claw the war hawks in the Pentagon. "We need to stress how these weapons will be force multipliers and how they can work independently or in concert with conventional weapons." (5) In other words, zap 'em and move in for the kill.
Some proposals stretch the limits of credibility, such as our friend Ed Teller's suggestion to use miniature nuclear bombs to destroy a country's infrastructure (6). Teller must get a royalty for every one of his babies that go off. In case you're wondering, it's non-lethal because we could warn people ahead of time.
Indeed, the history of nonlethal applications is not the "flowers and sunshine" account eaten up by futurists and even peace activists, who should have learned by now. Other, lower-tech nonlethal weapons range from mines designed to destroy legs and genitalia to biological and chemical warfare, including the use of psychedelic drugs, studied by the military and CIA under MKULTRA and other projects. While the tales of covert experiments with LSD and BZ have been covered in detail elsewhere (7), little known or talked about are the experiments with microwaves and electromagnetic radiation, with or without the use of electronic implants. Some call it "nonlethal technology". Others call it mind control.
Footnotes:
1 New Scientist, 3/29/73, pg 726
2 Working Paper on Infrasound, Report
to the United Nations, 8/4/78 (excerpted in Amok Journal: Sensurround
Edition, Amok Books, 1995)
3 Cook, Maj Joseph W III, Fiely, Maj David P,
and McGowan, Maj Maura T, "Nonlethal Weapons: Technologies, Legalities, and
Potential Policies", Airpower Journal, Special Edition1995
4 Klaaren, Maj
Jonathan W USAF, and Mitchell, Maj Ronald S USAF, "Nonlethal Technology and
Airpower: A Winning Combination for Strategic Paralysis", Airpower Journal,
Special Edition 1995
5 ibid.
6 Russell, Dick, "Non-Lethal Weapons",
Prevailing Winds, Premier Issue, pg 28
7 Some good sources on MK-ULTRA
include: Scheflin, Alan and Opton, Edward Jr., The Mind Manipulators,
Paddington Press Ltd, 1978; Lee, Martin and Schlain, Bruce, Acid Dreams,
Grove Press, 1985; Marks, John, The Search for the Manchurian Candidate,
Times Books, 1979; and the "official" story in the Final Report of the Select
Committee to Study Governmental Operations With Respect to Intelligence
Activities, Book I, US Government Printing Office, 4/26/76
5/15/96
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