Yesh Gvul
Courage To Refuse
Shministim
Pilots
Free The Five
New Profile
Refuser Solidarity Network


Name: Antony Loewenstein
Home: Sydney, New South Wales, Australia
Comment Rules
About Me:
See my complete profile



Google
Web antonyloewenstein.blogspot.com
Sweat-Shop Productions
Sweat-Shop Productions
Sweat-Shop Productions



Blogs

Sites




Previous Posts



Powered by Blogger

 


Friday, April 01, 2005

Napalm

During last year's US offensive in the Iraqi town of Fallujah, did American forces use internationally banned weapons, such as napalm and other chemical agents? These reports have been circulating for some time, though rarely in the Western media:

"During the U.S. offensive, Fallujah residents reported that they saw “melted” bodies in the city, which suggests that U.S. forces used napalm gas, a poisonous cocktail of polystyrene and jet fuel that makes the human body melt."

The United Nations banned the use of napalm against civilians in 1980, though the US never ratified this agreement. The Americans have already admitted to using napalm in Iraq. Andrew Buncombe reported in the Independent on Sunday in 2003:

"We napalmed both those bridge approaches," said Colonel James Alles, commander of Marine Air Group 11. "Unfortunately there were people there... you could see them in the cockpit video. They were Iraqi soldiers. It's no great way to die. The generals love napalm. It has a big psychological effect."

Further information is here.

Sydney Morning Herald journalist Lindsay Murdoch reported in March 2003, while travelling with a Marines artillery unit, that during the early stages of the invasion "40,000 pounds of explosives and napalm" had been dropped. The Pentagon immediately denied the existence of napalm in its weaponry. They were lying.

2 Comments:

Blogger weezil said...

Just a note on the story you quoted, Antony. The journo errantly refers to napalm as a "gas."

Napalm is a semiliquid concoction of petrol or kero mixed with a gelatinous agent- to make it stick to kids better.

Saturday, April 02, 2005 12:15:00 am  
Blogger Antony Loewenstein said...

Thanks for the tip, Weez. My reading suggests that perhaps the Americans used a form of napalm in Iraq. Maybe something like a gas? Or maybe they used the good ol' version circa 'Nam.
Either way, the virtual silence in the West over this is telling.

Saturday, April 02, 2005 10:38:00 am  

Post a Comment

<< Home