By Whitney Webb
The public affairs website DVIDS, which is linked to the Pentagon, posted images which clearly show the US Army firing white phosphorus at a group of Islamic militants in Iraq in close proximity to the town of Gwer. White phosphorus, known for its volatility and the horrific injuries it causes, is banned for use in combat and in civilian areas and failure to comply with the ban is a war crime. Under international law, white phosphorus may only be used to make smoke screens or to give signals in areas where no civilians are present.
However, in the past, the US has admitted to using white phosphorus as a weapon of war despite it being illegal to do so. In 2005, a US Army publication (PDF) stated the following about its actions in Fallujah the year prior:
WP [White Phosphorus] proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it […] as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents.
However, white phosphorus is neither effective nor versatile. When used, it forms a deadly chemical cloud that produces a horrific “skin-eating” sensation that kills everything within a tenth of a mile radius. Its use also explains the grotesque birth defects that appeared following the 2004 battle for Fallujah. The US has also used white phosphorus during its ongoing “presence” in Afghanistan. It became an international issue once again in 2009 when US-led NATO forces burned and disfigured an 8-year-old girl with white phosphorus munitions.
Amid controversy over its latest use of white phosphorus, Air Force Colonel John Dorrian, the spokesman for the US coalition in Iraq, said the images posted online show an operation where US forces supported Kurdish forces with artillery strikes. The operation, known as Evergreen II, aimed to reclaim a bridge in the northern Iraqi town of Gwer from militants. Dorrian claimed that the white phosphorus fired was used to obscure Kurdish forces moving on enemy positions, but he was unable to respond to questions regarding the use of the chemical munitions in or near the town of Gwer or on enemy positions.
U.S. Army soldiers execute a fire mission in northern Iraq on Aug.14, 2016. White Phosphorus smoke rounds can be seen in the right-hand corner. Credit – US Army
It remains unclear exactly how this napalm-like chemical is currently being used by the US military. However, based on the US and NATO’s previous illegal use and on the US Army’s own admission of its use as a weapon of war, white phosphorus will likely continue to be deployed in US combat operations abroad, endangering civilians.
The US has also been quick to supply the chemical weapon to its allies, who also show the same propensity for using the substance illegally. Just recently, the US admitted to supplying Saudi Arabia with white phosphorus, where it has been used in its atrocious war in Yemen. Saudi Arabia has already been accused of numerous war crimes in Yemen, making their use of US-supplied white phosphorus just another example of their egregious disregard for civilian populations. Equally concerning is the US’ continual negligence in adhering to international weapon laws and its ease in avoiding punishment for doing so, even when war crimes are committed. Yet, due to the enormous power of defense and weapon contractors in US politics, change is unlikely as war is part of the US status quo.
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Top image credit: CommonDreams.org
The entire world is being blanketed with chemtrails, poisons in vaccines, GMOs, the engineered Gulf oil spill, some believe Fukushima was deliberate too. Gotta get people to wake up to the poisons everywhere.
If the Pentagon was saturated with it, would they change their minds?
You’re assuming they still have Open Minds and Free Will.
lol…. I think I love you!!!!!!
Weapons sales and the export of war is probably the only thing propping the US economy up, selling white phosphorous to anyone who will pay for it means that eventually said chemical weapon will be used against the US and it’s NATO Allies. Innocent US/NATO allied country’s civilians will suffer but there will be little recourse for condemning it, precisely because they have themselves endorsed it’s use. Governments employing such weapons risk their own civilians and it should, therefore, be an issue for civilians to hold their respective governments to task for the risks they pose to the people. It’s doubtful that Washington would care too much if white phosphorous was used against US bases by anti-US jihadists, aside from sanctimonious condemnation with not a leg to stand on. Brilliant thinking by self serving tossers within the pentagon.
This is known as a Country Pot using “weapons of mass destruction”, calling a Country Kettle a “user of weapons of mass destruction.”