US used white phosphorus in Iraq

MIKE BURN · Posted: Wed Nov 16, 2005 12:54 am Post subject: US used white phosphorus in Iraq

Quote:
http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/world/middle_east/4440664.stm

Tuesday, 15 November 2005, 20:32 GMT

The Pentagon has confirmed that US troops used white phosphorus during last year's offensive in the northern Iraqi city of Falluja.

"It was used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants," spokesman Lt Col Barry Venable told the BBC.

Col Venable denied that the substance - which can cause burning of the flesh - constituted a banned chemical weapon.

Early this month, Italian state TV, Rai, said white phosphorus had been used against civilians in Falluja.

The US military vehemently denies this.

Washington is not a signatory of an international treaty restricting the use of white phosphorus devices.

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

And your point for posting this here is?

Melody and Instruments for the soul...

HKRockChick · No More Peas! Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 1513

discussion DT, discussion.

Anything to say on the article? Nothing? thought not.

....

Waiting for denial/dismissal of report, other countries bad behaviour etc etc etc...

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

LOL Deb!

Of course we used it...as many other countries do. So?

Melody and Instruments for the soul...

HKRockChick · No More Peas! Joined: 25 Nov 2003 Posts: 1513

The US also used depleted uranium and cluster bombs that are killing people to this day. Cluster bombs are banned weapons. Depleted uranium will continue to remain in the air kill for many generations to come.

I'm sure there are other countries which do or did this, dyu know which they are? This is a real question.

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

Great Britain, Germany...most of the countries that played a larger part in WWII used "Willy-Peter" (as White-Phosphorus rounds are commonly referred to). It was also used by both sides in the Korean War, as I recall. These, along with cluster-bombs, have been standard munitions for a long time. They "do the trick" better in certain situations. Cluster bombs are great for taking out large area targets such as airstrips...which is what they were used for in Iraq. War is ugly...and it's some of these things that make it something to be avoided. War is not supposed to be "nice"...that's part of what makes it war.

I will note that it is a good measure of a governments respect for the lives of it's people that it is charged with caring for to place high-priority military targets away from highly populated areas. That's why the US places it's ICBM sites where it does. Other countries have been known to do such things as place their military control centers beneath hospitals just to get folks like you going, Deb, when they get attacked.

As for Depleted-Uranium, we had a discussion about that one along time ago. As I recall, you bought the whole leftist-media attitude and story without taking into account how scientifically real their claims were. Unless people begin to grow fond of eating rocks, you stand more chance of aquiring radioactive poisoning from your smoke-detector than you do Depleted-Uranium rounds. (By way of explanation, smoke-detectors are made with radioactive Americium.) Many countries carry this type of munition for use as an armour-piercing projectile to use against tanks and other armoured vehicles on the battle-field.

Melody and Instruments for the soul...

bitwhys · Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 649

Quote:
you stand more chance of aquiring radioactive poisoning from your smoke-detector than you do Depleted-Uranium rounds.

tell that to my Pastor. he spent the last few years of his service burying GW I vets who happened to die of cancer.

smoke detector my @#%$.

so America is @#%$ brutal and proud of it. don't expect everyone to cheer along or buy into the excuses.

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

bitwhys - "tell that to my Pastor. he spent the last few years of his service burying GW I vets who happened to die of cancer."

Cancer from what? Depleted-Uranium shell fragments or dust...or smoking cigarettes? Without any evidence or particulars to spell it out, your insinuation is nebulous at best. There are all kinds of issues with GW vets that point to use of nerve agents as well. Who knows what the long-term effects of those might be.

A bit more on this:

www.nti.org/e_research/e3_24a.html

www.nti.org/e_research/e3_20b.html

Melody and Instruments for the soul...

bitwhys · Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 649

oh goodie.

the world according to AOL Time Warner and the Freedom House. I hope you enjoyed reading.

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

bitwhys - "the world according to AOL Time Warner and the Freedom House."

Sources are cited at the bottom.

bitwhys - "I hope you enjoyed reading."

Judging by your reaction, I doubt you did.

Melody and Instruments for the soul...

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

BTW, WP is not an illegal weapon...just in case anybody was truly interested in knowing the truth.

Melody and Instruments for the soul...

bitwhys · Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 649

and what make you think that matters?

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

To me, it doesn't...considering how it was used. But I prefer to nip that one in the bud.

Melody and Instruments for the soul...

Edited by: DreamTone7 at: 11/16/05 5:45

bitwhys · Joined: 19 Nov 2004 Posts: 649

I say you're just trying to fool yourself. If it didn't matter you'd have waited for someone to say something.

btw, exactly how many tanks did they take out while they were using those things, anyway?

Edited by: bitwhys at: 11/16/05 5:49

DreamTone7 · Joined: 20 Sep 2002 Posts: 2571

bitwhys - "I say you're just trying to fool yourself. If it didn't matter you'd have waited for someone to say something."

I say you're wrong.

bitwhys - "btw, exactly how many tanks did they take out while they were using those things, anyway?"

WP is White-Phosphorus...the original subject of the thread. It's wasn't used against tanks at all. The DU rounds were...if that's what you're referring to. I don't know for sure how many tanks those rounds were used to take out. I've read that it was only used in the beginning of the invasion when there were Iraqi tanks to be taken out, though.

Melody and Instruments for the soul...