White Phosphorus in Fallujah

Over the past few days I've been watching the growing story of the US's use of white phosphorus in Fallujah last year. According to allegations initially made by Italian broadcaster RAI, and subsequently confirmed by both US soldiers and contemporary media reports, the US used white phosphorus against "insurgents". Whether deliberately or by gross negligence, these "insurgents" included a large number of civilians, who suffered terrible injuries. The Bush Administration initially denied the allegations, then admitted them in the face of the evidence, but denied that this equated to the use of a chemical weapon. The latter point is arguable; as George Monbiot points out in the Guardian:

White phosphorus is not listed in the schedules of the Chemical Weapons Convention. It can be legally used as a flare to illuminate the battlefield, or to produce smoke to hide troop movements from the enemy. Like other unlisted substances, it may be deployed for "Military purposes... not dependent on the use of the toxic properties of chemicals as a method of warfare". But it becomes a chemical weapon as soon as it is used directly against people. A chemical weapon can be "any chemical which through its chemical action on life processes can cause death, temporary incapacitation or permanent harm".

And yet at the same time, such quibbling is spectacularly beside the point. The reason we ban chemical weapons such as mustard gas is because they are indiscriminate and cause terrible injuries [GRAPHIC]. That's the same reason we object to white phosphorus: it makes absolutely no distinction between combatants and civilians, affects a wide area, and causes terrible injuries [GRAPHIC]. It is not something that should even be considered for direct military use, let alone in a civilian area such as a city. But then, "indiscriminate" pretty much sums up the whole attitude of US forces in Iraq since the beginning, and if its more convenient for them to melt the skin off the people they're supposed to be saving, that's exactly what they'll do.

(BTW, if you're looking at the pictures linked above, do not click "successiva" too often unless you have a very strong stomach. Melted dead people crawling with maggots may cause you to lose your lunch)