Report: Pentagon Working on Stench Warfare

L O N D O N, July 5 -- The Pentagon is developing a stink bomb to drive away enemy troops or hostile crowds, the magazine New Scientist said on Wednesday.

Stench warfare could form a key part of the U.S. non-lethalweapons program and provide police with an extra means ofdealing with the kind of rioting that has disrupted recentsummits of world leaders. "It would give us an offensive capability against large andunruly groups of people, if they are unwilling to move or areopenly hostile," New Scientist quoted a Pentagon spokesman assaying. "And it would minimize the risk to our people and to theantagonists."

Exploiting the Smell-Fear Link

Researchers said there was a close link between nasty smellsand fear, as a bad smell can activate tissue deep within thebrain. The "perfect" stink for defense purposes would be one thattriggered an emotional response in humans. The problem is that odors can provoke varying reactions indifferent people because of social and cultural conditioning. Pam Dalton, a cognitive psychologist at the Monell ChemicalSenses Center in Philadelphia who is leading the search for abetter stink bomb, has tested smells on volunteers of differentethnic origins to try to find a universal formula. She has found two odors that appear to transcend culture,and a mixture of the two could form the basis of a weapon.