No fast delivery of ray gun to Iraq

[Barrett808]

Source: Associated Press

No fast delivery of ray gun to Iraq
By RICHARD LARDNER, Associated Press Writer

QUANTICO, Va. - There's no doubt this oversized ray gun can deliver the heat. The question is, how soon can the weapon, which neither kills nor maims, be delivered to Iraq?

At a rain-soaked demonstration of the crowd-dispersal tool here Thursday, military officials said one could be deployed early next year. But others still need to be built and undergo more testing before being shipped, a slow-going process at odds with urgent demands from U.S. commanders for the device.

What the troops may see as needless delays, Pentagon officials view as necessary steps toward fielding a weapon never used before in combat. The device, known as the Active Denial System, uses energy beams instead of bullets and lets soldiers break up unruly crowds without guns.

That means fewer civilian casualties, a key ingredient to success in Iraq.

"We've been perfecting the art of the lethal since Cain and Abel," said Marine Corps Col. Kirk Hymes, director of the Defense Department's Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate.

Read more: http://news.yahoo.com/s/ap/20071025/ap_on_go_ca_st_pe/us_iraq_ray_gun

[Ian David]

1. See also: Military allows reporters to be blasted with Pain Ray Active Denial System

Military allows reporters to be blasted with Pain Ray Active Denial System
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=389&topic_id=2140782&mesg_id=2140782

[Turbineguy]

2. Oh, sorry,

the headline made me think they were going to dig somebody up!

[Tempest]

3. LOL!

I'm sure there's been talk of it at the RNC after seeing the polling results for their current crop of 2008 candidates.

[SlowDownFast]

8. delete

[mahatmakanejeeves]

4. Here's the problem.

The first time they plug it in to use it, they'll discover that the electricity is on only during 1600-1800 hours on odd-numbered Thursdays.

[MilesColtrane]

5. There's no real need for it in Iraq.

They just want to get in some real world testing before it's deployed over here.

Perhaps Code Pink should consider changing their name to Code Medium Rare.

[Auggie]

6. "We've been perfecting the art of the lethal since Cain and Abel" -- WTF?

[TheWraith]

7. This thing is a boondoggle, plain and simple.

There's no way in hell that they're going to make it reliable enough to work as advertised, not least because any radio wave which can be aimed can also be reflected or diverted, possibly with something as simple as sheet metal.

[SlowDownFast]

9. Karl & Co have already purchased several

for use in predominately Democratic precincts.

:tinfoilhat: