This supposed "ray gun" is real, and not really secret at all.  I saw the 60 Minutes episode about a month or so ago, and have seen a number of television programs and magazine articles over the last few years that have talked about this device.  The term "ray gun" is a bit of a misnomer.  It doesn't really shoot a "laser beam" per se, but instead projects microwaves from a device that looks like a radar dish.  When it's turned on and pointed towards someone it creates a burning sensation on the skin.  The first impulse of the person it's being deployed against is to move away from the sensation.  It is being tested as a less lethal weapon to be deployed against crowds and mobs.  The goal would be to turn the thing on and force the crowd to disperse without the use of tear gas or rubber bullets.  Tear gas is messy and lingers, and rubber bullets can cause injuries and nasty bruises that make for good TV (and bad PR for the good guys), while the ray gun leaves no visible injuries (as long as the rioter vacates the area). 

 

The term "non-lethal" disappeared in law enforcement circles years ago because there is no system out there that is completely incapable of causing fatalities.  I'm sure it's possible to crank the power up on the "ray gun" to lethal levels, but I really can't envision Army soldiers or Marines melting enemy snipers or villages with ray guns mounted on hummers.  It may have been designed for possibly lethal deployments, but by powering down the weapon they found it was probably much more practical for use as a less lethal device.  This may be a moot point anyway, since the project is underfunded and it appears the Pentagon is a little lukewarm in its enthusiasm for the system (excuse the pun). 

 

I don't know anything about this guy, so I can't say whether he's full of it or not.  I will say that if they ever do find WMDs in Iraq at this point they might as well just quietly dispose of them, because by now if they announced the discovering of huge stash of Iraqi biological or chemical munitions Bush's critics would simply claim that Bush planted them.  The fact that he hasn't to this point should say something, but it wouldn't matter. 

Riot prevention continues to be best handled by good community relations, and when  that fails-water cannons. Cold water is better than radio beams any day in the book, when the mob riots.

Herald

I always think sewerage water is infinitely better for the purpose. If you splash crap water on a crowded mob, they will disperse and disappear in no time.

And risk getting accused of germ warfare!

It is important to understand that when you are dealing with field force scenarios (riot control), political considerations and public relations are as much a part of the tactics and planning as the methods actually used to control the crowd. 

 

Sure, water cannons are an effective way to disperse a crowd, but so is a machine gun.  Granted, water cannons are a lot less likely to cause deaths or injuries than machine guns, but no police department in the United States has used water cannons since the 1960's.  The reason for this is the disturbing images of water cannons being turned against civil rights protesters, most of the black, during the civil rights struggles in this country forty years ago.  Since then, using water cannons for riot control has been deemed politically unacceptable.  In fact, most police departments specifically prohibit it in their general orders and procedural manuals.  This prohibition may not extend to the military, especially overseas, but I would dare say that the foreign press would be quick to use images of US troops spraying Muslim protesters and quickly compare them to images of police spraying down black civil rights protesters in Selma, Alabama, among other places.  I'm sure the US military is well aware of this, and is understandably leery of using water cannons against crowds.

 

The "ray gun" is one of the alternatives being researched because when it is turned on the only thing you see is people trying to get away from the invisible beams.  Nobody falls over dead, bursts into flames, or gets blown over by a blast of water.  They just quickly turn away and try to vacate the AO to avoid the burning sensation.  I'm sure there are ways to combat the ray guns, but that would require some organization and planning, which is something most mobs lack.  The ray gun is not a magic bullet, just another option that the geeks are looking at.