Tasers, armas acústicas y otras novedades en los campos de batalla

En los EEUU se está viviendo una nueva polémica al respecto del uso o no de armas "no letales". Por una parte, son ya miles los departamentos de policía que se están equipando con tasers para reducir a los sospechosos, tal y como se cuenta en el New York Times:

The police here [Seattle] have had their share of high-profile violent or deadly run-ins with protesters, mentally ill suspects and other lawbreakers. But in 2003, for the first time in 15 years, no one here was shot and killed by the police.

Miami, a city with a long history of police shootings and ensuing civil unrest, had no police shootings last year, fatal or otherwise, for the first time in 14 years. In Phoenix, where such shootings reached a level over the last several years that far outpaced the rate of much larger cities, deadly police shootings fell sharply in 2003, to their lowest rate in 14 years.

Pero no se han hecho esperar algunas críticas:

Critics say the weapon is ripe for abuse because the shock leaves no obvious mark, other than what looks like a small bee sting. Human rights groups in the United States and abroad have called Tasers potential instruments of torture.

Pero estas armas de descargas eléctricas (que algunos conocimos por los comics hace 15 años) no se quedan aquí. En Los Angeles Times nos relatan cómo armas de pulsos sónicos están siendo desplegadas en Irak:

Marines arriving in Iraq this month as part of a massive troop rotation will bring with them a high-tech weapon never before used in combat — or in peacekeeping. The device is a powerful megaphone the size of a satellite dish that can deliver recorded warnings in Arabic and, on command, emit a piercing tone so excruciating to humans, its boosters say, that it causes crowds to disperse, clears buildings and repels intruders.

Pues eso, lo que nos queda por ver.