x( I tell you what no matter how sophisticated is weaponry
used to further power and greed, the ultimate out come remain
the same: Death which result has been sought since the
beginning the world in war situation. Nevertheless no matter
how powerful is the sword, who lives with the sword ..........
here an interesting article ,we are already there
The Pentagon's Secret Scream
By William M. Arkin
The Los Angeles Times
Monday 08 March 2004
Sonic devices that can inflict pain--or even permanent
deafness--are being deployed.
SOUTH POMFRET, Vt. — Marines arriving in Iraq this month as
part of a massive troop rotation will bring with them a
high-tech weapon never before used in combat — or in
peacekeeping. The device is a powerful megaphone the size of a
satellite dish that can deliver recorded warnings in Arabic
and, on command, emit a piercing tone so excruciating to
humans, its boosters say, that it causes crowds to disperse,
clears buildings and repels intruders.
"[For] most people, even if they plug their ears, [the
device] will produce the equivalent of an instant
migraine," says Woody Norris, chairman of American
Technology Corp., the San Diego firm that produces the weapon.
"It will knock [some people] on their knees."
American Technology says its new product "is designed
to determine intent, change behavior and support various rules
of engagement." The company is careful in its public
relations not to refer to the megaphone as a weapon, or to
dwell on the debilitating pain American forces will be able to
deliver with it. The military has been equally reticent on the
subject.
And that's a problem. The new sound weapon might, in some
scenarios, save lives. It might provide a good alternative to
lethal force in riot situations, as its proponents assert. But
the U.S. is making a huge mistake by trying to quietly deploy
a new pain-inducing weapon without first airing all of the
legal, policy and human rights issues associated with it.
This is a weapon unlike any other used by the military, and
it is certain to provoke public outcry and the conspiracy
theories that often greet new U.S. military technology. If the
military feels that its new-style weaponry brings something
important to the battlefield, and if testing has shown it to
be safe, then why not make our reasoning — and research —
transparent to the world?
Nonlethal weapons have been promoted by a small circle of
boosters for nearly 15 years as something increasingly
necessary for the U.S. military in its growing peacekeeping,
urban-combat and force-protection missions. Some of the
weaponry championed by the group, like rubber bullets,
flash-bang grenades and, more recently, electromuscular
disruptive devices, or Tasers, has already been deployed.
But the more exotic weapons — including acoustic, laser, and
high-powered microwave devices — have not until now been
fielded, held up by legal and ethical questions. Despite
intense lobbying, over the years the Pentagon leadership has
been skeptical of such "wonder weapons." In 1995,
then-Secretary of Defense William Perry decided to ban
Pentagon development of nonlethal laser weapons intended to
permanently blind. His decision led to a subsequent
international ban.
So shouldn't we have a similar discussion about
high-intensity sound, which can cause permanent hearing loss
or even cellular damage? The new megaphone being deployed to
Iraq can operate at 145 decibels at 300 yards, according to
American Technology, well above the normal threshold for pain.
The company posits a scenario in which Al Qaeda terrorists
would run screaming from caves after being subjected to a
blast of high-decibel sound from the devices, their hands
covering their ears. But in Baghdad or other Iraqi towns,
where there are crowds and buildings, the sick and elderly, as
well as children, are likely to be in the weapon's range.
Proponents of nonlethal weapons argue that pain and hearing
loss, if they were to occur, are certainly preferable to
death, which is always possible when lethal force is applied.
But this argument ignores realities on the ground. Last week,
as I watched televised images of angry Iraqis pelting U.S.
soldiers with rocks when they arrived to assist those injured
in suicide bombings at mosques, I couldn't help but wonder
whether the presence of a sound weapon to disperse those
crowds would just escalate hostilities
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