[justa-hairyape]

The mirrors in the laser need heavy cooling to stay 'functional'. Same 'cooling' problem would apply to mirrored targets, I suspect. A mirrored target would just increase dwell time. Or you could just increase beam intensity or the 'shock kill' (whatever that is).

Concerning the FAS - IMHO There is no such thing as Liberal Scientists. There are in fact Liberal Political Scientists.

[GSlob]

Laser beam diverges. Beam energy density on the target is much less than on the laser mirror unless the target is very close, so the heavy cooling on the target might not be necessary. And as for increased dwell time - these lasers work in bursts on the order of one second, maybe two or three.