Talbott was State point man on this, and (page 20) "the State Department had notified the Russian embassy in Washington that a search party would be boarding the ship. The tip-off gave the Russians time to notify their vessel of the planned inspection so that any lasers on board could be disposed of or hidden. The National Security Agency later confirmed exactly that though an intercept--officials at the Russian embassy in Washington had directed an official at the Russian consulate in Seattle to have the Kapitan Man's captain get rid of the laser rangefinder on board."
Talbott was then ranking State official on the secure videoteleconference 12:15am April 8 which let Kapitan Man leave after the single limited search. (Gertz, 21)
I recall this story, as well as one wherein a private pilot was blinded by a laser in California. To be fair to the other poster(s), a high-altitude strike would require a powerful laser (and still, a direct line of sight impact on the retina). Beam dispersion at 30,000 feet would be substantial. In this regard, perhaps I owe FReeper Kirkwood an apology. I suppose I would have to run the math, for example on a 20 KW, 3-5 cm AR beam with 2% dispersion at 30,000 feet to be sure. No time for that now. :O)