Melting the skin off of children - we used chemical weapons in Fallujah

We are so fucked...

In a documentary to be broadcast by RAI, the Italian state broadcaster, this morning, a former American soldier who fought at Fallujah says: "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 Independent, US forces 'used chemical weapons' during assault on city of Fallujah



"WP proved to be an effective and versatile munition. We used it for screening missions at two breeches and, later in the fight, as a potent psychological weapon against the insurgents in trench lines and spider holes when we could not get effects on them with HE. We fired 'shake and bake' missions at the insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out."

-- Field Artillery Magazine, via Steven D


I think we need to take a step back from the newest Fallujah revelations. There's been a lot of confusion over what is or isn't a "chemical weapon" vs. an "incendiary"; what aspects of the Geneva conventions the United States is or is not signatory to; and whether or not the United States is still bound by rules of warfare that they are not direct signatories to.

Allow me to try to clear things up, if I can.

First, I think it should be a stated goal of United States policy to not melt the skin off of children.

As a natural corollary to this goal, I think the United States should avoid dropping munitions on civilian neighborhoods which, as a side effect, melt the skin off of children. You can call them "chemical weapons" if you must, or far more preferably by the more proper name of "incendiaries". The munitions may or may not precisely melt the skin off of children by setting them on fire; they do melt the skin off of children, however, through robust oxidation of said skin on said children, which is indeed colloquially known as "burning". But let's try to avoid, for now, the debate over the scientific phenomenon of exactly how the skin is melted, burned, or caramelized off of the aforementioned children. I feel quite confident that others have put more thought into the matter of how to melt the skin off of children than I have, and will trust their judgment on the matter.

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/11/9/174518/797

Video supporting the Italian report...warning...VERY graphic.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article10907.htm

I'm going to be sick.

:( We've ruined them. :cry:

:cry:

because we have to see what is being done in our name.

hell is not good enough for anyone who thinks melting the flesh off people is a sound military strategy.

Every Mother's Child

Since I'm new I don't have enough posts to start my own thread. It has fallen off the home page and I would like to get people to recommend it.

link
http://www.dailykos.com/story/2005/11/10/10410/720

From the diary:

I think of the children in Iraq, some as young as my own. I picture sitting in my living room and hearing a black helicopter hovering over my roof. It's loud, from a speaker I hear what sound like orders being angrily shouted in a language I don't understand. Then I hear the loud crashing of a bomb falling through my ceiling. The last thing I see and hear is my children screaming as acid eats their tender flesh away. This is just a nightmare for me, but for the mothers of Iraq it is a reality.

Every Mother's Child
by Melodybe

Thu Nov 10, 2005 at 08:04:10 AM PDT

We have to get these pictures out to the public. America has to see the creulty that we are inflicting on others. I personally am calling Clinton, Kennedy, Kerry, Trent Lott, Thad Cochran, and a few other Senators today. I'll have links handy and I plan on asking every receptionist I talk to if they personally have seen the Italian video. We can not let them do this, and for once I'll steal a RW talking point by saving, "it's for the children." If you haven't watched the video yet I suggest you muster up your courage and see for yourself what it going on. If we don't keep bringing it up, if we don't send it to our friends, families, and represenatives there will not be a demand for the atrocities to stop.

I am the mother of 2 young boys. This is my vow to work even harder to ensure that this is not done in our names.
This now has a new and improved title thanks to MamaBear who suggested it.

Melodybe's diary :: ::
My children are beautiful. Luke is 3 1/2 and Xander is 28 months. Already both of my sons are advanced for their ages. Luke is reading and counting. Xander can keep a beat, can count to 6, and is good with names. Luke is shy, always has been. He likes cars (BTW he can name over a hundred of them from the Lotus Elise to the Honda Civic) he likes animals and he thinks that bugs are the coolest thing on earth. Xander was a ladies man from day one, smiling and flirting with every pretty waitress or receptionist. He likes our cats, follows his big brother around all the time, and loves Clifford the Big Red Dog. The differences in their personalities is already great; Luke an introvert, Xander the extrovert. They both love music. You can see in the eyes of both grandads visions of little league and pee wee football.

Last week Xander learned how to tell me that he loves me. He crawls in my lap, kisses my cheek, and says "I lub ooh, mama."

I think of the children in Iraq, some as young as my own. I picture sitting in my living room and hearing a black helicopter hovering over my roof. It's loud, from a speaker I hear what sound like orders being angrily shouted in a language I don't understand. Then I hear the loud crashing of a bomb falling through my ceiling. The last thing I see and hear is my children screaming as acid eats their tender flesh away. This is just a nightmare for me, but for the mothers of Iraq it is a reality.

Although I might be a raging liberal, my children aren't, well not yet anyway. Luke could care less about gay rights or tax incentives for oil companies. He is too busy playing video games and learning about different cars. Right now all he cares about is that the news makes mama sad and that I need a kiss to make it better. Xander could care less about the war or Diebold, he just wants to be picked up and if he hurts himself he knows that mama and daddy will be there with a hug and a bandaid. They are innocent of any political persuasion, children just like them, the same ages as them, are being killed right now.

I had seen the pictures before, this story is old, this documentary is not. The realities of that carnage are available for the world to see, it is our duty to fight this, to demand that it stops.

These images are horrific and definiately depressing. After viewing the video I couldn't sleep, my heart aches for any mother that has witness their children being destroyed like this. It's so hard to deal with, knowing that our troops are being told to do this, knowing that they will forever be warped because they have to follow orders. After seeing this video I was angry and so sad.

I decided to listen to lots of music to help me cope, I listened repeatedly to Jeff Buskley's cover of Hallelujah, Rage Against the Machine and finally Where is the Love by the Black Eyed Peas.

I know that their is plenty of Peas hatred, Clear Channel has the tendency to destroy plenty of good bands with excessive play, so while I understand that some may ridicule me for listening to that song, that is what I did.

While listening I am taken back to 2003, we had just gone to war with Iraq and this was the ONLY song played on the radio that seemed to say anything important. Back in the days of Bush 70%+ approval ratings and ignorant patriotism, this song reminded me that some people get it. I was all alone in my views and America was confused and dark. This song makes me feel optimistic, so I went back to it for comfort.

Lyrics:

What's wrong with the world mama?
People living like aint got no mamas
I think the whole worlds addicted to the drama
Only attracted to the things that bring you trauma
Overseas yeah we tryin to stop terrorism
But we still got terrorists here livin
In the USA the big CIA the Bloodz and the Crips and the KKK

Link to secret CIA prisions:
http://www.guardian.co.uk/....

But if you only have love for your own race
Then you only leave space to discriminate
And to discriminate only generates hate
And if you hatin you're bound to get irate
Yeah madness is what you demonstrate
And that's exactly how anger works and operates
You gotta have love just to set it straight
Take control of your mind and meditate
Let your soul gravitate to the love y'all

People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?(where is the lovex3)(the love2x)

It just ain't the same all ways have changed
New days are strange is the world the insane?
If love and peace so strong
Why are there pieces of love that don't belong
Nations dropping bombs
Chemical gases filling lungs of little ones

Link to Italian Video:
http://www.rainews24.rai.it/....

With ongoing suffering
As the youth die young
So ask yourself is the loving really strong?
So I can ask myself really what is going wrong
With this world that we living in
People keep on giving in
Makin wrong decisions
Only visions of them livin and
Not respecting each other
Deny thy brother
The wars' going on but the reasons' undercover
The truth is kept secret
Swept under the rug
If you never know truth
Then you never know love
Where's the love y'all?(I don't know)
Where's the truth y'all?(I don't know)
Where's the love y'all?

People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father father father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?(where is the lovex3)(the lovex2)

I feel the weight of the world on my shoulder
As I'm getting older y'all people get colder
Most of us only care about money makin
Selfishness got us followin the wrong direction
Wrong information always shown by the media
Negative images is the main criteria
Infecting their young minds faster than bacteria
Kids wanna act like what the see in the cinema
Whatever happened to the values of humanity
Whatever happened to the fairness and equality
Instead of spreading love, we're spreading anomosity
Lack of understanding, leading us away from unity
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling under
That's the reason why sometimes I'm feeling down
It's no wonder why sometimes I'm feeling under
I gotta keep my faith alive, until love is found

People killing people dying
Children hurtin you hear them crying
Can you practice what you preach
Would you turn the other cheek?
Father Father Father help us
Send some guidance from above
Cause people got me got me questioning
Where is the love?(fade)

So with that, I beg of you, please help my children and theirs. Send this video to everyone, have the courage to actually watch it.

http://www.rainews24.rai.it/....

Also it wouldn't hurt if you posted something nice on this blog, it belongs to Garret Reppenhagen and Jeff Englehart, they are the 2 American soldiers that were brave enough to to talk to the Italian media about the war. Their mothers should be proud, they taught their sons the value of human life and decency. They taught them to stand up for the innocents and right now a bunch of right wing warmongers are posting vicious comments on their blog. They are called pussies and traitors for speaking the truth. Please defend them, please lend them your support.

http://ftssoldier.blogspot.com/....

Also Iraq War Veteran David Airhart may be expeled from Kent State for putting a "Kent State 4 peace" sign up. This is a disgrace! How dare they! How dare they threaten to expel him for speaking out on the use of WP and how we are killing innnocents! If you would like to sign a petition in support of David Airhart go here:

http://traprockpeace.org/

Within that link you will also find a link that will let you write a letter of support for David Airhart. I did and I asked why Kent State agreed with melting children, I also sent them the picture from Hunter's diary.

Here are the e-mail addresses of 3 school officials at Kent State, please e-mail them and write a letter in support of David Airhart. He is speaking out on behalf of American troops and Iraqi children, he deserves whatever time you can give him and then some.

gjarvie@kent.edu
CC: carol.cartwright@kent.edu
wross@kent.edu

The only way to make this stop is to force people to see the faces of sweet children that did nothing wrong but be born to the wrong parents. Those children are no different than my own. They play with their toys, make big messes, throw temper tantrums, and love their mamas and daddies just as much as mine love me.

So please, make flyers, write letters, send a link to the Italian video, call your represenatives (1-202-224-3121), send an e-mail whatever, just do something. Clear your conscience and help to make this stop.

Thank you.

++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

I hope I am not breaking any rules

We all need to know what is really being done in our name.

in our shock and awe invasion against Iraq. Our generals were patting themselves on the back and these civilians were wounded and killed.

And I've seen many threads in the past two day!!

Fantastic because I thought it wasn't getting enough attention. We just HAVE to get it on BIG TIME NEWS!!

Pork Chop Cheney and his cohorts! Corruption, lies and TORTURE!!!

I didn't think so.

Were is O'Reily or even Geraldo, especially Geraldo!

but people need to start thinking as if you were the DA presenting the case before a mythical jury, exactness of language matters

WP is NOT technically considered a chemical weapon but an incendiary. Nor is it considered a WMD...

It has very specific uses, such as tracers... battlefield illumination and destruction of enemy targets... (what they showed is against the law of land warfare, civies are not in the target list)

MK-47, the descendant to NAPALM, now that one is considered a banned incendiary, regardless of what the US military may say... and should have been destroyed.

So all I am saying is...careful with the language or it will come and byte us in the arse.

Oh and did watch it ok... good work...

Of course the casus belli were the WMDs, no WMDs, war is ilegal... but lets be careful and it did bother me that the Specialist made that mistake, took some credibitly from him and made it easy for the US Army PR person to tear him apart.

you are going to try to convince the majority of people that we did things that we should not... when you use the wrong language, it can turn people off

A crime was committed (the whole war for starters), but if I tell a person with any knowledge of the laws of land warfare, Willy pete is a WMD he or she will block anything else I have to say.

That is why language matters.

Also you are trying to create cognitive dissonance, and to do that you have to break through notions, and all of this is language.

got a word for that, mr. cognitive dissonance?

how about slaughtering an entire city? got a word for that?

I do: genocide.

I'm sure you'll find that "wrong" and all, but I know what it is, give me a different word for it, doesn't matter, its mass horrific indiscriminate slaughter.

its a war crime.

for destroying a city I have a term for you that may resonate with American Citizens, GUERNICA, here are another two, London Blitz

I also have another term that may resonate with Americans for what was done.. WAR CRIME

See how this works?

But you have to be very exact in your use of language, especially if you encounter a military vet that actually knows the fine distinctions, they are semantic, but they do exist.

Now here is how you build the argument...

We used Willie Pete in a way not sanctioned by the laws of land warfare, since we used it against civilians in an indiscriminate way. This caused the unnecessary deaths of civilians, (See I have not gone into the actual military targets)

But there were people shooting at us and this is used to obscure the movement of troops (technically correct)

Yes but we used this in an enclosed urban environment and a large number of victims were women and children, when others have done this, for example at Gernica, where incendiaries were also used, we were horrified. We called it by its proper name: a War Crime.

You just killed to birds with one stone... now if people are not aware of Gernica make a reference to the blitz... but you have to be extremely exact with the language. The people who did this during the Vietnam era had one advantage over you and me... they had photos, we don't.

please do so immediately and then come back and talk about how we have no photos.

the real story coming out is the murderous rampage and indiscriminate
deliberate killing of iraqi's with chemical weapons.we have no business being there.To say,we there or we broke it we own it theory
the Iraq war was a cold calculated plan of the neocons/pnac.Quietly
bring 10k troops a month,close the bush crime family iraq credit card
off and let iraq be iraq not a us.colony.
I was happy to see a soldier up front with americans telling the story as he saw it.I am convinced of its authenticity the barbarous
acts of killers not defenders of my USA.I said to gop friends "I love this country its the management that sucks".I hope by next week we
see some of this on MSM.Tonight in a chat room it was kicked around to
right wing nuts,it may get some play..

...there MUST be an accounting for this.

White Phosphorus isn't a "chemical weapon"; it just kills people in
the old fashioned way, by burning them to death.

There's apparently some sort of moral line there that it doesn't
cross, but I've never quite been able to see it amidst all the
glare from the burning phosphorus.

Tesha

now how it was used...

...the "old fashioned way" of bombs was to created a concussion that killed instantly, or at least sent small objects (shrapnel) into body organs that caused instant death, or "reasonably" instant death. I know that many are maimed or wounded, but this was due to receiving only a fraction of the bomb's total destructive power.

Technically speaking, are both conventional bombs and WP bombs products of chemistry? However, burning people to death seems "over the line" (I've often thought flame-throwers should have been outlawed along with mustard gas), since once inflicted, victims of WP cannot save themselves and literary melt to death.

Correct me if I'm wrong, but it seems a small amount of shrapnel from a conventional bomb could just cause an injury that heals, whereas the same amount of WP on the skin would be slow, agonizing death.

suffer a horrific, slow painful death

:sarcasm:

Amazing how MSM manages to show up for every attack on pro-US countries but remains silent about this fucking slaughter of Iraqis. I've had more than enough. When will the world send these bastards to the Hague for war crimes!!

There were reports last year at Z-Magazine, Aljazeera, The SundayMirror, and Daily Kos on the use of napalm (Mark 77 firebombs, the new not-napalm napalm) at Fallujah. Kos also reported on W-P at Fallujah last November.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=6772

http://www.dailykos.com/story/2004/11/21/32937/834

http://www.aljazeera.com/cgi-bin/news_service/middle_east_full_story.asp?service_id=5875