Sex, Lies and Phosphorus

Stardate 4868.2

CTV - The US military has admitted using White Phosphorus as an incendiary weapon against the city of Fallujah. Lt Col Barry Venable said, "It was used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants". Yeah, ina city full of civilians. US officials had previously stated that the substance had been used only to create smoke and as illumination during the night attacks.

The thing about phosphorus is that it burns when in contact with air. It burns anything and will nto stop burning until it has spent it's reaction or has no oxygen left to react with. It will burn flesh to the bone. If inhaled, it will burn from the inside out. The most reprehensible thing is that so many US officials continue to use a loophole and insist that it is not a chemical weapon. Of course, technically, if it is used as an illuminant, then it is not a weapon. But when you use it against PEOPLE, it becomes a chemical weapon for sure.

Venable told the BBC that U.S. forces could use white phosphorus rounds to flush enemy troops out of covered positions.
"The combined effects of the fire and smoke and in some case the terror brought about by the explosion on the ground will drive them out of the holes so that you can kill them with high explosives," he said.
"White phosphorus is a conventional munition. It is not a chemical weapon. They are not outlawed or illegal."

And that's just it. Remember my last post about these weapons...

Use of white phosphorus is not specifically banned by any treaty, however the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons (Protocol III) prohibits the use of incendiary weapons against civilian populations or by air attack against military forces that are located within concentrations of civilians. The US is among the nations that are parties in the convention but have not signed protocol III.

Some experts in the field see things my way though. Professor Paul Rodgers of the Universiy of Bradford's department of peace studies, said white phosphorus could be considered a chemical weapon if it was deliberately aimed at civilians.

"It is not counted under the chemical weapons convention in its normal use but, although it is a matter of legal niceties, it probably does fall into the category of chemical weapons if it is used for this kind of purpose directly against people," he told the BBC.

I can already see the new crap that the right and the US Admin will spew out about this. It wasn't deliberately aimed at civilians... Well sorry, but the City of Fallujah was full of civilians. Others will still maintain it isn't a chemical weapon, but come on... If it is used as they suggest, it isn't a weapon at all. I am glad that someone was smart and courageous enough to show that documentary from the Italian station. So now what new revelation will come out... Maybe something about those lions used to interrogate detainees...