Should on-lethal chemical and biological weapons be allowed?
MILITARY advisers in the US want to rewrite the treaties banning chemical and biological weapons so they can develop “non-lethal” versions. To safeguard the lives of American troops in peacekeeping operations, they want to use weapons that, for instance, will allow whole rebel armies to be put to sleep-or perhaps disable their vehicles and weapons. But arms control experts are already condemning the idea as “disastrous”. They believe the crucial treaties could unravel if they are renegotiated to allow new weapons to be developed. In the past few years, the US marines have become very interested in non-lethal weapons for the complex peacekeeping operations they are often involved in, such as that in Somalia. Such munitions could also help minimise the “CNN effect”-the growing need to justify military actions to politicians who watch them live on television. Military and police forces already have dozens of weapons designed not to kill, including rubber and plastic bullets, electric stun
