Electro-Magnetic Weapons

From the Economist:

BULLETS and bombs are so 20th-century. The wars of the 21st will be dominated by ray guns. That, at least, is the vision of a band of military technologists who are building weapons that work by zapping the enemy’s electronics, rather than blowing him to bits. The result could be conflict that is less bloody, yet more effective, than what is now seen as conventional battle.

(Link). My first thought was, of course, how would that work against an insurgent. The article mentions a micro-wave weapon designed to produce "discomfort" on enemy troops. So what. That is a crowd control weapon, not a counter-insurgency weapon. My guess is that these weapons are being developed with an eye toward China, not Afghanistan.