Have we gone too far in regards to defense spending and applying technology to things that could get out of hand?  Here is a bit more from the study:

Those are the findings of a new study released Tuesday by the Center for a New American Security, an independent Washington think tank with strong ties to the current administration. “Directed-Energy Weapons: Promises and Prospects” calls for the Pentagon to establish a new joint directed-energy weapon program office to coordinate efforts and to develop a new Defense Department-wide plan for them.

The paper was written by Jason D. Ellis, a visiting senior fellow at the think tank who is on leave from the Lawrence Livermore National Laboratory in California. The lab devotes itself to looking for ways that science and engineering can help in national security, and has studied lasers at length.

In the wrong hands things could get dangerous.  To lighten things up but make sort of a comical analogy, look at Austin Powers and Dr. Evil.  That is a humorous example of when technology gets abused.  What is your opinion is the Star Wars defense program a good or bad thing?  Feel free to comment.

thanks to Dan Lamothe and The Washington Post for a great write-up