Indiscriminate and Especially Injurious Weapons
2005
US Admits Using White
Phosphorous in Fallujah (November 16, 2005)
Despite initial denials, the US has admitted to using white phosphorus,
a powerful burn-inducing chemical, as a weapon during the November 2004 assault
on Fallujah. US officials had previously claimed that white phosphorus was
only used to provide smokescreens and illumination. Though not directly listed
as a chemical weapon, some experts say the explicit use of white phosphorus
against people would classify it as a chemical weapon. The US-led invasion
of Iraq was largely justified on the grounds that former Iraqi President Saddam
Hussein possessed and used chemical weapons. (Guardian)
Iraq's Hazardous Waste a Health Risk: United Nations Environment Program (November 12, 2005)
Iraq's environment has suffered from years of conflict and neglect. According to a report from the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP), thousands of sites have been heavily contaminated with toxic compounds, chemicals, and pesticides. The report, which assesses five "hot spots" bombed or looted during the US-led invasion, highlights Iraq's environmental and public health risks. To view the report, click here (CBC News)
US 'Uses Incendiary
Arms' in Iraq (November 8, 2005)
An Italian news report provides evidence that US forces dropped massive quantities
of white phosphorous on the city of Fallujah during the November 2004 assault.
The chemical, which US officials claim was used to illuminate the night sky,
produces serious burns capable of dissolving flesh. As a US soldier stationed
in Fallujah at the time noted, "anyone within a radius of 150 meters is done
for." Though Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons
prohibits the use of white phosphorous as a weapon, the US is not a signatory.
(BBC)
Radioactive
Wounds of War (August 25, 2005)
Some US soldiers returning from Iraq have tested positive for contamination
from Depleted Uranium (DU). In 2003, the Pentagon prevented the United Nations
from testing Iraq for DU levels. In addition, the US government shirks its
responsibility to test soldiers for DU contamination. While the Pentagon claims
that DU poses no health threat, experts agree that it is toxic and can lead
to cancer in those who have been exposed to it. (In These Times)
2004
US
in U-Turn Over Gulf War Syndrome (November 3, 2004)
The UK, US, Australia and Canada have denied that troops in the Gulf War
had been exposed to the nerve gas sarin due to "insufficient evidence" until
recently, when medical researchers definitively linked the chemical agents
to a specific disease suffered by 30% of Gulf War veterans. It is very likely
that the disease also affected many civilians. (New Scientist)
2003
Cluster Bombs Kill in Iraq, Even after Shooting Ends (December 16, 2003)
According to a report from US Central Command, the US used approximately 10,800 cluster weapons during attacks on Iraq and the UK used around 2,200. Although the number of victims of such raids is impossible to verify, one anti-war group estimates that at least 372 Iraqi civilians were killed. Further, these weapons leave behind unexploded bomblets that threaten to kill more non-combatants even after the initial attacks are over. Even though there is no specific convention on cluster munitions, international humanitarian law generally prohibits the use of weapons that kill indiscriminately and cause unnecessary suffering to civilian populations. (USAToday)
Tons of Depleted Uranium
Polluting Iraq (December 1, 2003)
US Central Command has admitted that its troops fired 300,000 munition rounds
coated with depleted uranium (DU) during the hostilities. A quantity of DU
the size of a pencil eraser emits radiation 1,000 times above the safe exposure
level. (Yellow Times)
US Admits it Used Napalm Bombs in Iraq (August 10, 2003)
Although the US Pentagon has denied the use of agent napalm in Iraq during the 2003 attacks, Marine pilots and their commanders admitted they employed MK-77 firebombs against civilians, which has the same effect. According to the organization Physicians for Social Responsibility, this weapon "takes up an awful lot of medical resources and creates horrible wounds." The US is one of the few countries that still use napalm-type bombs, which are banned by a 1980 UN Convention and cause indiscriminate harm and unnecessary suffering. (Independent)
Gulf War
Syndrome Soldiers Threaten Legal Action (May 27, 2003)
After suffering symptoms similar to the "Gulf War syndrome," four soldiers
involved in the second Gulf war have threatened to sue the Ministry of Defense
of the UK. (Guardian)
Pentagon
Challenged Over Cluster Bomb Deaths (May 9, 2003)
The Pentagon's claim that only one civilian died from a cluster bomb is challenged
by Iraq Body Count, an organization that monitors civilian deaths in Iraq.
They state that the Pentagon does not make any reference to ground-launched
or artillery cluster bombs. (Iraq War)
TV Not Concerned
by Cluster Bombs, DU (May 6, 2003)
"That's just the way life is in Iraq" (May 6, 2003) The US media have been
quick to declare the war against Iraq a success. But they do not provide reports
on the consequences from cluster bombs or the dangers of depleted uranium.
(Fairness and Accuracy in Reporting)
Aftermath:
Cleaning Up the Mess (April 29, 2003)
The cost of the war probably does not include the clean up of widespread use
of cluster weapons and Depleted Uranium (DU) in Iraq. Children are in particular
danger because some canisters look like emergency food packs. (Foreign
Policy in Focus)
Fighting
is Over But the Deaths Go On (April 28, 2003)
Several people have been killed by unexploded ordnance and landmines in northern
Iraq that have been left by the Iraqi army and US warplanes. (Guardian)
Lack of
Data Slowing Cluster Bomb Cleanup (April 27, 2003)
Cluster bombs are claiming victims almost every day throughout Iraq, causing
civilian mine-clearers to request the map coordinates of cluster bombing targets.
(Los Angeles Times)
Irregular
Weapons Used Against Iraq (April 7, 2003)
This document presents the devastating weapons used by US and UK forces in
Iraq. For example, the cluster bomb with its devastating functions is very
similar to landmines. (ZNet)
US Using
Cluster Munitions in Iraq (April 1, 2003)
Human Rights Watch reports that US ground forces in Iraq are using
cluster munitions with a very high failure rate, creating immediate and long-term
dangers for civilians. According to Steve Goose, executive director of the
Arms Division of Human Rights Watch. "Iraqi civilians will be paying the price
with their lives and limbs for many years."
US Forces
Use of Depleted Uranium Weapons is "Illegal" (March 30, 2003)
US and UK forces are using depleted uranium shells in the war against Iraq,
and deliberately floating a United Nations resolution which classifies the
munitions as illegal weapons. (Sunday Herald, Scotland)
'Silver
Bullets' That Kill, and Kill Again (March 26, 2003)
US tanks are going to use depleted uranium that enables them to penetrate
the armor of Iraqi tanks. But the so called silver bullet, previously used
in the last Gulf War, has a catastrophic impact on the environment and the
health of those in the area. (Asia Times)
US Prepares to Use
Toxic Gases in Iraq (March 3, 2003)
The US might use riot control agents CS gas and pepper spray in a war on Iraq.
This action could undermine the credibility of the Chemical Weapons Convention
and legitimize chemical warfare as a tool of war. (Independent)
The Nuclear
Option in Iraq (January 26, 2003)
Military analyst William M. Arkin argues that US plans for the possible use
of nuclear weapons against Iraq represent a significant lowering of the nuclear
threshold by lumping nuclear weapons in with other military options. (Los
Angeles Times)
