Updated

They're blinding them with science.

U.S. Marines fighting in Iraq have been issued low-power laser weapons designed to temporarily blind enemy forces, the Washington Post reported Monday.

"Dazzlers," as they're called, shoot green beams designed to "warn or temporarily incapacitate individuals," according to a Defense Science Board report extensively quoted in the Post's story.

The Geneva Conventions ban weapons meant to cause permanent blindness, but a Pentagon spokesman explained two years ago that "Dazzlers" didn't fall into that category.

"They don't blind people," Army Lt. Col. Barry Venable told reporters. "It's like shining a big light in your eyes."

The Senate added more money for laser weapons to this year's defense authorization bill, approved last week, the Post reports.

High-powered ray guns, such as the one Boeing is currently testing to blast missiles out of the sky, were included in the increase.

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