Iraq Effects Everyone

 November 16, 2005

Pentagon Used White Phosphorous in Iraq By THE ASSOCIATED PRESS

Filed at 5:49 a.m. ET

WASHINGTON (AP) -- Pentagon officials say white phosphorous was used as a weapon against insurgent strongholds during the battle of Fallujah last November, but deny an Italian television news report that it was used against civilians.

Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Pentagon spokesman, said Tuesday that while white phosphorous is most frequently used to mark targets or obscure a position, it was used at times in Fallujah as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants.

''It was not used against civilians,'' Venable said.

The spokesman referred reporters to an article in the March-April 2005 edition of the Army's Field Artillery magazine, an official publication, in which veterans of the Fallujah fight spelled out their use of white phosphorous and other weapons. The authors used the shorthand ''WP'' in referring to white phosphorous.

''WP proved to be an effective and versatile munition,'' the authors wrote. ''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 (high explosive)'' munitions.

''We fired `shake and bake' missions at the insurgents, using WP to flush them out and HE to take them out.''

The authors added, in citing lessons for future urban battles, that fire-support teams should have used another type of smoke bomb for screening missions in Fallujah ''and saved our WP for lethal missions.''

The battle for Fallujah was the most intense and deadly fight of the war, after the fall of Baghdad in April 2003. The city, about 35 miles west of Baghdad on the Euphrates River, was a key insurgent stronghold. The authors of the ''after action'' report said they encountered few civilians in their area of operations.

Italian communists held a sit-in Monday in front of the U.S. Embassy in Rome to protest the reported use by American troops of white phosphorous. Italy's state-run RAI24 news television aired a documentary last week alleging the U.S. used white phosphorous shells in a ''massive and indiscriminate way'' against civilians during the Fallujah offensive.

The State Department, in response, initially denied that U.S. troops had used white phosphorous against enemy forces. ''They were fired into the air to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters.''

The department later said its statement had been incorrect.

''There is a great deal of misinformation feeding on itself about U.S. forces allegedly using `outlawed' weapons in Fallujah,'' the department said. ''The facts are that U.S. forces are not using any illegal weapons in Fallujah or anywhere else in Iraq.''

Venable said white phosphorous shells are a standard weapon used by field artillery units and are not banned by any international weapons convention to which the U.S. is a signatory.

White phosphorous is a colorless-to-yellow translucent wax-like substance with a pungent, garlic-like smell. The form used by the military ignites once it is exposed to oxygen, producing such heat that it bursts into a yellow flame and produces a dense white smoke. It can cause painful burn injuries to exposed human flesh.

 

 

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 A U.S. Army soldier wounded in Iraq walks through the Army's hospital in Landstuhl, Germany, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005. One Marine died Tuesday from wounds incurred from a bomb that exploded Monday in Obeidi, a Syrian border town about 300 kilometers (185 miles) west of Baghdad. (AP Photo/Jacob Silberberg)  

 Senate Minority Leader Harry Reid, D-Nev., right, standing with Sen. Carl Levin, D-Mich., left, holds up a copy of the pending ammendment for an Iraq policy proposal during a news conference on Capitol Hill, Tuesday, Nov. 11, 2005. The Republican-controlled Senate on Tuesday easily defeated a Democratic effort to pressure President Bush to outline a timetable for a phased withdrawal of U.S. troops from Iraq. Republicans largely adopted the Democratic proposal as their own, but they omitted one paragraph calling for the president to offer a plan for a phased withdrawal of the roughly 160,000 U.S. troops now in Iraq. (AP Photo/Susan Walsh)  

 US Marines take cover from flying debris as they board helicopters at their base in Fallujah, Iraq, on November 14, 2005. Three US marines have been killed during military operations near the Syrian border in western Iraq, bringing the US death toll in Iraq to 2,071.(AFP/David Furst)

  

 Japanese women hold up placards in a demonstration against U.S. President George W. Bush's Japan visit in the ancient capital of Kyoto November 15, 2005. Bush flew in to western Japan Tuesday evening for talks with his close friend and ally Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday, where he is expected to nudge Koizumi to extend the deployment of Japanese non-combat troops in Iraq. REUTERS/Eriko Sugita

 

 A Japanese kimono-clad woman holds up a flag in demonstration against U.S. President George W. Bush's Japan visit in the ancient capital of Kyoto November 15, 2005. Bush flew in to western Japan Tuesday evening for talks with his close friend and ally Japanese Prime Minister Junichiro Koizumi on Wednesday, where he is expected to nudge Koizumi to extend the deployment of Japanese non-combat troops in Iraq. REUTERS/Eriko Sugita  

 US soldiers block a highway after a road side bomb exploded in Al-Baladyaat district, targeting a patrol of the Iraqi army, in Baghdad, Iraq, Tuesday, Nov. 15, 2005. According to Iraqi police four people were injured by the blast. (AP Photo/Hadi Mizban)

  

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 In this photo provided by the Fisher family, Cpl. Donald E. Fisher II poses for a portrait. Fisher, a 21-year-old Army corporal from Brockton, Mass., was killed in Iraq on Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, when his convoy vehicle was involved in a collision, the Defense Department said on Monday, Nov. 14. Fisher was one of two soldiers who died in the crash in Kirkut, Iraq. (AP Photo/Family Handout via WHDH-TV)  

 In this undated photo provided by the Fisher family, Cpl. Donald E. Fisher II poses in uniform. Fisher, a 21-year-old Army corporal from Brockton, Mass., was killed in Iraq on Friday, Nov. 11, 2005, when his convoy vehicle was involved in a collision, the Defense Department said Monday, Nov. 14. Fisher was one of two soldiers who died in the crash in Kirkut, Iraq. (AP Photo/Family photo via WHDH-TV)  

 Honor guard members from Fort Carson, Colo., carry the casket of Army Spc. Dennis Ferderer Jr. outside St. Pius Catholic Church after funeral services Monday, Nov. 14, 2005, in New Salem, N.D. Ferderer, 20, was killed in Iraq on Nov. 2 when a hand grenade was thrown at his Humvee. He was serving with a Georgia-based unit. (APPhoto/The Bismarck Tribune, Mike McCleary)  

 Sgt. First Class Frances Watson hugs her nephew Kyle Brooks, 4, at a Welcome Home ceremony for the 150th & 350th Finance Detachments of the New Jersey Army National Guard at the National Guard Armory, in Raritan Township, N.J., Monday, Nov. 14, 2005. Thirty five members of the state National Guard, who returned last week from Iraq, were honored for their service during the ceremony. Watson was awarded the Bronze Star for her service. (AP Photo/Mike Derer)