When my friend Rod sent me this AP story, Air Force Chief: Test Weapons on Testy U.S. Mobs, I had to look at CNN’s logo three or four times to make sure that this wasn’t a parody cooked up by The Onion.
But, no, this really is CNN, and that really is U.S. Air Force Secretary Michael Wynne saying that the military should test its nonlethal weapons out on U.S. citizens before using them in war.
Why would we want to do that? For better PR, of course!
The object is basically public relations. Domestic use would make it easier to avoid questions from others about possible safety considerations, said Secretary Michael Wynne.
“If we’re not willing to use it here against our fellow citizens, then we should not be willing to use it in a wartime situation,” said Wynne. “(Because) if I hit somebody with a nonlethal weapon and they claim that it injured them in a way that was not intended, I think that I would be vilified in the world press.”
The Air Force has paid for research into nonlethal weapons, but he said the service is unlikely to spend more money on development until injury problems are reviewed by medical experts and resolved.
Nonlethal weapons generally can weaken people if they are hit with the beam. Some of the weapons can emit short, intense energy pulses that also can be effective in disabling some electronic devices.
Yes, “avoiding questions about possible safety considerations” is the issue foremost on the minds of our nation’s military planners. That’s just swell.
It’s not hard to imagine what those “testy mobs” will look like; most likely, they’ll be corralled in a “free speech zone,” which should make for easy pickings.
3 Comments on "Air Force Chief Wants to Test Weapons on American Citizens"
Rod:
I think maybe that headline meant to refer to *tasty* U.S. mobs. After all, we will just have been microwaved. Stupid CNN typos spoiling my pinko cannibalist fantasies. It’s making me testy.
Eric:
For me, the scariest thing about the article is that it had no reaction from those who, say, might think this is the biggest abomination ever. And the tone of the article had no sense of incredulity. How could someone write what this guy said without a hint of “WHAT THE FUCK?!?!?!?” tone to the article?
Kevin Wolf:
The “non-lethal” weapons thing goes way beyond microwaves and - guess what? - they ain’t non-lethal. They are just not nearly as likely to kill people as weapons designed to do exactly that. But they are weapons.
Oh, well. As long as they’re okay for use in a war zone, I guess they can try ‘em out here…
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