Article

2005-11-07 Iraq

Italian TV Alleges U.S. Used Chemical Weapons In Fallujah

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Posted by Steve 2005-11-07 16:41|| || Front Page|| [11131 views since 2007-05-07] Top

#1 If this isn't just another in a long series of Big Steaming Piles, it's probably just a result of our hitting one of their chemical weapons caches during the attack/assault/siege/thingy.

Posted by SLO Jim 2005-11-07 16:58|| 2005-11-07 16:58|| Front Page Top

#2 And anyway, there's a difference between a chemical and "chemical weapons."

Posted by Rory B. Bellows 2005-11-07 17:31|| 2005-11-07 17:31|| Front Page Top

#3 Last I checked Napalm, WP and Thermobarics are referred to as incendiaries and therefore not subject to the Chemical Weapons conventions. Really I do wish journalists would get a friggin bloody education before spouting off this crap.

Posted by Valentine 2005-11-07 17:51|| 2005-11-07 17:51|| Front Page Top

#4 "...Italian journalist Giuliana Sgrena, held hostage in Iraq earlier this year..."
Ahh, there goes any "journalistic" credibility, right out the window.
And those are not "scare" quotemarks... those are "viciously skeptical" quotemarks. Bring on the next propaganda hackette with an improbably embroidered and obviously partisan fantasy.

Posted by Sgt. Mom">Sgt. Mom 2005-11-07 17:54|| www.sgtstryker.com]">[www.sgtstryker.com] 2005-11-07 17:54|| Front Page Top

#5 ...In related news US forces in Iraq were being investigated for war crimes. It seems as though some troops have been posting pictures of Janean Garofolo around Falluja in an attempt to unecessarily torture insurgents.

Posted by macofromoc 2005-11-07 18:03|| 2005-11-07 18:03|| Front Page Top

#6 Hadn't the DoD better track down the "soldier" that was "interviewed", so that he and his associates can be tried in a proper court martial?

Posted by trailing wife 2005-11-07 18:03|| 2005-11-07 18:03|| Front Page Top

#7 Next, they'll want fire banned by the UN as a "Consumptive Agent"!

Posted by smn 2005-11-07 19:22|| 2005-11-07 19:22|| Front Page Top

#8 Consumptive agents?
That's
COUGH
un
COUGH
American.

Posted by T O Wolfe 2005-11-07 19:46|| 2005-11-07 19:46|| Front Page Top

#9 Really I do wish journalists would get a friggin bloody education before spouting off this crap.

Doesn't matter.

This isn't a report of news. It's propaganda. Like Vietnam-era claims that the Ma-deuce was against the laws of war, the point is to make people think the US committed war crimes.

Posted by Robert Crawford">Robert Crawford 2005-11-07 20:51|| http://www.kloognome.com/]">[http://www.kloognome.com/] 2005-11-07 20:51|| Front Page Top

#10 Is Willy Pete really banned? I never felt safer than after throwing a WP granade in Viet Nam. It would sadden me considerably were they to be out-lawed. Willy Pete is a a soldier's best friend.

Traveller

Posted by Traveller 2005-11-07 20:54|| 2005-11-07 20:54|| Front Page Top

#11 If I recall correctly, these agents are approved for use against purely military targets, but not if non combatants can be affected. I also seem to recall that the U.S. did not sign this convention.

Posted by Chuck Simmins">Chuck Simmins 2005-11-07 21:01|| http://blog.simmins.org]">[http://blog.simmins.org] 2005-11-07 21:01|| Front Page Top

#12 I don't remember any evidence of Fallujah being the new Dresden. Here are some observations for rational Itailians:
1. Firebombing the city just as the USMC is storming the place would be tactical idiocy.
2. Willy-Pete was useful for couter-attacking Chinese positions on Pork Chop Hill, but would probably be distinctly less useful to troops wearing night vision and with access to the IR spectrum.
3. Does any non-deranged journalist claim that the USMC has access to invisible MOPP gear, because last I checked the Jarheads weren't sporting gas masks as they deloused the Muj-sewer.

Posted by Super Hose 2005-11-07 21:01|| 2005-11-07 21:01|| Front Page Top

#13 The use of white phosophorous and Napalm is prohibited by UN conventions. Moroever, the United States signed up to the Chemical Weapons Convention in 1997.

Tell me again whats it say about IED's, suicide bombers in civilian areas, summary execution of non-combatants, and chopping POW's heads off?

Posted by Besoeker 2005-11-07 21:18|| 2005-11-07 21:18|| Front Page Top

#14 WP is kosher. The convention is designed to stop firebombing of cities like Dresden. Though the firebombing of Tokyo would be fine due to military production embedded within the civilian population. BTW, I do remember something about the World Trade Center buildings destroyed, and thousands incinerated, by 100 tons of aviation gas in the two 767's. The firebombing convention was violated on 9/11/2001. After that, I would lose no sleep if any city in the middle east was burned to the ground.

Posted by ed 2005-11-07 22:06|| 2005-11-07 22:06|| Front Page Top

#15 <sarcasm>Worse than Jenin!!</sarcasm>

Posted by DMFD 2005-11-07 22:21|| 2005-11-07 22:21|| Front Page Top

#16 fine. anything against over-pressure from FAE?

Posted by Frank G">Frank G 2005-11-07 22:22|| 2005-11-07 22:22|| Front Page Top

#17 WP makes very nice smoke to mark areas or keep an evil eye off you. It happens to be a nasty to the touch and inhalation. BFD. Each and any weapon can be misused against civilians. Think of all those folks buying munitions across the globe missing out on the 110, 120, 152 or 155mm WP shells that actually have a 150 meter effective radius ("no hope") as an antipersonnel munition in urban settings. Only slight exaggeration maybe?

Posted by GrandpappysWP 2005-11-07 23:38|| 2005-11-07 23:38|| Front Page Top

00:00 jules 2
23:44 Bart Simpson
23:38 GrandpappysWP
23:31 Barbara Skolaut
23:28 Barbara Skolaut
23:26 Frank G
23:25 Frank G
23:24 Pappy
23:21 Barbara Skolaut
23:17 DMFD
23:16 Bomb-a-rama
23:04 Frank G
22:58 Mike Kozlowski
22:55 USN Ret.
22:50 ed
22:49 Elmenter Snineque1852
22:42 Besoeker
22:33 Besoeker
22:33 Sock Puppet OÂ´ Doom
22:30 Frank G
22:29 Frank G
22:27 Besoeker
22:26 Bomb-a-rama
22:23 Phil