Janes article

This may be in violation of the 1980 Convention on International Humanitarian Law summarized as follows:

1980 Convention on prohibitions or restrictions on the use of certain conventional weapons which may be deemed to be excessively injurious or to have indiscriminate effects (CCW), which includes:

the Protocol (I) on non-detectable fragments
the Protocol (II) on prohibitions or restrictions on the use of mines, booby traps and other devices
the Protocol (III) on prohibitions or restrictions on the use of incendiary weapons

1993 Convention on the prohibition of the development, production, stockpiling and use of chemical weapons and on their destruction

1995 Protocol relating to blinding laser weapons (Protocol IV [new] to the 1980 Convention)

1996 Revised Protocol on prohibitions or restrictions on the use of mines, booby traps and other devices (Protocol II [revised] to the 1980 Convention)

source - International Committee of the Red Cross

I was of the impression that these were international treaties preventing the use of blinding lasers during wars, and we find out the US Air Force is developing them for use against civilians!