U.S. military commanders have been telling Washington many civilian casualties can be avoided by using a new non-lethal weapon developed over the last decade.
Military leaders have repeatedly and urgently requested the device. It uses energy beams instead of bullets and lets soldiers break up crowds without firing a shot.
Quote:
Perched 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.
If the energy-beam weapon had been fielded when U.S. forces invaded Iraq, "many innocent Iraqi lives would have been spared," Gayl said.
I hate to say it but, umm, larf.
"If only we had had the power to convince the people they were on fire, we wouldn't have had to shoot them in the street after we invaded their country for whatever reason we did".
U.S. military wants beam weapon but worries it could be seen as torture
