The Pentagon has reportedly agreed to lend Homeland Security a weapon that makes people feel intense burning. It has been rather more careful about where to put its own personnel.

The Guardian reports, citing a memo first obtained by CNN, that Pete Hegseth authorized a seven-month loan of the Active Denial System for testing and possible border use. DHS’s precise plans remain unclear. The memo leaves DHS responsible for using the system and developing its tactics, and says Defense Department personnel must not operate it.

This is a remarkably thorough safety arrangement for everyone who signed the lending paperwork.

Customs and Border Protection says it evaluates technology that can save lives and improve security. The military has described the beam as producing an intolerable sensation that makes people move away. The paperwork demonstrates a second mechanism for creating distance: make another department hold the controls.

Make powerful people uncomfortable.
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