Comment

Weapons of Civilian Destruction

Reg Lee

Political hypocrisy was raised to new and dangerous heights recently when the Italian state channel RAI broadcast 'Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre' (November 2005) detailing chemical attacks by US military forces on innocent Iraqi civilians in November 2004. This isn't exactly news in the sense that it's a recent revelation mainly because bloggers on the Net have been busy circulating information for a year that the US had used White Phosphorus as a weapon of attack in the military siege that flattened the Iraqi town of Fallujah. White Phosphorus can take many forms, sometimes colourless, white or yellow and has a garlic type odour and is manufactured from phosphate rocks. Although White Phosphorus is an incendiary device, which is designed to cause fires, both the US and UK military claim that they only use it benignly as a 'smoke screen' in which to protect their forces from attack. White Phosphorus is extremely harmful to human life when it's purposely ignited and fired at people. The US military refer to this strategic use of White Phosphorus as 'shake and bake': how novel, how barbaric!

Under International Treaty, all military forces are banned from using White Phosphorus as a weapon to attack innocent civilians, so when news broke in the mainstream Italian media that White Phosphorus had been used as a military weapon both the US government and military denied the claim. By November 15th 2005 they had changed their position and reluctantly admitted it was used in Fallujah, but only against 'insurgents'. The RAI film disputes this, showing graphic images of women and children burnt to their deaths. White Phosphorus is a particularly nasty, cruel and inhumane weapon to use; it sticks to the skin and brutally burns the victim to death, leaving clothes intact whilst cruelly rubbing against the scorched skin. And while that's happening there's liver, kidney and heart failure to contend with. If it's proved, that the US have used White Phosphorus against civilians then this would constitute a war crime.

The US have a history of using chemical weapons in war, they used Agent Orange and Napalm in Vietnam to devastating effect. Agent Orange is a, herbicide that was 'tested' in Vietnam primarily designed to strip away foliage and reveal, enemy positions. Agent Orange was one of fifteen herbicides used in Vietnam and it was estimated that 19 million gallons was used throughout the war. There's strong evidence that Agent Orange is linked with causing Chronic Lymphocytic Leukaemia (CLL). In 2003 the British based newspaper The Independent reported the use of Napalm in Iraq even though the 1980 UN Convention banned its use against civilians. The US refused to sign the treaty and remains one of the few countries to use Napalm as an option in warfare. At the time Colonel James Alles, Commander of Marine Air Group 11 was reported to have admitted the use of Napalm in a bombardment of two bridges in Baghdad and said: 'Unfortunately there were people there ... you could see them in the [cockpit] video. They were Iraqi soldiers. It's no great way to die. The generals love napalm. It has a big psychological effect.' Modern Napalm is a mixture of kerosene and polystyrene that sticks to the skin. There are comparisons with the events surrounding the use of White Phosphorus in 2004 and Napalm in 2003. At the time the Pentagon initially denied using Napalm in Iraq, eventually admitting that they did so and here we are once again witnessing their denials, revealing the truth.

These are truly troubling times and the use of White Phosphorus signifies a new low in the levels of depravity to which the US are now so ominously immersed, in their hegemonic bid to maintain control over the region. The latest revelation of this disgraceful act follows closely in the immoral footsteps of evidence of torture and abuse in the Abu Ghraib Prison and psychological warfare used in Guantanamo, Cuba. But also the US admission of using White Phosphorus coincides with revelations of torture committed by Iraqi forces at the Interior Ministry Building in Baghdad. It's widely believed that between 150-160 prisoners, mostly Sunni, have suffered torture by Iraqi forces trained by the US military. Some have been paralysed and some have been flayed, this is the forced removal of flesh from victims' bodies. Human Rights Watch had presented evidence to British authorities in May 2005 of abuse and the Iraqi Islamic Party had also presented evidence of abuse to the mainstream media in May, which was largely ignored and it's taken 6 months for this to emerge. The story concerning the use of White Phosphorus has taken 12 months to emerge as a news item in the mainstream media.

There's no doubt that the US and UK military rampage into Iraq, the despotic attempt at rule and the despicable and cynical plundering of Iraq's resources is doomed to fail. There was never any moral basis on which to launch an attack and now with the use of chemicals the US are undeniably beneath moral contempt.

Meanwhile in Holland, Saddam Hussein awaits his outcome as the authoritative figure for allegedly allowing the use of Mustard Gas by Iraqi forces against the Kurds in 1987/88 under Operation Anfal. The recorded deaths of Kurds however are inconsistent with the use of Mustard Gas that has only a 2 per cent fatality rate and is an incapacitating agent. The dead in Hallibjah were coloured blue, which is consistent with blood agents such as cyanogen chloride or hydrogen cyanide, neither of which the Iraqis held but the Iranians did. Former CIA analyst, Stephen Pelleteire's report makes for very interesting reading on this event. In other words, the facts just don't stack up; where in Iraq, the US have admitted to using both Napalm and White Phosphorus; now who do you think is guilty?