Thread: US used chemical weapons on Iraq

http://news.bbc.co.uk/2/hi/middle_east/4442156.stm


Iraq probes US phosphorus weapons
Residents pick through the rubble of a house destroyed in Falluja
The US offensive in Falluja reduced much of the city to rubble
An Iraqi human rights team has gone to the city of Falluja to investigate the use of white phosphorus as a weapon by US forces, a minister has told the BBC.

Acting Human Rights Minister Narmin Uthman said her staff would examine the possible effects on civilians.

The US has now admitted using white phosphorus as a weapon in Falluja last year, after earlier denying it.

The substance can cause burning of the flesh but is not illegal and is not classified as a chemical weapon.

The BBC's Caroline Hawley in Baghdad says it will be some time before the human rights team reports back.

The US had previously said that white phosphorus had been used only to light up enemy positions.

BBC defence correspondent Paul Wood says having to retract its denial is a public relations disaster for the US.

In other developments in Iraq:

* Sunni parties demand an international inquiry into the alleged abuse of more than 170 detainees by Iraqi forces in Baghdad.

* Three US soldiers have been killed in a roadside bomb near Baghdad, the US command says.

* A car bomb kills another marine in Karmah, 80 kilometres (50 miles) west of Baghdad.

A Pentagon spokesman, Lt Col Barry Venable, confirmed to the BBC the US had used white phosphorus "as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants" - though not against civilians, he said.

He said earlier denials had been based on "poor information".

Washington is not a signatory to an international treaty restricting the use of the substance against civilians.

The US-led assault in November 2004 on Falluja - a stronghold of the Sunni insurgency west of Baghdad - displaced most of the city's 300,000 population and left many of its buildings destroyed.

'Particularly nasty'

San Diego journalist Darrin Mortenson, who was embedded with US marines during the assault on Falluja, told the BBC's Today radio programme he had seen white phosphorous used "as an incendiary weapon" against insurgents.


WHITE PHOSPHORUS
Spontaneously flammable chemical used for battlefield illumination
Contact with particles causes burning of skin and flesh
Use of incendiary weapons prohibited for attacking civilians (Protocol III of Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons)
Protocol III not signed by US

Rai interview
However, he "never saw anybody intentionally use any weapon against civilians", he said.

White phosphorus is highly flammable and ignites on contact with oxygen. If the substance hits a person's body, it will burn until deprived of oxygen.

Globalsecurity.org, a defence website, says: "Phosphorus burns on the skin are deep and painful... These weapons are particularly nasty because white phosphorus continues to burn until it disappears... it could burn right down to the bone."

A spokesman at the UK Ministry of Defence said the use of white phosphorus was permitted in battle in cases where there were no civilians near the target area.

But Professor Paul Rodgers, of the University of Bradford's department of peace studies, said white phosphorus could be considered a chemical weapon if deliberately aimed at civilians.

He told PM: "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."

An Italian documentary revealing the use of white phosphorus in Iraq sparked fury among Italian anti-war protesters, who demonstrated outside the US embassy in Rome earlier this month.

Iraq's human rights minister said the team was sent to Falluja after the documentary was broadcast on Rai TV in Italy.

Originally Posted by YNKYH8R

Well.....white phosphorus grenades have been in the US arsenal for decades. I'd never heard they were outlawed. They're great when used againsts large numbers.

WHOA!!!!!!!!! What you just said is exactly why people freak out... Phosphorus GRENADES and SIGNAL FLARES are NEVER used as weapons... What FREAKIN' ARMY were you in???

Phosphorus grenades do not explode... they ignite. They are used to render equipment inoperable, if you have to leave it behind enemy lines. Place ONE on an engine block and it will burn all the way through.

Originally Posted by mesue

We went into Iraq screaming WMD's was the reason and because Saddam had an arsenal of chemical weapons and might use them on us, remember the duct tape and plastic? Now we the saviors of all those poor Iraqi's are using chemical weapons on them. The irony of it all would be funny if it were not so tragic.

Re-read the article... Phosphorus weapons are NOT classified as chemical weapons... they have a legitimate use on the battlefield (as I explained above, and as stated in the article).

IF they were used against civilians, it would be because of the JOHN WAYNE, Gun TOTING, wannabe RAMBOS (getting the hint here???), who saw it used in a FREAKIN' Movie and DISREGARD their training and mis-used them. None of MY troops would do such a thing (or they would be facing a courtmartial)!

Originally Posted by YNKYH8R

I didn't say they were supposed to be used on people I said they were great when used on people. I've never used one; I've only seen the effects.

No, you said "They're great when used againsts large numbers." Since they don't explode, that is pretty impossible...

What you probably meant to say was that you saw one used against one person in a MOVIE, and the results were horrific. I really don't think you meant to say they were "great"...

You can't "spray" phosphorus... it is a solid, which chemically ingites when exposed to Oxygen.