From London daily The Independent:
So what have they got to hide?Official secrets, lies, and the truth about the assault on Fallujah [with white phosphorus bombs]
The trial of two Whitehall workers this week could reveal Britain’s role in one of the Iraq war’s darkest episodes.
By Raymond Whitaker and Marie Woolf
Published: 27 November 2005 …
Only this month, we learned that US troops used white phosphorus, intended to provide smokescreens, as an illegal chemical weapon against fighters in buildings or foxholes.
On contact with skin or clothing, it can burn down to the bone.
And many of the same tactics are being employed during Operation Steel Curtain, which for the past few weeks has sought to drive insurgents out of towns and villages near Iraq’s borders with Syria and Jordan.
After the Weapons of Mass Destruction lie and the 9/11 link lie to justify the Iraq war both fell flat, the Bush administration shifted to a new lie: supposedly bringing democracy to Iraq.
See here the opinion of Iraq’s ex Prime Minister Allawi on this …
Why no withdrawal from Iraq? See here for Donald Rumsfeld on that subject.
See also here.
On George W. Bush: here.
On Dick Cheney: here.
Also on this from Dear Kitty ModBlog 6/17/05
Mood: Thinking Playing: Lying all the time, by The Outsiders
From British daily The Independent:
US lied to Britain over use of napalm in Iraq warSee also here.Despite persistent rumours of injuries among Iraqis consistent with the use of incendiary weapons such as napalm, Adam Ingram, the Defence minister, assured Labour MPs in January that US forces had not used a new generation of incendiary weapons, codenamed MK77, in Iraq.
But Mr Ingram admitted to the Labour MP Harry Cohen in a private letter obtained by The Independent that he had inadvertently misled Parliament because he had been misinformed by the US.
“The US confirmed to my officials that they had not used MK77s in Iraq at any time and this was the basis of my response to you,” he told Mr Cohen.
“I regret to say that I have since discovered that this is not the case and must now correct the position.”
And here.
And here.
And here.
And here.
I don’t think it’s illegal to use grenades in combat. Just because they are made of white phosphorus does’t make them illegal. We forget that war is “never” and I stress “never” pretty nor fair. We are 20 times more advanced than the Iraqi’s and should we ban our tank, air and combat technologies because it’s not fair? War at it primal base is what ever is necessary to win…in fact win at all costs. The start for the premis of the war may have been false…but once you are on the ground and if you were a soldier, I doubt that you would hesitate to use a white phosphorus if you had one at your disposal and you were in combat. War is not fair…nor is it safe. Maybe you should ask an insurgent if they would hesitate to use anything on you and then you have your answer….I bet they will all say no.
Comment by Jailee — March 2, 2007 @ 12:32 am
Hi Jailee, I quote `war is “never” and I stress “never” pretty nor fair.`
Funny, I think that was said before.
Over 62 years ago in Germany, when some of my family went into Hitler´s death camps …
Indeed, I agree that the war was started on false grounds. That Donald Rumsfeld had phosphorus grenades, illegal according to international law, disposable, but not body armour for US soldiers, says quite something about him.
As does the torture in Abu Ghraib and elsewhere.
Comment by Administrator — March 2, 2007 @ 12:43 am