Coming Soon to a Protest Near You; A Weapon System to Make Your Blood Boil

Just when it seems that things cannot get any worse, we learn that, despite set backs, the Pentagon is still pursuing the development of its new microwave gun. This will be the ultimate torture weapon. Its purpose is to cause excruciating pain, but leave no evidence of wounds on the victim. Imagine this weapon at AbuGhraib or Guantanamo. Imagine this weapon at your local precinct. The Department of Defense has named this weapon system "Project Sheriff".

This is the ultimate crowd control weapon. The ray gun could literally make your blood boil. It is based on the same technology as a microwave oven. The human body is comprised mostly of water… think of the sensation of boiling blood. The purpose of this weapon system is to cause an unbearable level of pain so that the victim will submit to the will of the "Sheriff".

The gun produces a 95-gigahertz microwave beam that is designed to penetrate only 1/64th of an inch. Hummmm, should the experts be trusted to achieve zero defects with a technology that requires so precise a tolerance?

This project brings to mind some questions. Is this system being designed primarily for domestic use against U.S. citizens? Will it be used for "crowd control" at sites of labor disputes and strikes? Will it be coming soon to a war protest near you? Will it be used at the borders to prevent immigration? Does International Law prohibit the use of this weapon on the battlefield? Will the government hide behind Sovereign Immunity when a citizen is injured or killed by this weapon? How will this weapon effect children? Will the NRA lobby for access to this weapon? How will it affect the performance of an implanted medical device, such as a pacemaker?

The good news is that the Pentagon is having some major design problems. The designers have failed to realize that a person is not a potato. Microwaving a human to the exact degree of doneness is proving to be problematic. Is there anyone out there who wants to volunteer as a subject for the field tests? What they need is a test subject, with a pacemaker, contact lenses, a lot of amalgam dental fillings, and maybe a few metal surgical staples from an old appendectomy. Will they pay a bonus if the subject is pregnant? When the experiment is completed, if the subject is incapacitated, but still alive with no visible wounds, the field test is a success.

Fifty-one million dollars has already been spent on this weapon system. This gun has killed before the trigger was even pulled. In the U.S., 18,000 die each year because of the lack of health care. If that 51 million had been used to provide health care to our fellow citizens many lives would have been saved. The real enemies of the American people are those whose priorities are so warped that they allocate money for ray guns while ignoring the humanitarian needs of the populace.

The Pentagon, with the help of Congress, has become like a gluttonous dinner guest demanding just one more pork chop. The military wants just one more weapon system, even though it already has enough firepower and nuclear power to kill every living thing on the planet. The voracious appetite of the Department of Offense will continue until the people rise up and say, "Enough, not one more dollar."

Raytheon, with headquarters in Waltham, Mass. is listed as the prime contractor on this project. It is the ultimate irony, that Raytheon lists on its web site a memo for having received an award for ethics. [1]

The design and production of redundant weapon systems is pushed by the lobbying efforts of the arms manufacturers who have been doing a land-office business. Somehow all of this seems to be OK with the employees of Raytheon and the other arms dealers. The argument that, "We need the jobs", is an old one that has been used to justify the development of the most horrific weapons.

The blood of victims of U.S. aggression falls upon all of us… taxpayers, engineers, designers, all of us who are involved directly or indirectly in the production of weapons. The time has come to say, "Enough, not one more new weapon system. Not one more dollar for offense. Not one more death".

Note:

[1]. "Raytheon Receives 2005 Telly Award for Innovative Ethics Training Video"
http://www.raytheon.com/didknow/telly_05/index.html