Assessing Non-Lethal Weapons Use in Detainee Operations in Iraq: Benign Force or Necessary Evil?

摘要

This article addresses the question to what extent the use of Non-Lethal Weapons (NLWs) in US internment centres between 2003 and 2009 was supportive to the hearts and minds approach in Iraq. It is argued that, other than claims and expectations of NLWs performance extracted from NLW technology and design properties, the performance and effects of NLWs heavily depend on the operational conditions in which they arc applied. A Defence Technology Assessment (DTA) framework 1is applied to several cases in Iraqi detainee centres where NLWs have been used. The case studies demonstrate that in the absence of an acceptable political context in terms of a positive end state for the detainees, the use of NLWs to quell large scale disturbances was counterproductive. NLWs were as a necessary evil, rather than a benign force. Even with a constructive hearts and minds strategy to guide detainee operations in place, the skills and discipline of the guard forces arc key to the successful conduct of detainee operations.