White Phosphorus Use? Yes. Wait, NO!
The Pentagon today acknowledged using incendiary white-phosphorus munitions in a 2004 counterinsurgency offensive in the Iraqi city of Falluja, but defended their use as legal. Although used as a diversionary tool, WP can be a particularly nasty weapon for its effects on humans.
Army Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. military had not used the highly flammable weapons against civilians, contrary to an Italian state television report this month which said the weapons were used against men, women and children in Falluja who were burned to the bone. "We categorically deny that claim," Venable said.
An examination by The Independent of the available evidence suggests the following: that WP shells were fired at insurgents, that reports from the battleground suggest troops firing these WP shells did not always know who they were hitting and that there remain widespread reports of civilians suffering extensive burn injuries. While US commanders insist they always strive to avoid civilian casualties, the story of the battle of Fallujah highlights the intrinsic difficulty of such an endeavour.
Persons struck with the smoke from white phosphorus are burned immediately. The effect is the same, if not worse than napalm. The smoke doesn't effect clothing at all, but will burn the skin underneath. Pictures show persons burned to the bone with their clothes still in tact. Once begun the effects of the burning are irreversible. WP was also once know as Fenian Fire.
Army Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, said the U.S. military had not used the highly flammable weapons against civilians, contrary to an Italian state television report this month which said the weapons were used against men, women and children in Falluja who were burned to the bone. "We categorically deny that claim," Venable said.
An examination by The Independent of the available evidence suggests the following: that WP shells were fired at insurgents, that reports from the battleground suggest troops firing these WP shells did not always know who they were hitting and that there remain widespread reports of civilians suffering extensive burn injuries. While US commanders insist they always strive to avoid civilian casualties, the story of the battle of Fallujah highlights the intrinsic difficulty of such an endeavour.
Persons struck with the smoke from white phosphorus are burned immediately. The effect is the same, if not worse than napalm. The smoke doesn't effect clothing at all, but will burn the skin underneath. Pictures show persons burned to the bone with their clothes still in tact. Once begun the effects of the burning are irreversible. WP was also once know as Fenian Fire.
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