Incinerating Iraqis: The napalm cover up

[HomerRamone]

http://www.smirkingchimp.com/print.php?sid=21693

Mike Whitney: 'Incinerating Iraqis: The napalm cover up'
Date: Monday, June 27 @ 09:57:46 EDT
Topic: War & Terrorism

By Mike Whitney

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Two weeks ago the UK Independent ran an article which confirmed that the US had "lied to Britain over the use of napalm in Iraq". (6-17-05) Since then, not one American newspaper or TV station has picked up the story even though the Pentagon has verified the claims. This is the extent to which the American "free press" is yoked to the center of power in Washington. As we've seen with the treatment of the Downing Street memo, (which was reluctantly reported 5 weeks after it appeared in the British press) the air-tight American media ignores any story that doesn't embrace their collective support for the war. The prospect that the US military is using "universally reviled" weapons runs counter to the media-generated narrative that the war was motivated by humanitarian concerns (to topple a brutal dictator) as well as to eliminate the elusive WMDs. We can now say with certainty that the only WMDs in Iraq were those that were introduced by foreign invaders from the US who used them to incinerate the indigenous people who dared to resist.

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Defense Minister, Adam Ingram, admitted that the US had misled the British high-command about the use of napalm, but he would not comment on the extent of the cover up. The use of firebombs puts the US in breach of the 1980 Convention on Certain Chemical Weapons (CCW) and is a violation the Geneva Protocol against the use of white phosphorous, "since its use causes indiscriminate and extreme injuries especially when deployed in an urban area."

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Dr Shaykhli's claims have been corroborated by numerous eyewitness accounts as well as reports that "all forms of nature were wiped out in Falluja"...as well as "hundreds, of stray dogs, cats, and birds that had perished as a result of those gasses." An unidentified chemical was used in the bombing raids that killed every living creature in certain areas of the city.

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The US "free press" is a completely integrated part of the state-information system. Their meticulously managed message has been the only part of the entire Iraqi debacle that hasn't suffered the ill-effects of the bunglers in Washington. From Dana Milbank to Judith Miller, from FOX News to CNN, from Tom Friedman to Tom Brokaw, they have been a steadfast ally to the powerbrokers they serve; providing the diversions, omissions and cheerleading that are required to keep the public acquiescent during a savage colonial war. Given the scope of their culpability for the violence in Iraq, it's unlikely that the use of napalm will cause any great crisis of conscience. Their deft coverage has already facilitated the deaths of tens of thousands of innocent people; a few more charred Iraqis shouldn't matter.

[peacetalksforall]

1. Used napalm. Lied to Britain about it. And "we will bring honor and

dignity back to the White House".

[Briar]

6. Not that the Brits have much problem with being lied to

Bliar is still fawning at Bush's feet.

[Cyrano]

2. One of the photos that finally made Americans "get it" about Vietnam

was that famous picture of a naked little girl, burned by napalm, running crying and screaming down a roadway.

A couple of pictures like that would not only cause Americans to become outraged, but, eventually could lead to impeachment and war crime trials for Bush/Cheney/Rumsfeld/Rove. Their attitude is, "If you don't see it, it doesn't exist." After all, if we don't see American coffins coming home, everything is just dandy.

BushCo doesn't want us to see those kind of images. It might impact their profits (not to mention their personal avoidance of responsibility for the despicable crimes being committed in our name).

At some point, outrage explodes. And I'm well down that road.

[mzmolly]

7. Here it is. Warning for content ~ I'll personally never forget his image.

I was about 7 when it happened, and I saw it on the front page of the Sunday paper at my grandmothers. It's one of those things that's seared in my memory ... forever.


The Vietnamese-born peace activitst Kim Phuc Phan Thi is the living symbol of the suffering of innocent war victims. Her image of being burned by napalm during the Vietnam war raised worldwide awareness of the horrors of the war and made her the bearer of the message of forgiveness, reconciliation and tolerance.




Here she is today:

[Cyrano]

10. Even though she is a beautiful woman today, the image of her as a child

in that photo will remain in my mind until the day I die. Along with the images from concentration camps, it is a testament to the inhumanity of humanity.

I wonder if George Bush has ever seen this picture. And if so, I wonder if he has the ability to grasp the incredible depth and dimensions of human suffering inflicted by other so-called humans.

[Auntie Bush]

3. Did the Italian reporter that we killed have the evidence of US

using Napalm or was that just rumor?

[meganmonkey]

5. Why do you hate America?

Asking questions like that - geez...

Actually, I think you may be on the right track - although the reporter herself survived the attack, it was her bodyguard who died. To my understanding she had evidence of what went on in Fallujah, that's what most of her articles were about. So it wouldn't surprise me in the least if she was targeted somehow for that. There was also a website called something like 'Pictures from Fallujah' that had shots of people damaged in ways consistent with napalm use, but I think the site has been shut down.

[Boxerfan]

14. Why do you defend anyone who uses NAPALM

Missed the sarcasm there(though the title & text did not match tone,heck cuff's don't always match collars now do they?)
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For heavens sake the stuff is pure evil!
Just like the people who used it here.
I am a proud AMERICAN & I will defend the country I LOVE to my DEATH!
However.this group of asshats & buttboys is ruining our country!
We will all suffer horrid consequences from thier illegal actions. The ruined reputation alone is bad enough but what about the economy!
For what! An illegal war against a country that never attacked us??? Is that worth THIS!
Boy-If you only knew who REALLY ordered 9/11 you'd soil your diapers!

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Yep,great rant-to bad it was mis-directed.So solly but that anti-american thing gets my hair up every time....

[meganmonkey]

15. Where do you see me defending the use of napalm?

Maybe I should have used a :sarcasm: but I didn't think I was being very subtle. Did you read past the first sentence of my post?

Cripes.

on edit: To clarify, when you see people here post "Why do you hate America?" around here, 99% of the time they are being sarcastic.

on second edit: Welcome to DU. :toast:

[meganmonkey]

17. I know what you mean about the 'anti-American' thing

That's why I mocked it. It is so frustrating that those of us who are trying to keep OUR democracy safe and who protest this administration's illegal death war bullshit can be written off as 'anti-American' when in fact the very opposite is true. The people waging unjust wars on sovereign nations and taking away the rights of American citizens are the anti-American ones. So here's to loving our country enough to fight for a better nation!

:patriot:

[Boxerfan]

13. We just winged her dang it!(sarcasm on!)

Oy! Giuliana Sgrena was not killed,she suffered a punctured lung & only survived as her bodyguard took the bullet for her. Just another in an almost endless list of war crimes comitted so far.Great way to lead by example eh?

Anyhow,yeah they bombed the hell into fallujah with "MK77" it is basically jet fuel & styrene, not kerosene & styrene. Not any different in results IMHO. Same crap,another name from what I've read.

She did return from that area but if she has been scared into silence I would not be suprised.Dr. Jamail's Iraq dispatches has covered this for a very long time. Many graphic photo's of incinerated bodies & other documentation right here.

http://www.dahrjamailiraq.com/

Just checked the link & it works.

There is no punishment harsh enough,no dungeon dank enough & no hell hot enough for these asshats in charge!

[ms liberty]

4. We need to kick this up and spread it around! kicked n/t

[mzmolly]

8. My God.

This is total madness.

Pro-life?

[LibertyorDeath]

9. This is where we have to focus

"The US "free press" is a completely integrated part of the state-information system. Their meticulously managed message has been the only part of the entire Iraqi debacle that hasn't suffered the ill-effects of the bunglers in Washington. From Dana Milbank to Judith Miller, from FOX News to CNN, from Tom Friedman to Tom Brokaw, they have been a steadfast ally to the powerbrokers"

The MSM is systematically hiding the truth from the public.
The MSM may not mind the Incineration of Iraqi Civilians but I'll go out on a limb and say most Americans do.


I have read multiple reports on this for months now.
Hope it gets more attention.

http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=6772

Blair is being pressed by furious MP’s to clarify whether or not he knew that the “banned weapon” was being used. He is also being asked to withdraw British troops if the US continues its use of napalm. As of this writing, Blair’s response remains unknown.

The US has already admitted that it used napalm during the siege of Baghdad. The truth was reluctantly confirmed by the Pentagon after news reports corroborated the evidence. The military has tried to conceal the truth by saying that there is a distinction between its new weapon and “traditional napalm”. The “improved” product carries the Pentagon moniker “Mark 77 firebombs” and uses jet fuel to “decrease environmental damage”. The fact that military planner’s even considered “environmental damage” while developing the tools for incinerating human beings, gives us some insight into the deep vein of cynicism that permeates their ranks.

The Pentagon’s hair-splitting has done little to obfuscate the facts. Marines returning from Iraq call the bombs napalm and napalm it is. Journalist Simon Jenkins of the British Sunday Times describes the incidents in Falluja like this: “Some artillery guns fired white phosphorous rounds that create a screen of fire that cannot be extinguished with water. Insurgents reported being attacked with a substance that melted their skin, a reaction consistent with white phosphorous burns.” It is an excruciatingly painful way to die.

Independent journalists have been reporting for some time now that the US has been using banned weapons in Falluja. Iraqi doctors have noted that many of the bodies they have examined have been “swollen, yellowish and have no smell.” Asia Times online has reported that “Americans used chemical weapons in the bombing of Jolan, ash-Shuhada and al-Jubayl neighborhoods. They also say the neighborhoods were showered with cluster bombs”; an allegation that refutes the Pentagon’s claim of “precision bombing”.

[muriel_volestrangler]

11. The strange thing is that the Americans admitted using MK 77 bombs in 2003

and The Independent itself reported it, as LynneTheDem noted here: http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_mesg&forum=102&topic_id=1555688&mesg_id=1555760

The Independent seems to show that it took at least some of its material from the San Diego Union-Tribune article by James Crawley, on August 5th, 2003: http://www.signonsandiego.com/news/military/20030805-9999_1n5bomb.html

and yet the UK government itself claims not to have known by 2005, and now that the Pentagon lied to them about it.

[LibertyorDeath]

12. The UK government is playing games IMO

[wiggs]

16. Thanks for the repost. Can't be brought up enough.

This topic did not make a big splash on blogs either, yet to me it remains one of the most shameful, emotional, significant stories to arise during the last few months.

Have our congresspersons asked the pentagon about it? Who ordered it? Who used it? How many times have we used it in Iraq? Why was it used? Do we have more stored there for potential use? Has ANY journalist asked ANY official about it? Do we use depleted uranium? There is a napalm look-alike...hot phosporous or something like that....have we used that? Are napalm or similar chemicals considereds weapons of mass destruction?

We sink lower and lower every week under this administration....