How the US violates international treaties banning Bio-Chem Weapons

The information below was researched by the SUNSHiNE PROJECT - to go to the relevant page of their highly recommended website, click here.

US "Non Lethal" Chemical (and Biochemical) Weapons Research:
A Collection of Documents Detailing a Dangerous Program
Documents are listed in reverse chronological order. References to Sunshine Project publications are provided. Unless otherwise noted, all documents are in PDF (Adobe Acrobat) format. Additional documents of note will be posted as they become available.
These documents were obtained by Sunshine Project in requests to the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate, the Judge Advocate General of the US Navy, the National Nuclear Security Administration, and the National Academies of Science. Several are from public US government websites. The Sunshine Project has requested almost 100 related documents that have not been released by those institutions.
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Front End Analysis for Non-Lethal Chemicals (PDF - JPG version here)
Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate
Early 2003Comment: Despite JNLWD's oft-reiterated denials that it is developing incapacitating chemical weapons, this short item appeared on JNLWD's website in early 2003. It describes the Directorate's program to categorize and assess drug weapons, in part by "identifying advances in the pharmaceutical industry." This work is being conducted with the US Army's Soldier Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM), at Aberdeen/Edgewood, Maryland.
Also see:
The US Department of Defense Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program: Program Overview
The Advantages and Limitations of Calmatives for Use as a Non-Lethal Technique (Penn State's 'bid' for work on this contract.)

NEW
Multi-Shot Launcher with Advanced Less-Than-Lethal Ring Airfoil Projectiles
Proposal by Vanek Prototype Co. (2002-90-CA-IZ) to the US Department of Justice
March 2002Comment: The ring airfoil projectile (RAP) is a "non-lethal" weapon with both kinetic and chemical variants in its original design. It is a aerodynamic, circular-shaped munition that can "sting" with blunt force, or discharge a chemical on impact - or both. In the 1970s, the RAP was originally produced by the United States in response to domestic unrest, particularly the shootings at Kent State University in May, 1970. The original Army version, of which 500,000 were produced, was attached to the end of an M-16 barrel and fired much like a rifle grenade. The original RAP was probably never used and was rapidly made obsolete by modifications to the M-16 design.
Under this new contract with the US Department of Justice, Vanek will manufacture protoypes of a new RAP launcher and projectile, concentrating improving chemical delivery and creating a launcher (gun) to that can rapidly discharge up to 8 chemical rounds. According to the proposal, these will accurately deliver chemicals up to 50 meters, and the work will "concentrate on the delivery of a chemical payload on and about the target. Payloads of incapacitants, irritants, malodorants, and marking agents would be of first interest..." The proposal was approved in the amount of $339,000.
Also see:
Assessment Report: US/UK Non-Lethal Weapons (NLW)/Urban Operations Executive Seminar (on relationship between DOJ and JNLWD)
Warning: This document is large (1 mb).

A Technical Assessment of the 81mm Non-Lethal Mortar Munition (81NLMM)
US Marine Corps contract M67004-99-D-0037, purchase request number M9545002RCR2BC6
January 2002 Comment: This document is a contract between the Marine Corps Research University (MCRU, at the Applied Research Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University) and the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD).
See other documents below about MCRU work:
The Advantages and Limitations of Calmatives for Use as a Non-Lethal Technique
Non-Lethal Weapons: Acquisitions, Capabilities, Doctrine, & Strategy: A Course of Instruction.

To The Future: Non-Lethal Capabilities Technologies in the 21st Century (excerpts)
JNLWD
November 2001Comment: This document consists of slides extracted from a presentation by the JNLWD Commanding Officer to the University of New Hampshire's Non-lethal Technology and Academic Research III symposium in November 2001. The slides discuss JNLWD's work on calmatives and microencapsulation and on long range delivery devices in their combined context, providing details that are specific to JNLWD's 81mm mortar program. A slide notes the Chemical Weapons Convention as a "challenge" to the work. The final slide indicates that "non-lethal counter-personnel capabilities will attack a target's senses or cognitive/motor abilities" (also note sidebar) and reiterates the desire for long-range delivery capabilities.
Slide 2 exhibits two disturbing themes common in many JNLWD presentations: a) a desire for indiscriminate weapons and b) a tendency to closely relate peaceful political dissent with acts of terrorism. An equation is evidently drawn between peaceful political protest (a photo of Serbian children protesting NATO air strikes) to terrorism (bombing of the USS Cole). The slide reads that non-lethal weapons provide "assistance in target discrimination"; but this should not be misunderstood to mean that calmatives would be used discriminately. Much the opposite. JNLWD uses "discrimination" here to mean sorting out the people it wants and doesn't want, and not in the way that "discriminate" is used with respect to legality of weapons. In JNLWD's conception, calmatives would be used on large numbers of people, combatants and non-combatants, and then US forces would sort through a multitude incapacitated by gas to identify the "bad guys". In JNLWD's wargaming (see below), it was noted that soldiers would probably have to be trained to refrain from killing persons already incapacitated with chemical weapons.
Warning: This document is large (1.4 mb).

NEW
Presentation for the Airline Pilot Association
JNLWD
October 2001Comment: This is JNLWD's "Narco Airways" presentation, made by then-Commander Col. George Fenton to the Airline Pilots Association shortly after September 11, 2001. The presentation begins with several slides that are standard JNLWD promotional material, including photos from the "non-lethal" mortar and Objective Individual Combat Weapon rounds programs, both of which involve chemical payloads. Starting with Slide 11, the presentation moves to discussing the use of incapacitating agents on commercial airliners. A number of technologies are initially mentioned, and a slide then focuses on so-called "calmatives". Two slides include diagrams of JNLWD's concepts, including placement of incapacitant (aerosol) generators onboard, as well as an "injectable pharmaceuticals" unit outside the cockpit door. The aerosol generator would disperse a drug throughout the passenger cabin. A slide identifies a "benefit" of incapacitants as that they can be "tailored" to adjust for duration and effects including paralysis and sleep. The same slide asserts that pharmaceutical industry data and JNLWD's "Front End Analysis" program provide supporting data for these applications of drugs. Under risks, the slide lists "permanent injury/death to the infirm".
The Marine Corps FOIA office took 15 months to release this document.
Also see Front End Analysis for Non-Lethal Chemicals (above).
Warning: Due to many greyscale scans, this document isvery large (4.4 mb)

Less-Than-Lethal Program
Office of Science and Technology, National Institute of Justice
US Department of Justice
January 2002Comment: This office of the US Justice Department (DOJ) participates in JNLWD. Slide 14 of this document describes the National Institute of Justice's contract to MCRU (ARL/PSU, see above and below) to assess a mixture of pepper gas (OC) and unidentified calmative chemical agents. The slide indicates that the chemical weapons mixture was reviewed by a US Department of Justice liability panel. Under FOIA, however, DOJ has responded that no such review took place.
This document is particularly interesting when read alongside of Assessment Report: US/UK Non-Lethal Weapons (NLW)/Urban Operations Executive Seminar (see below), in which JNLWD officials admit that development of "calmative" chemical weapons violates US Department of Defense regulations; but indicate that they will nonetheless develop such weapons through their relationships with the US Departments of Justice and Energy.
This presentation was made at the University of New Hampshire's Non-lethal Technology and Academic Research III symposium in November 2001. There is a discrepancy in the date on the document, which is 18 Jan 2002 (Slide 1).
See Delivery of Chemicals by Microcapsules (below) for more from the University of New Hampshire's work with JNLWD.
Warning: This document is large (1.8 mb). 
Non-Lethal Weapons: Acquisitions, Capabilities, Doctrine, & Strategy: A Course of Instruction
US Marine Corps contract M67004-99-D-0037, purchase request number M9545002RCR2BA7
December 2001Comment: This late 2001 contract between JNLWD and the Marine Corps Research University (MCRU, at Pennsylvania State Univ.) is for preparation of an training course on non-lethal weapons. Page 3 of this report indicates "classified: SECRET" briefings by JNLWD officers on anti-personnel chemical weapons. The course was given to officers at the Marine Corps Command and Staff College sometime after March 2002.
 Liquid Payload Dispensing Concept Studies Techniques for the 81mm Non-Lethal Mortar Cartridge
US Army contract DAAE-30-01-M-1444
September 2001Comment: This document is a JNLWD-funded contract between General Dynamics Aerospace Solid Propellant Systems Group (Redmond, WA, formerly named Primex Aerospace) and the US Army's Picatinny Arsenal (NJ). This contract is for work on the aerosol-generating cannister for "non-lethal" crowd control which was developed for JNLWD by Primex in 1999-2000. (See final report of that project below, Overhead Liquid Dispersal System (OLDS) Non-Lethal Demonstration Program).
This newer contract calls for General Dynamics to to use the knowledge gained in the OLDS program to help develop a "gas dispersion generator" (aerosolizing payload cannister) for an 81mm mortar round, and to "research and identify analytical tools that can be used in follow-on design/performance modeling of droplet formation and dynamics." and to perform "Preliminary parametric estimates of ground area coverage versus payload volume and height of burst."
Warning: This document is a Microsoft Word file compressed in ZIP format. It is large (1.4 mb). 
81mm Frangible Case Cartridge
US Army Contract DAAE-30-01-C-1077
June 2001Comment: This document is a JNLWD-funded contract between M2 Technologies (West Hyannisport, MA) and the US Army's Picatinny Arsenal (NJ). This contract is for M2 to provide engineering and assembly services for a "non-lethal" chemical mortar round, culminating in a 2.5km range live fire demonstration with a "generic payload for visual effect".
Warning: This document is a Rich Text Format (.rtf) word processing file compressed in ZIP format. It is large (1.2 mb).  Fabrication of Composite Mortar Components and Investigation of mortar Cartridge
Kinetic Energy Mitigation Technique for the 81mm Non-Lethal Mortar Cartridge
US Army Contract DAAE-30-01-M-1289
June 2001Comment: This document is a JNLWD-funded contract between United Defense LP (UDLP, Minneapolis, MN) and the US Army's Picatinny Arsenal (NJ). This contract is a follow-on of JNLWD-UDLP contract M67854-99-C1031, which called for the company to demonstrate a "non-lethal" 81mm mortar round with 1.5km range. This newer contract is for UDLP to re-engineer and manufacture new components for a 2.5km range round. The work was scheduled to be completed in April 2002.
A related contract (under solicitation number DAAE30-02-Q-0314), also funded by JNLWD, was awarded to Armtec Defense Products of Coachella, CA. This contract is not available on the US Army's online procurement network and has been requested by the Sunshine Project under FOIA.
Warning: This document is a Microsoft Word file compressed in ZIP format. It is large (2.1 mb).
 Overview of Legal Issues Affecting Non-Lethal Weapons
International and Operational Law Branch, Headquarters, US Marine Corps
April 2001 Comment: This document stems from a 2001 attempt by the Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) to obtain endorsement from the US National Academies of Science (NAS) for development of chemical weapons including incapacitants, malodorants, and possibly convulsants. The most important aspects of this presentation - the Marine Corps discussion of the Chemical Weapons Convention - can be found in pages 16 through 25. The document format (overhead slides) can be difficult to interpret. It is best to read this item in conjunction with the US Navy Judge Advocate General's Legal Review of Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Pepper Spray (see below), which clarifies the Pentagon lawyers' meaning when using phrases such as "not for toxic effect". 
The US Department of Defense Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Program: Program Overview (exerpts)
JNLWD (VA)
April 2001Comment: This document consists of extracts from a longer presentation. Of particular note is the bottom slide on page 3 (page 8 of the original presentation), which details the technologies in which JNLWD is investing.
The FY 99/00 program on microencapsulation of chemical weapons included work by the Advanced Polymer Laboratory of the University of New Hampshire (see below, Delivery of chemicals by microcapsules.)
The FY 01/02 program on "Front End Analysis of RCAs" is particularly worrisome and follows on the microencapsulation work of 1999 and 2000. Information about this program has been difficult to obtain. JNLWD officials have described it as secret. Public documents, however, indicate that a major contractor in this program is the US Army Soldier Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM) at Aberdeen Proving Ground, Maryland. (See: Front End Analysis for Non-Lethal Chemicals above.)
In addition to the "Front End Analysis of RCAs" program, SBCCOM is helping JNLWD develop the "non-lethal" 81mm mortar round (see below, Design and Development of an 81mm Non-Lethal Mortar Cartridge).
Little has been made public about the FY 00/01 program on a "NL Loitering Submunition", which centered around the notion of an unmanned aerial vehicle equiped with a crowd control payload, including chemical weapons in some conceptions. Much of the work on this program was conducted on US military bases in Maryland, Virginia, and possibly Texas. (See below, Liquid/Aerosol Dispersant Module for Short Range UAV Platform.)

US Marine Corps Non-Lethal Weapons Requirements
Marine Corps Combat Development Command (VA)
c. late 2000 or early 2001

Comment: Two items are particularly notable in this report. The first is the indication of a change in the reasons why the Marines are intersted in non-lethal weapons. Initial interest was in weapons for specific situations such as riot control and "military operations other than war" ("MOOTW"), i.e. fallout from the Pentagon's Mogadishu experience. In this document, a shift is signaled toward broader interest in NLW as weapons "effective in the full spectrum of warfare", in other words, use of non-lethal weapons as a 'force multipier', a dangerous strategy that has historically contributed to escalation and geater use of lethal weapons, including weapons of mass destruction (WMD). Examples include the Vietnam War (police tear gas -> urban warfare & other uses) and World War I (obscurants -> mustard gas). Second, this report includes a very strong emphasis on USMC acquisition of incapacitating weapons.

Assessment Report: US/UK Non-Lethal Weapons (NLW)/Urban Operations Executive Seminar
(Report apparently authored by JNLWD)
November 2000Comment: The most interesting aspects of this report relate to a) United Kingdom's position that the "calmative" chemical weapons (see last page, and passages through the text) of interest to JNLWD violate the Chemical Weapons Convention and b) JNLWD's claim that it can do an end-around of treaty controls by contracting work out to the US Departments of Justice and Energy. Circumstances suggest JNLWD is proceding with the plan articulated here: The National Institute of Justice, a unit of the US Department of Justice, is currently funding calmatives research (a mix of OC and drug agents) by the Marine Corps Research University at Pennsylvania State University (see Justice document above). (Also see The Advantages and Limitations of Calmatives for Use as a Non-Lethal Technique, below, a report which predates current DOJ-funded calmatives development.)
Warning: This document is large (840 kb).

81mm Non-Lethal Mortar: Joint RDT&E Pre-Milestone 0 & Concept Exploration Program
US Army Picatinny Arsenal (NJ)
Report to JNLWD (VA)
20 November 2000Warning: This document is large (2.2 mb).

The Advantages and Limitations of Calmatives for Use as a Non-Lethal Technique
Available in Two Formats:
1) Original Document as Released to the Sunshine Project from the National Academies of Science
2) Penn State's PDF Version of this report (omits chemical diagram of fentanyl on the cover.)
Marine Corps Research University (Applied Research Laboratory, Pennsylvania State University)
October 2000Comment: The biochemical weapons proposed in this shocking report are of major concern. They violate the federal Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989, the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention, and the Chemical Weapons Convention. The lead author of this report recently left Penn State to become a Dean at the University of Pittsburgh. The other authors, including a medical doctor, remain at Penn State and continue to work in the development of "non-lethal" weapons.
As indicated in the report, the Penn State team prepared a database on calmative agents which it submitted to JNLWD in electonic format (a zip disk). Under FOIA, JNLWD initially claimed that this database is exempt from release because it constitutes part of a commercial offer to the government. After more intense questioning, JNLWD then decided that the database is not exempt from disclosure; but now claims that the database cannot be located and, therefore, cannot be released.
Why two versions? Months after the Sunshine Project scanned and placed this document on its website, the authors released an altered version of the report. This version deletes the chemical diagram of fentanyl (the agent reportedly used by Russian Special Forces in October 2002 in the Moscow Theater) found on the original report's cover.
A more detailed comparison of the different report versions is planned. The text of the Penn State version is searchable within Adobe Acrobat.
See Sunshine Project publication(s):
The MCRU Calmatives Study and JNLWD: A Summary of (Public) Facts
Pentagon Program Pushes Psychopharmacological WarfareWarning: This document is large (1.2 mb).

NEW
Double Steal: The use of the Non-Lethal Bio-Weapons in Offensive Operations
World Wide Chemical Conference, US Army Chemical School, Ft. Leonard Wood, MO
June 2000Comment: This bizarre presentation by the (now deceased) historian of the US Army Chemical School describes the author's fictional scenario in which China and North Korea team up to overrun Taiwan and South Korea by using "non-lethal" anti-personnel and anti-material weapons. The presentation begins with discussion of the Plague in Europe and the 1918 Spanish Flu. Using a metaphor from US baseball, the presentation then describes how Chinese and North Korean use of 'non-lethal' weapons might create a situation where, for the United States, "surrender is our only option." The author argues that "these new types of weapons can reduce America's military from the best technological force in the world, to using bows and arrows."
While it would be tempting to relegate such perspectives to an irrelevant lunatic fringe, in fact, others with similarly bizarre perspectives on science and politics have played a major role in shaping the US 'non-lethal' weapons program. Another US military 'non-lethal' weapons thinker, Col. John Alexander, is an active investigator of unidentified flying objects and promotes gathering military intelligence by employing psychics who use 'remote visioning'. Alexander's National Institute of Discovery Science in Las Vegas, Nevada, describes itself as "a privately funded science institute engaged in research of aerial phenomena, animal mutilations, and other related anomalous phenomena". Among its unusual interests, the Institute investigates and publishes papers on cases of livestock deaths that are purportedly attributable to activity by extraterrestrials. Alexander's other responsibilities have included directing a 'non-lethal' weapons research team at New Mexico's Los Alamos National Lab, representing the US at NATO, and serving on the National Academies of Science Panel on Non-Lethal Weapons.
This document is in Microsoft Powerpoint format.

Overhead Liquid Dispersal System (OLDS) Non-Lethal Demonstration Program (Final Report)
Primex Aerospace Company (WA), a subsidiary of General Dynamics (FL)
Now doing business as General Dynamics Aerospace Solid Propellant Systems Group
April 2000Comment: This document is the final report of the company's initial effort to develop an aerosol device for crowd control weapons. The report notes that the "OLDS" system can be adapted for a mortar round and that initial experiments to do this were conducted. This report includes photographs of field tests. In 2001, JNLWD asked General Dynamics to continue this work, by developing a "gas dispersion generator" for use in the longer-range 81mm "non-lethal" mortar round (see above, Liquid Payload Dispensing Concept Studies Techniques for the 81mm Non-Lethal Mortar Cartridge).

Design and Development of an 81mm Non-Lethal Mortar Cartridge
United Defense LP (MN)
US Army Soldier Biological Chemical Command (SBCCOM, MD)
US Army Research Laboratory (ARL, MD)
March 2000(Document added: 17 Sep 02)
Comment: This document details the JNLWD-funded development and testing of the 81mm "mom-lethal" mortar round by a collaboration involving United Defense, a Minneapolis-based private company and US Army weapons developers based at Aberdeen Proving Ground in Maryland.
Warning: This document is large (4.1 mb).

Less-than-Lethal Systems: Situational Control by Olfactory Stimuli
Science Applications International Corporation (CA)
June 1998See Sunshine Project publications:
Non-Lethal Weapons Research in the US: Calmatives & Malodorants
US Tests Ethnically-Targeted Crowd Control Weapons

Commercial Backpack Blower / Sprayer System
US Army CBDCOM (MD)
June 1998

Legal Review of Oleoresin Capsicum (OC) Pepper Spray
US Navy Judge Advocate General (VA)
May 1998Comment: This document will be discussed in upcoming Sunshine Project publications.
Warning: This document is large (732 kb).

Contract DAAD13-98-M-0064: "Establish Odor Response Profiles"
US Army CBDCOM (MD) / Monell Chemical Senses Center (PA)
April 1998See Sunshine Project publications:
Non-Lethal Weapons Research in the US: Calmatives & Malodorants
US Tests Ethnically-Targeted Crowd Control Weapons

Delivery of chemicals by microcapsules
Advanced Polymer Laboratory, University of New Hampshire
1998

Comment: UNH is also a participant in JNLWD's mortar development efforts.

Enhanced Degradation of Military Material
Naval Research Laboratory (DC)
1998 Comment: The biological weapons development described in this proposal violates the federal Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.
See Sunshine Project publication(s):
US Armed Forces Press for Offensive Bioweapons
Pentagon BW Proposals at US Attorney's Office
Non-Lethal Weapons Research in the US: Genetically Engineered Anti-Material Weapons Anti-Material Biocatalysts and Sensors
Armstrong Laboratory, Brooks Air Force Base (TX)
1998 Comment: The biological weapons development described in this proposal violates the federal Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention.
See Sunshine Project publication(s):
US Armed Forces Press for Offensive Bioweapons
Pentagon BW Proposals at US Attorney's Office
Non-Lethal Weapons Research in the US: Genetically Engineered Anti-Material Weapons

Dose Safety Margin Enhancement for Chemical Incapacitation and Less-Than-Lethal Targeting
Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory (CA)
January 1997Comment: This is the final report of a contract with the US Department of Justice. This report discusses testing of small arms ammunition delivering an opiate/DMSO mixture and the researchers' discussions with a pharmaceutical company concerning design of a further combination with naloxone (narcan). The report's Executive Summary mentions that the LLNL research team has conducted similar research for "special military operations and low intensity conflict". The report calls for further testing on animals, human skin, and human subjects.
Page 21 of this document contains a notable passage concerning use of a fentanyl-based agent: "The dry powder could be dispersed as a smoke during a hostage situation. Terrorists would be incapacitated by breathing anesthetic smoke injected into an air duct or office building air conditioning system." The idea bears a striking resemblance the disastrous events of 2002 in the Moscow theater, where more than 100 innocent hostages died.This document is all the more notable when read alongside of Assessment Report: US/UK Non-Lethal Weapons (NLW)/Urban Operations Executive Seminar (see above), in which JNLWD officials admit that development of "calmative" chemical weapons violates US Department of Defense regulations; but indicate that they will nonetheless develop such weapons through their relationships with the US Departments of Justice and Energy.
Warning: This document is large (4.5 mb).

Preliminary Legal Review of Proposed Chemical-Based Non-Lethal Weapons
US Navy Judge Advocate General
1997
Nonlethal Delivery System for Nonlethal Mortar Payload
US Army Research Laboratory, Aberdeen Proving Ground (MD)
1997 Depolymerization (Proposed Nonlethal Weapon Project)
Los Alamos National Laboratory (NM)
May 1994
A White Paper for Catalytic Depolymerization of Rubber
Department of Defense Programs, Los Alamos National Laboratory (NM)
April 1994
Antipersonnel Chemical Immobilizers: Sedatives
US Army Edgewood Arsenal (MD)
April 1994
Role of Non-Lethal Chemical Irritants
Naval Air Warfare Center, Weapons Division, China Lake (CA)
April 1994
Biofouling and Biocorrosion
National Security Programs Office, Idaho National Engineering Laboratory (INEL)
1994 Comment: The biological weapons development described in this proposal violates the federal Biological Weapons Anti-Terrorism Act of 1989 and the Biological and Toxin Weapons Convention. Another INEL document from the same research program titled "Metabolic Engineering" was requested under FOIA over a year ago. It has not been released.
See Sunshine Project publication(s):
US Armed Forces Press for Offensive Bioweapons
Pentagon BW Proposals at US Attorney's Office
Non-Lethal Weapons Research in the US: Genetically Engineered Anti-Material Weapons Contaminant Aerosol Munitions
Defense Nuclear Agency (VA)
1994
Frontal Attack Anti-Vehicle Liquid or Aerosol Dispensing Mine
DCS Corporation (NJ)
1994
Liquid/Aerosol Dispersant Module for Short Range UAV Platform
DCS Corporation (NJ)
1994
Lubricant and Grease Additives for Immobilizing Machinery
Sandia National Laboratory (NM)
1994
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