AIR FORCE SECRETARY WANTS TO TEST WEAPONS ON U.S. CITIZENS

The secretary of the Air Force wants to test nonlethal weapons on U.S. citizens as "crowd control." He's afraid of using them on foreign forces in a wartime situation because if someone is injured in a "way that is not intended," he might 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.

So political activists who wear pacemakers should beware -- your government cares more about the discomfort of bad publicity in the foreign press than about your safety.

Tags: Air Force secretary, nonlethal weapons