**Tell Congress Vote No on Testing Laser Weapons w/ Israel**

Please Call House Armed Services Committee members to urge a NO vote on H.R. 6725

U.S.-Israel Directed Energy Cooperation Act — (Lieu: D-Torrance)

Wikipedia: “A directed-energy weapon (DEW) is a ranged weapon system that inflicts damage at a target by emission of highly focused energy including laser, microwaves and particle beams. Potential applications of this technology include anti-personnel weapon systems (temporarily blind, disorient and paralyze), missile defense system, and the disabling of lightly armored vehicles or mounted optical devices.” (Because of their speed and range, these weapons are prime candidates for space warfare.) The bill authorizes the U.S. to work with Israel on co-developing, researching and testing directed energy weapons.

Call these Armed Services Committee Members:

Tulsi Gabbard (D-Hawaii) 202–225–4906

John Garamendi (D-California)(202) 225–1880

Walter Jones (R-North Carolina) 202–225–3415

Ro Khanna (D-California) 202–225–2631

Rick Larsen (D-Washington) 202–225–2605

Beto O’Rourke (D-Texas) 202–225–4831

Adam Smith (D-Washington) 202–225–8901 (Ranking Member)

Jackie Speier (D-California) 202–225–3531

Mac Thornberry (R-Texas) 202–225–3706 (Chair)

Full list of House Armed Services Committee members: https://armedservices.house.gov/about/members

House Foreign Affairs Committee Chair

Ed Royce (R-Brea)

202–225–4111

Urge the Sponsor of H.R. 6725

Ted Lieu (D-California) to withdraw his bill:

202–225–3976

Call your own congress person to urge a NO vote on H.R. 6725 should it go to the floor of the House of Representatives.

Capitol Hill switchboard: (202) 224–3121

Find your representative: https://www.house.gov/representatives/find-your-representative

In the words of peace activist David Mandel:

“Every amateur student of military strategy and arms control, let alone real experts, knows that calling a weapon “defensive” is a misnomer when it comes to constantly upgrading military technology. If a new item successfully counters some other weapons, it (1) spurs the arms race to even more advanced technology that can overcome the “defense” and (2) makes it more likely that a country with better defensive weapons will use its offensive weapons because it believes it can stop a counterattack. That’s why the United States and the Soviet Union had the good sense to sign the 1972 Anti-Ballistic Missile Treaty, agreeing not to develop such defensive weapons; and why the arms race has gotten more dangerous than ever since the U.S. announced it was withdrawing from the treaty 30 years later.”

Below are examples of directed energy anti-personnel weapons (Wikipedia/Wired descriptions) that could be used against protesters at home and abroad:

1) Active Denial System (Heat Ray, Fry Ray), produced by Raytheon, is a millimeter wave source that heats the water in a target’s skin to cause horrific pain — deployed but then recalled from Afghanistan; a similar weapon was supplied to the LA County Sheriff’s Department for use in the county jail. https://www.theregister.co.uk/2010/08/24/pain_ray_la_county_jail/

2) Dazzler, made by B.E. Meyers, is an infrared weapon intended to temporarily blind or disorient its target with intense directed radiation.

3) The ZKZM-500 (made in China, Precision Mechanics) is a laser gun that can reportedly destroy a target 800 meters away by charring skin and human tissue. The frequency of the laser makes it invisible to the human eye.

4) Pulsed Energy Projectile (PEP), developed by the U.S. military, emits an infrared laser that fires a short burst of energy at the target — causes mini explosions and electromagnetic pulse so intense it can stun the target and overwhelm the central nervous system, causing pain and temporary paralysis.

H.R. 6725 would partner the Trump administration with Israeli Prime Minister Netanyahu to escalate the arms race. Say NO to H.R. 6725.

Please make the calls and email me, Marcy Winograd, (winogradteach@gmail.com), afterward so I can thank you!

Peace,

Marcy Winograd

Peace Activist in Congressman Lieu’s LA-area District