Disarmament Diplomacy

Issue No. 21, December 1997

New Non-Lethal Weapons Institute

An Institute has been established at Penn State University in the US to research 'non-lethal' weapon technologies. The Director of the Institute for Non-Lethal Defense Technologies is Edward Liszka, who told the Associated Press on 22 November that, since the end of the Cold War:

"We've been calling on the military to go into other areas of the world and accomplish other missions. We need to give them the new tools to accomplish those missions."

The Institute is being enthusiastically supported, politically and financially, by the US Marines. According to General Michael J. Williams of Marine Corps Systems Command, quoted in the same report:

"There is a great deal we don't know about non-lethal technology, not only the utility of various devices and technologies, but also the legal, ethical, medical and other implications of their use... That's why our relationship [with the Institute] is so vital and will become a powerful force as the Marine Corps enters the 21st century... We need help. We want a choice on the battlefield..."

Report: Non-lethal weapon technology sought, Associated Press, 22 November.

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