The Sunshine Project
http://www.sunshine-project.org
19 September 2002
The MCRU Calmatives Study and JNLWD: A Summary of (Public) Facts
BACKGROUND: The US Joint Non-Lethal Weapons Directorate (JNLWD) is pursuing development of chemical weapons that appear to violate US obligations under the Chemical Weapons Convention. The Advantages and Limitations of Calmatives for Use as a Non-Lethal Technique (download in PDF format), a report completed by researchers at the Marine Corps Research University (at the Applied Research Lab of Pennsylvania State Univ.) in October 2000, concludes, "the development and use of calmatives is achievable and desirable." The uses of chemical weapons endorsed in this report are repugnant and blatantly illegal.
The precise nature of the relationship of this report to JNLWD's program on chemical weapons has proven difficult to elucidate and has been obscured by secrecy law; but a survey of the public facts suggests that the report offers an inside look at JNLWD thinking.
The report and analysis of it is available at the Sunshine Project website.
More from the study:
According to the report, "the choice administration route, whether application to drinking water, topical administration to the skin, an aerosol spray inhalation route, or a drug filled rubber bullet, among others, will depend on the environment." The environments identified are specific military and civil situations, including "hungry refugees that are excited over the distribution of food", "a prison setting", an "agitated population" and "hostage situations". At times, the report veers very close to defining dissent as a psychological disorder.
"Our review has confirmed the relevance and high potential impact of calmatives... Whether used alone or as an adjuvant... pharmacological agents can effectively act on central nervous system tissues and produce a less anxious, less aggressive, more tranquil-like behavior..."
"We identified several drug classes (e.g. benzodiazepines, alpha-2-adrenoreceptor agonists) and individual drugs (diazepam, dexmeditomidine) as appropriate for immediate consideration."
"Often, an unwanted side-effect... will terminate the development of a promising new pharmaceutical compound. However, in the variety of situations in which non-lethal techniques are used, there may be less need to be concerned with unattractive side-effects... Perhaps, the ideal calmative has already been synthesized and is awaiting renewed interest from its manufacturer."
SUMMARY OF FACTS
[NOTE: This summary includes facts that appear pertinent to the MCRU calmatives study and is not a comprehensive review of JNLWD's calmatives program.]
1. The report was prepared by the Applied Research Laboratory of Pennsylvania State University, which is designated as the Marine Corps Research University (MCRU). The MCRU unit that prepared the study, The Institute for Emerging Defense Technologies, is directed by Col. Andy Mazzara, USMC (ret.), former commander of JNLWD.
2. The Sunshine Project obtained the report in a request to the National Academies of Science, under the Federal Advisory Committees Act (FACA), for documents deposited at NAS for consideration in relation to a study commissioned by JNLWD on non-lethal weapons technologies. The Sunshine Project identified the documents it requested from a bibliography of the NAS Public Records Access File, which indicated the accession number and date of deposit of these documents in the FACA-mandated public record.
3. On 17 May 2002, shortly after NAS began releasing JNLWD documents requested by Sunshine Project under FACA, JNLWD Commander Col. George Fenton, USMC, wrote to NAS Executive Officer William Colglazier and stated that "We are in the process of working this issue with the Office of the Secretary of Defense General Counsel, until such time as you are further notified, you are not authorized to release the documents listed in Attachment B of reference (a)" (i.e. the list of documents requested by the Sunshine Project).
4. On the basis of the above letter from Col. Fenton, NAS has ceased complying with FACA and stopped release of documents. Other non-profit organizations that have subsequently made FACA requests for these documents have been referred by NAS to JNLWD, an apparent violation of federal law.
5. In addition to the report The Advantages and Limitations of Calmatives for Use as a Non-Lethal Technique, MCRU prepared two databases on calmative agents (titled "CALMATIVES" and "CALMTOPICS") that were distributed with the report.
6. The MCRU Institute for Emerging Defense Technologies appears to have very few clients except JNLWD.
7. JNLWD denies funding the calmatives report.
8. Col. Fenton has acknowledged to the Sunshine Project and news media that JNLWD received the study and databases.
9. Despite this acknowledgement and the deposit of the study at NAS, when the Sunshine Project requested the related databases and records of their use by JNLWD, it received a FOIA response of "no records found".
10. Col. Ron Madrid (USMC, ret.), Director of the Marine Corps Research University (MCRU), has not replied to oral and written requests from the Sunshine Project to explain how the study was funded. Col. Mazzara and other officials have not returned calls.
11. Under FOIA, the Sunshine Project sent MARCORMATCOM (Albany, GA) a request for all task orders (contracts) issued to MCRU. MARCORMATCOM responded with all unclassified MCRU task orders. More exist; but were denied in total. The Sunshine Project is appealing this denial.
12. In a telephone conversation, Col. Madrid suggested that the National Institute of Justice (part of the US Department of Justice - DOJ) funded the calmatives work by MCRU researchers.
13. Mr. Joe Cecconi of the NIJ Office of Science and Technology, Technology Development Division denies that DOJ funded the MCRU calmatives study.
14. Mr. Cecconi acknowledges, however, that NIJ is funding current work of the MCRU group to assess a mixture of OC (pepper gas) and unidentified calmative agents. (Documents related to this have been requested by the Sunshine Project under FOIA; but have not been released.)
15. Mr. Cecconi's unit of NIJ is the DOJ participant in JNLWD.
16. Mr. Cecconi and his NIJ colleague Mr. DePersia, at a November 2001 conference cosponsored by JNLWD and NIJ, claimed that the MCRU work on an OC-calmative mixture had been reviewed by a DOJ liability panel.
17. Under FOIA, DOJ contradicted this information, reporting to the Sunshine Project "there was no review" and no report on calmatives from a liability panel.
18. On 30 November 2000, a meeting on non-lethal weapons was held between UK and US military officials. JNLWD's report of this meeting (download in PDF format) was one of the documents obtained by the Sunshine Project under FACA before JNLWD ordered a halt to document release.
19. The meeting was attended by JNLWD senior staff and five active duty US Army and Marine Corps Generals (plus one retired US Army Major General).
20. At the meeting, the UK objected to JNLWD's interest in developing calmatives, saying that they would violate the Chemical Weapons Convention and may be indiscriminate weapons.
21. JNLWD acknowledged that DOD regulations prohibit it from developing calmatives. ("DOD is prohibited from pursuing this technology").
22. Despite the UK position and DOD regulations, JNLWD stated that it would proceed. ("a research and development program with respect to both chemically based calmatives as an RCA, and non-chemical systems that bring about the same desired effects be continued [sic] as long as it is cost-productive to do so.")
23. JNLWD stated that it would accomplish this by working through DOJ or the US Department of Energy (DOE) ("If there are promising technologies that DOD is prohibited from pursuing, set up MOA with DOJ or DOE.")
24. In 1999 and 2000, JNLWD officials said the following:
"We need something besides tear gas, like calmatives, anesthetic agents, that would put people to sleep or in a good mood."
(Ms. Susan Levine, JNLWD research director quoted in Navy News and Undersea Technology, 10 May 1999).
"I would like a magic dust that would put everyone in a building to sleep, combatants and non-combatants."
(Col. George Fenton quoted in New Scientist, 16 December 2000).
25. According to Air Safety Week (15 October 2001) in the wake of September 11th 2001, JNLWD proposed to airline officials that calmative agents be deployed on US commercial aircraft. The Sunshine Project requested this briefing months ago under FOIA. It has not been released.
26. The Navy Judge Advocate General (JAG) has performed a legal review of non-lethal chemical weapons for JNLWD. The Sunshine Project requested this review from Navy JAG under FOIA. Navy JAG has denied release of this document because JNLWD has classified it.
27. In Fiscal 2001, JNLWD initiated a "technology investment program" titled "Front End Analysis of RCAs". This program is described by JNLWD as "Workshops, analysis and database of all potential Riot Control Agents, calmatives, etc," and "to identify feasible non-lethal chemical materials for further testing... for immobilizing adversaries".
28. Information about this technology investment program has been difficult to obtain. JNLWD has described it as classified.
29. Public JNLWD documents state that US Army SBCCOM and US Army Research Lab, both at Aberdeen Proving Ground, are working with JNLWD in this "Front End Analysis of RCAs" program.
30. In 2001, JNLWD contracted with MCRU to prepare an officer training course on non-lethal weapons. The course was conducted some time after March 2002. It included a three hour briefing, "classified: SECRET", (taught by JNLWD) on anti-personnel (and anti-material) chemical weapons.
31. On 29 January 2002, JNLWD signed a contract with MCRU for "A Technical Assessment of the 81mm NL Mortar Munition", a mortar round being developed by JNLWD whose specification is to deliver a liquid or powder "non-lethal" payload a distance of 2.5 kilometers. A task objective of this contract is to "Determine the potential operational utility of the delivering non-lethal effects [sic] against personnel targets and their feasibility to satisfy the broad 'counter-personnel' requirements presented in the Joint Concept for Non-Lethal Weapons."
32. In media interviews, JNLWD officials vigorously deny that they are developing chemical weapons. At the same time, JNLWD officials have informed the Sunshine Project that, under FOIA, they intend to deny release of JNLWD documents on chemical weapons because they are exempt due to "classified weapons development".
33. The Director of the 81mm Non-Lethal Mortar Program (at US Army Picatinny Arsenal, NJ) acknowledges that the anticipated payload of the 81mm "non-lethal" mortar round is a "riot control agent". The officer expressed frustration at JNLWD because the design process has been impeded because JNLWD has not informed Picatinny what the precise payload will be.