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Incendiary weapons: The big white lie
US finally admits using white phosphorus in Fallujah - and beyond. Iraqis investigate if civilians were targeted with deadly chemical
The Iraqi government is to investigate the United States military's use of white phosphorus shells during the battle of Fallujah - an inquiry that could reveal whether American forces breached a fundamental international weapons treaty.
Iraq's acting Human Rights minister, Narmin Othman, said last night that a team would be dispatched to Fallujah to try to ascertain conclusively whether civilians had been killed or injured by the incendiary weapon. The use of white phosphorus (WP) and other incendiary weapons such as napalm against civilians is prohibited.
The announcement came as John Reid, the Secretary of State for Defence, faced mounting calls for an inquiry into the use of WP by British forces as well as what Britain knew about its deployment by American troops. Mr Reid said that he would look into the matter.
The move by the Iraqi government and the growing concern at Westminster follows the Pentagon's confirmation to The Independent earlier this week that WP had been used during the battle of Fallujah last November and the presentation of persuasive evidence that civilians had been among the victims.
The fresh controversy over Fallujah, which has raged for a full 12 months, was initially sparked last week by a documentary by the Italian state broadcaster, RAI, which claimed there were numerous civilian casualties. A Pentagon spokesman said yesterday he would "not be surprised" if WP had been used by US forces elsewhere in Iraq.
Lt-Col Barry Venable said the incendiary shells were a regular part of the troops' munitions. "I would not rule out the possibility that it has been used in other locations." The Pentagon's admission of WP's use - it can burn a person down to the bone - has proved to be a huge embarrassment to some elements of the US government.
In a letter to this newspaper, the American ambassador to London, Robert Tuttle, claimed that US forces "do not use napalm or WP as weapons" .
Confronted with the Pentagon's admission, an embassy spokesperson said Mr Tuttle would not be commenting further and "all questions on WP" should be referred to the Pentagon. The US embassy in Rome had issued a similar denial.
The size or scale of the inquiry to be undertaken by the Iraqi government is unclear, and it is not known when its investigators will arrive in Fallujah. An official with the human rights ministry said that while it was also not known how long the inquiry would take, "the people of Fallujah will be fully consulted". The Pentagon says the use of incendiary weapons against military targets is not prohibited.
But the article two, protocol III of the 1980 UN Convention on Certain Weapons bans their use against civilians.
Perhaps of crucial importance to the Iraqi investigators, the treaty also restricts their use against military targets "inside a concentration of civilians except when such military objective is clearly separated from the concentration of civilians".
Mr Reid confirmed yesterday that British troops had used WP in Iraq, though he said the shells had only been used to make smoke to obscure troops movements, which experts say is their primary function.
Read More
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article327543.ece
Iraq's acting Human Rights minister, Narmin Othman, said last night that a team would be dispatched to Fallujah to try to ascertain conclusively whether civilians had been killed or injured by the incendiary weapon. The use of white phosphorus (WP) and other incendiary weapons such as napalm against civilians is prohibited.
The announcement came as John Reid, the Secretary of State for Defence, faced mounting calls for an inquiry into the use of WP by British forces as well as what Britain knew about its deployment by American troops. Mr Reid said that he would look into the matter.
The move by the Iraqi government and the growing concern at Westminster follows the Pentagon's confirmation to The Independent earlier this week that WP had been used during the battle of Fallujah last November and the presentation of persuasive evidence that civilians had been among the victims.
The fresh controversy over Fallujah, which has raged for a full 12 months, was initially sparked last week by a documentary by the Italian state broadcaster, RAI, which claimed there were numerous civilian casualties. A Pentagon spokesman said yesterday he would "not be surprised" if WP had been used by US forces elsewhere in Iraq.
Lt-Col Barry Venable said the incendiary shells were a regular part of the troops' munitions. "I would not rule out the possibility that it has been used in other locations." The Pentagon's admission of WP's use - it can burn a person down to the bone - has proved to be a huge embarrassment to some elements of the US government.
In a letter to this newspaper, the American ambassador to London, Robert Tuttle, claimed that US forces "do not use napalm or WP as weapons" .
Confronted with the Pentagon's admission, an embassy spokesperson said Mr Tuttle would not be commenting further and "all questions on WP" should be referred to the Pentagon. The US embassy in Rome had issued a similar denial.
The size or scale of the inquiry to be undertaken by the Iraqi government is unclear, and it is not known when its investigators will arrive in Fallujah. An official with the human rights ministry said that while it was also not known how long the inquiry would take, "the people of Fallujah will be fully consulted". The Pentagon says the use of incendiary weapons against military targets is not prohibited.
But the article two, protocol III of the 1980 UN Convention on Certain Weapons bans their use against civilians.
Perhaps of crucial importance to the Iraqi investigators, the treaty also restricts their use against military targets "inside a concentration of civilians except when such military objective is clearly separated from the concentration of civilians".
Mr Reid confirmed yesterday that British troops had used WP in Iraq, though he said the shells had only been used to make smoke to obscure troops movements, which experts say is their primary function.
Read More
http://news.independent.co.uk/world/politics/article327543.ece
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Troops in Iraq have access to white phosphorous grenades, which can be used to lay a smoke screen, and some vehicles can also fire phosphorous charges.
US forces have been criticised for using white phosphorous - which burns with an intense heat - as a weapon to flush out insurgents.
The former UK armed forces minister Doug Henderson accused the United States of double standards by using chemical weapons after invading Iraq to prevent the use of such weapons.
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http://news.scotsman.com/uk.cfm?id=2253202005
The Pentagon insisted civilians had not been targeted, however, and that it had avoided unnecessary casualties by evacuating the city before the offensive.
White phosphorus, which is fired by artillery or mortars, can be used as an incendiary device or to create a smokescreen.
While it is not classified as a chemical weapon, the chemical is covered by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons, which prohibits the use of incendiary weapons against military forces located within concentrations of civilians – as was the case with the insurgents in Falluja. The US is party to the convention but, unlike a number of its allies, including the UK, it has not signed Protocol III.
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