White Phosphorous: The U.S. Used It; The U.S. Says It's Illegal
By David Swanson
The U.S. military used white phosphorous as a weapon in Fallujah, and the U.S. military says such use is illegal. That's
one heck of a fog fact (Larry Beinhart's term for a fact that is neither secret nor known). This fact has appeared in an
article in the Guardian (UK) and been circulated on the internet, but has just not interested the corporate media in the
United States.
It interests Congressman John Conyers, however. Last week, Conyers released a 273-page report titled "The Constitution
in Crisis; The Downing Street Minutes and Deception, Manipulation, Torture, Retribution, and Coverups in the Iraq War."
This 273-page report covers many war-related crimes, including the use of white phosphorous. LINK
On page 165, following discussion of other crimes against humanity, the report states: "Finally, there is evidence that
the U.S. Military used an incendiary weapon in combat known as White Phosphorus, even though the U.S. Battle Book
states, '[i]t is against the Law of Land Warfare to employ WP against personnel targets,' and which would be in
contravention of the Geneva and Hague Conventions and the War Crimes Act."
That's an impressive criminal feat, violating multiple U.S. laws and international laws at one shot. But it may be a
greater feat of hypocrisy and irony. After all, this war was supposedly launched in order to prevent the use of
so-called weapons of mass destruction. While that lie has been exposed, we now know that WMDs have been wantonly
employed in the course of this war by the so-called liberators. That fact is not yet widely known within the United
States.
The Battle Book is published by the U.S. Command and General Staff College at Fort Leavenworth, Kansas, and does indeed
contain this sentence: "It is against the law of land warfare to employ WP against personnel targets." LINK
As George Monbiot makes clear in the Guardian, a chemical weapon is illegal, according to the Chemical Weapons
Convention, regardless of whether the people targeted with it are civilians.
"The Pentagon argues that white phosphorus burns people," Monbiot wrote, "rather than poisoning them, and is therefore
covered only by the protocol on incendiary weapons, which the U.S. has not signed. But white phosphorus is both
incendiary and toxic. The gas it produces attacks the mucous membranes, the eyes and the lungs. As Peter Kaiser of the
Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons told the BBC, 'If ... the toxic properties of white phosphorus, the
caustic properties, are specifically intended to be used as a weapon, that of course is prohibited, because ... any
chemicals used against humans or animals that cause harm or death through the toxic properties of the chemical are
considered chemical weapons.'"
Blogger Gabriele Zamparini found a declassified document from the U.S. Department of Defense, dated April 1991, and
titled "Possible use of phosphorous chemical," which makes clear that the U.S. military understands white phosphorous to
be a chemical weapon. "During the brutal crackdown that followed the Kurdish uprising," it alleges, "Iraqi forces loyal
to President Saddam (Hussein) may have possibly used white phosphorous (WP) chemical weapons against Kurdish rebels and
the populace in Erbil ... and Dohuk provinces, Iraq. The WP chemical was delivered by artillery rounds and helicopter
gunships. ... These reports of possible WP chemical weapon attacks spread quickly ... hundreds of thousands of Kurds
fled from these two areas." LINK
Conyers' report, on page 102, cites evidence that the United States used white phosphorous in Fallujah:
"Recent reports coming out of Iraq verify the use of a weapon called white phosphorus (WP) in combat. An Italian state
broadcaster, RAI, recently reported that American forces used WP in Fallujah last year against insurgents. According to
a former American soldier who fought in Fallujah, 'I heard the order to pay attention because they were going to use
white phosphorus on Fallujah. In military jargon it's known as Willy Pete. . . . Phosphorus burns bodies, in fact it
melts the flesh all the way down to the bone . . . I saw the burned bodies of women and children. Phosphorus explodes
and forms a cloud. Anyone within a radius of 150 metres is done for.'"
The RAI story reached British readers and perusers of the internet via a November 8th article in the Independent by
Peter Popham titled "US Forces Used Chemical Weapons During Assault on City of Fallujah."
It remains unclear when that information will reach consumers of U.S. television news.
ENDS