Pentagon gives new meaning to "friendly fire"
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Sunday, 16, Jan 2005 09:55
US military chiefs reportedly considered developing an "aphrodisiac" chemical weapon that would make enemy troops sexually irresistible to each other, the New Scientist reports.
According to newly de-classified documents, military scientists suggested that provoking widespread homosexual behaviour among troops would cause a "distasteful but completely non-lethal" blow to the morale of opposing forces.
The bizarre plans were revealed by the Sunshine Project, an organisation that exposes research into chemical and biological weapons.
Other wacky ideas reportedly considered by the Pentagon included the proposed development of chemical weapons that would make troop positions uninhabitable by attracting swarms of angry wasps or enraged rats.
US military officials also considered developing a chemical to prompt "severe and lasting halitosis", in order to sniff out militants trying to blend in with civilians.
The plans, which appear to date from 1994, were drawn up by the US Air Force Wright Laboratory in Dayton, Ohio.
The lab told the Pentagon it needed funding for research into "harassing, annoying and 'bad guy'-identifying chemicals".
A Sunshine Project spokesman confirmed that it is not known whether the unusual proposals were pursued as part of a suggested six-year research programme.