Nonlethal Weapons: The Broader Context

Abstract

Recent experiences in peacekeeping missions, developments in nonlethal technology, and the current Global War on Terrorism have resulted in increased development and fielding of nonlethal weapons (NLW) within the U S military [1–3]. Such weapons are designed to complement and extend diplomatic and military options beyond the use of more traditional lethal weapons. Non-lethal weapons allow the military to accomplish dangerous objectives within the framework of very restrictive rules of engagement (ROE) typically associated with missions such as peacekeeping, peacemaking, detention operations, and humanitarian assistance. Soldiers executing operations other than war (OOTW) today are armed with a variety of non-lethal weapons and munitions allowing them to control the amount of force necessary to accomplish the mission. Such flexibility strengthens peacekeeping and peacemaking missions, reduces the possibility of innocent casualties, and, most importantly, protects the individual soldier by allowing greater control of tactical situations. The impetus to develop and employ nonlethal technology within the US military did not arise until the post cold war era and the shift of the United States’ national focus from conventional war to peacekeeping operations, humanitarian operations, and regional conflicts (OOTW) [4]. However, nonlethal technology has been available since 1960, as described by a Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) report that discusses weapon systems which could be characterized as employing nonlethal technology [5]. Also, the US National Science Foundation Report on Non-lethal Weapons in 1972 contained a list of 34 different weapon systems that could be characterized as nonlethal [6]. The US Department of Defense (DOD) established the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program (JNLWP) in 1996 to research, develop, and acquire nonlethal capabilities [7]. Nonlethal technologies have had successful limited use by US armed forces in Somalia, Haiti, Panama, and the Balkans [8]. In 1996, US