U.S. Army officials describe the new weapon, which looks like a backyard satellite dish and will be mounted on a Humvee, as an "active denial system." A March 2 New York Times article explained, "The weapon would fire bursts of electromagnetic energy capable of causing burning sensations on the skin of people standing as far as 700 yards away."

A person exposed to just one second of this energy ray feels a burning sensation equal to 120 degrees, according to Pentagon officials. The weapon could be adjusted to heat the skin to temperatures of 130 degrees or higher. "The electromagnetic waves cause the water molecules in the top layer of skin to vibrate, creating an intense burning sensation, similar to touching a hot light bulb," the Times reported.

This project, which the Pentagon has had under development for 10 years at a cost of $40 million, was described by William Arkin, the senior military adviser to Human Rights Watch, as a "high-powered microwave antipersonnel weapon."

"It's safe, absolutely safe," claimed Col. George Fenton of the Marine Corp, who is director of the Department of Defense's Joint Nonlethal Weapons Program in Quantico, Virginia. "It's not designed to burn.... You walk out of the beam and the pain goes away." Fenton said that the weapon probably won't be ready for deployment by troops for at least five years.

Pentagon officials said scientists had been testing the weapon on animals and humans for more than three years. The Times reported, "In more than 6,500 tests on 72 people, only one exposure went awry, the Pentagon officials said, when one person received a 'nickel-size' burn on his back after a tester programmed the weapon incorrectly."

Colonel Fenton said that because of the longer range of this electromagnetic weapon it would be more effective than tear gas, rubber bullets, or beanbags currently fired by U.S. military personnel against gatherings they want to disperse.

A central component of the North American command, authorized by former president William Clinton and Congress at the time under the guise of the need to respond to "terrorist" threats at home, was the incorporation and training of elite National Guard units to join in the military operations. The units are to be based in the largest population centers and can be deployed throughout the country.

The Washington Post reported February 26 the Pentagon's inspector general gave poor preparedness marks to these Army National Guard "anti-terrorism" units, some of which have been training for more than three years.

In 1998, the Pentagon authorized 10 units, each composed of 22 full-time members of the National Guard, for this project, at a cost so far of $143 million. An additional 22 units were authorized by Congress in 1999 and 2000.

The Post reported, "Pentagon investigators concluded that defective safety equipment could put team members at risk of succumbing to the very weapons they were meant to identify.

"Investigators found that air filters had been installed backward in the teams' mobile laboratories and team members were given gas masks with parts that were not designed to work together." Pentagon officials said they are "moving as fast as we can" to get training up to speed.  
 
 
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