Latest Posts at my Politics International weblog.
Click on title above or link at right.
Venezuela: The Bolivarian Revolution
France: emergency extended for three months
Many Katrina victims to be evicted
Bush 'Unsigns' War Crimes Treaty
Pesticide testing on orphans, mentally handicapped
French 'riots' : What's the outcome?
Jordan Hotel Bombings - more evidence, analysis
Toxic Truths from the Iraqi Battlefront
US used white phosphorus in Iraq
Venezuela: The Bolivarian Revolution
France: emergency extended for three months
Many Katrina victims to be evicted
Bush 'Unsigns' War Crimes Treaty
Pesticide testing on orphans, mentally handicapped
French 'riots' : What's the outcome?
Jordan Hotel Bombings - more evidence, analysis
Toxic Truths from the Iraqi Battlefront
US used white phosphorus in Iraq
posted by Earl Duthler at 16:30
2 Comments:
The UN Convention bans the use of incendiary weapons against civilans, not against humans. See for yourself:
http://www.icrc.org/ihl.nsf/FULL/515?OpenDocument
Of course any deliberate engagement or targeting of civilians is
already a war crime. so that the US has not signed this one is not of especial import except to say that we aren't bound by it expressly.
White Phosphorus is not banned.
It also isn't a chemical weapon. We are signtory to the Chemical Weapons Convention which defines chemical weapons. See here:
http://www.opcw.org/html/db/cwc/eng/cwc_frameset.html
So it isn't a chemical weapon and it isn't banned.
Indiscriminate use is. The stories circulating do not support that
contention. See here:
http://www.nctimes.com/articles/2004/04/11/military/iraq/19_30_504_10...
Cpl. Bogert received the coordinates for the targets and recorded them on a map. This is proper procedure. He's receiving coordinates from a Forward Observer, indirect fire weapons never see their targets, the FOs do. The coordinates are plotted so that it is known what was ordered where. There is also a verification that takes place in the call for indirect fire to avoid problems with numerical transposition or other mistakes.
Well, I respectfully differ with your contentions.
Almost all humans are civilians; all civilians are humans. Word games evade the issue.
The US intentionally goes against many human and environmental agreements internationally. More than enough evidence of this.
White phosphorous used against civilians is illegal. Word games again. Deliberate cannot be proven.
White phosphorous is a chemical. When used as a weapon, it is illegal. Again word games.
What you call "stories" is first hand evidence, both video and witnesses. The bodies of those killed by white phosphorous is also first hand evidence.
Denial, spinning and just setting our own rules in place of international agreements pretty much sums it up. And this just covers this issue. There are other similar issues such as WMD and DU. DU is also a chemical, by the way.
The inhumane and asocial behavior shown by the US government and military, and its clandestine operations, is well known in the world. That it is hardly known among the American people is testimony to effectiveness of the controlled news in the US.
By the way, I lived there for 48 years, most of that time as a hard conservative; I know what it's like. I used to use the same arguments back then.
Post a Comment
<< Home