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Editor: Mike Coyle Assistant Editor: Rick Lawler Research: Darrell Bross ================================================================ SPECIAL OPERATIONS/LOW-INTENSITY CONFLICT Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense, Washington, D.C. 20301-2500 July 1994 ---------------------------------------------------------------- 21 July 1994 MEMORANDUM FOR DISTRIBUTION SUBJECT: Draft Non-Lethal Weapons Policy Attached is a draft DoD policy for non-lethal weapons. We are distributing this draft broadly for information and comment. Comments should be forwarded by 19 August to Mr. Charles Swett, 703-693-5208 (voice), or 703-693-0615 (fax). [original signed] Dr. Christopher Lamb Director, Policy Planning --- Department of Defense DIRECTIVE January 1, 1995 Number xxxx.xx DRAFT: 21 July 1994 SUBJECT: Policy for Non-lethal Weapons A. Purpose This Directive issues Department of Defense policies and procedures governing the role of non-lethal weapons in U.S. national security, their acquisition, and employment. B. Definition Non-lethal weapons are discriminate weapons that are explicitly designed and employed so as to incapacitate personnel or materiel, while minimizing fatalities and undesired damage to property and the environment. Unlike weapons that permanently destroy targets through blast, fragmentation or penetration, non-lethal weapons have relatively reversible effects on targets and/or are able to discriminate between targets and non-targets in the weapon's area of impact. C. Applicability This directive applies to all non-lethal technology research and development programs, non-lethal weapon procurement procedures programs, OSD oversight of these programs, and modes of employment of non-lethal weapons. Precision lethal weapons are outside the scope of this Directive. In addition, policy governing information warfare systems is addressed in separate channels and is not covered by this Directive. D. Policy 1. General In order to allow the maximum possible flexibility in the employment of U.S. military forces across the spectrum of conflict, it is essential that additional options short of the use of lethal force be provided. Non-lethal weapons can make available significant new capabilities in some circumstances to achieve military objectives while minimizing human fatalities and undesired damage to property and the environment. At the lower end of the spectrum of conflict (Operations Other Than War), non-lethal weapons can allow us to discourage, delay, or prevent hostile actions by prospective opponents; limit escalation; take military action in situations where intervention is desirable but use of lethal force would be inappropriate; and better protect our forces once deployed. Non-lethal weapons are especially suited to operations such as peacekeeping, humanitarian missions, and other operations short of war. At the higher regions of the spectrum of conflict, including major regional conflicts, non-lethal weapons can provide an effective, reversible, or more humanitarian means of denying an enemy the use of some of his human and material assets. They also may help reduce the post-war economic cost of rebuilding infrastructure. Non-lethal weapons reinforce deterrence and expand our range of options. The presence of non-lethal weapons in America's arsenal can strengthen deterrence by making potential adversaries aware that the United States can thwart aggression and achieve humanitarian aims in ways that do not entail prohibitive political costs, thus enabling us to act earlier, more freely, and more decisively. A non-lethal weapons arsenal and the additional options it provides does not negate the fact that many situations require overwhelming lethal military force as the most appropriate means to accomplish a mission. Particularly in situations involving large-scale aggression by an adversary, overwhelming force may ultimately be the best means of minimizing fatalities and collateral damage by ensuring that the conflict comes to a rapid and uncontested conclusion. In such cases, the roles of non-lethal weapons are to contribute to the overall success of the operation while helping to limit war damage. It is understood that when employed, some non-lethal weapons may inadvertently cause fatalities, since we will not have perfect control over all factors. Complete avoidance of fatalities cannot be guaranteed and should not be expected. However, non-lethal weapons when properly employed dramatically reduce fatalities as compared with physically destroying the same intended target. Thus the intent is to be able to achieve military or politically objectives while causing the minimum possible harm to personnel, materiel, and the environment. To the extent that non-lethal weapons reduce the likelihood of loss of life and incidental damage to property in comparison with conventional systems, they are not only politically and operationally attractive options, but they are also consistent with international law and further the professional military responsibility to employ force proportionally and discriminately. It is not envisioned that non-lethal weapons will supplant or replace other classes of weapons, consume disproportionate amounts of resources, or cause a major shift in the way wars are fought. Rather, the intention is to allow the Department of Defense to cost-effectively exploit non-lethal technologies in order to provide the United States with significant strategic, political, and operational advantages in conducting existing missions. 2. Acquisition A wide variety of non-lethal technologies have been suggested, spanning a broad range of anti-personnel and anti-materiel effects. In order to be most useful as instruments of national policy, the highest priority should be placed on developing and acquiring systems to support the following tasks (in descending order of importance): * Neutralize combatants intermingled with non-combatants * Control crowds * Disable or disrupt military logistics * Disable or disrupt elements of, or the entirety of, a regional civil/military communications, transportation, and energy infrastructure. * Disable or destroy weapons or weapon development/production processes, including suspected weapons of mass destruction These tasks may arise at virtually any level of the full spectrum of operations. This list will be reviewed and modified as necessary by the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy. In addition to the priorities listed above, only those non-lethal weapon programs that satisfy the general requirements for technical feasibility, operational utility, and policy acceptability will be considered for support. Specifically, in order for any non-lethal weapon program to receive funding, it must be explicitly found by the Non-Lethal Weapons Steering Committee to satisfy the following criteria: * Contribute to the accomplishment of a task or tasks that may be assigned to U.S. military forces * Be consistent with established U.S. policies including arms control agreements or other international legal commitments that the U.S. is committed to observe * Be technologically and operationally feasible * Be affordable * Have an acceptably low probability of being fatal or inflicting permanent disablement on personnel, and causing undesired damage to property and the environment * Could not be easily defeated by enemy countermeasures once known; or if they could, the benefits of a single opportunity to use them in a given context would be so great as to outweigh that disadvantage * Can achieve an effect that is worth the cost of the intelligence support they require All other things being equal, non-lethal weapons that show significant promise of dual-use by U.S. law enforcement agencies as well as by the military Services will receive higher priority than those that do not. Oversight authority over all non-lethal weapon development and acquisition programs will be exercised by a Non-Lethal Weapons Steering Committee. This committee will be co-chaired by the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology (Deputy Director, Tactical Warfare Programs), and the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (Deputy Assistant Secretary for Policy and Missions), and will consist of senior officials from the following organizations: * Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology - Office of Munitions - Office of the Director of Defense Research and Engineering - Office of the Deputy Under Secretary for Advanced Technology * Office of the Under Secretary of Defense for Policy - Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Strategy (Strategy and Requirements) - Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Policy and Missions (Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict) - Office of the Deputy Assistant Secretary of Defense for Counterproliferation (International Security Policy) * Office of the Comptroller of the Department of Defense * The Joint Staff * The Military Services * Defense Nuclear Agency * Other Defense agencies (as determined by the co-chairs) In addition, representatives of other U.S. Government departments or agencies may be invited to participate in Steering Committee discussions. These organizations may include, but are not necessarily limited to, the Department of Justice, the Department of Energy, the Central Intelligence Agency, and the Environmental Protection Agency. The Non-Lethal Weapons Steering Committee will conduct an annual review, phased appropriately with respect to the POM cycle, of all non-lethal weapon programs, in order to provide oversight and guidance. This committee will have the authority to initiate, direct changes in, or terminate these programs, in order to ensure that the priorities and criteria listed above are enforced. In so doing, any validated military requirements presented to the committee will be duly considered. The Comptroller of the Department of Defense will issue Program Budget Decisions implementing the decisions of the committee. The committee will also have the authority to task the Services to undertake such studies and analyses as are needed to support its deliberations. The Non-Lethal Weapons Steering Committee will adopt terms of reference, issue an annual Non-Lethal Weapons Master Plan, and issue security and classification guidance for non-lethal weapon programs. A Non-Lethal Weapons Working Group will assist the Non-Lethal Weapons Steering Committee. This group will consist of officials from the organizations represented on the Steering Committee, and will undertake activities as directed by that committee. The Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Acquisition and Technology will assure that funding is available to support these bodies, and that all members of both bodies are cleared in a timely manner into any and all non-lethal weapon development and acquisition programs. The Joint Program Office will support the Non-Lethal Weapons Steering Committee, by providing studies, analyses, and recommendations as directed by that committee. Its charter will be modified as necessary to provide for this role. The Non-Lethal Weapons Steering Committee will ensure that the costs of necessary support provided by the Joint Program Office and other sources are met. The Military Services will develop and acquire weapons specific to their particular mission area or expertise, and will develop and implement doctrine, employment concepts, tactics, training, and logistic support for fielded non-lethal weapon systems. 3. Employment In developing policy for specific cases of current or planned military operations, officials from the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Policy will ensure that options for use of applicable non-lethal weapons are given due consideration. This will include making the President aware of such options, as appropriate. Any direction given regarding the conduct of U.S. military operations to employ non-lethal weapons will not restrict self-defense measures by our forces to non-lethal means. Although our forces might be allowed to employ only non-lethal weapons to achieve mission objectives in some cases, they will in all cases be allowed to use necessary lethal force to protect themselves from deadly threats. In order to improve the military effectiveness and deterrent value of non-lethal weapon employment, full consideration will be given to appropriate psychological operations before, during or after that employment. Non-lethal weapons can be employed either alone or in conjunction with lethal weapons. When a plan to employ non-lethal weapons in a specific case is submitted for approval, it must be explicitly stated to all concerned that some fatalities might inadvertently result. Non-lethal weapons may be employed to achieve a variety of objectives, including, but not necessarily limited to, the following: * Neutralization - to make an adversary's assets useless * Denial - to deny an adversary the attainment of his ends * Control - to eliminate an adversary's ability to control his assets, and/or to seize control of them ourselves * Limit escalation - prevent an increase in the scale or intensity of a conflict * Enticement - to help persuade an adversary to act in a way that is congruent with U.S. interests * Demonstration - to display U.S. resolve or concern, but without crossing the threshold of lethal force or significant destruction * Countermobilization - to retard or frustrate mobilization of an adversary's military forces in order to provide more time for diplomatic actions or for deployment of U.S. or allied military reinforcements to the area in question * Interdiction in ambiguous situations - were we suspect that activity inimical to U.S. interests is underway and would like to take steps to frustrate it but where we may not have convincing intelligence confirming our suspicions * Highly specific attack - where the target is proximate to a significant non-military asset that must not be damaged under any circumstances, such as a religious, cultural, or historical symbol * Synergism - to accelerate and intensify the effects of lethal measures, used in conjunction with non-lethal systems weapons The term "adversary" is used above in it broadest sense, including those who are not declared enemies but who are engaged in activities we wish to stop. This policy does not preclude legally authorized domestic use of non-lethal weapons by U.S. military forces in support of law enforcement. Commanders of combat organizations will incorporate options for use for fielded non-lethal weapon systems into their contingency plans as appropriate. 4. Additional Policy Guidance Requests for policy guidance on non-lethal weapons matters not addressed in this Directive should be forwarded to the Office of the Assistant Secretary of Defense for Special Operations and Low-Intensity Conflict (Deputy Assistant for Policy and Missions). E. Public Affairs Guidance Information provided to the public and the media should be in keeping with the policies put forth in Section D.1 of this Directive. Authorization for release of specifics about the types of non-lethal weapons in our arsenal or under development, or the circumstances in which they would be used, will be considered on a case-by-case basis by OUSD(P) or by the Non-Lethal Weapons Steering Committee, as appropriate. Public affairs statements should emphasize that although the use of non-lethal weapons us intended to avoid fatalities and collateral damage in the course of achieving mission objectives, some fatalities or collateral damage could inadvertently result. It is important that the public understand that just as lethal weapons do not achieve perfect lethality, neither will "non-lethal" weapons always be capable of precluding fatalities and undesired collateral damage. F. Effective Date This Directive will become effective upon signature. William J. Perry, Secretary of Defense Comments on this draft should be forwarded to Mr. Charles Swett, OASD(SO/LIC) 703-693-5208 (voice) 703-693-0615 (fax)