From MSNBC
“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 phosphorus 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.
From the Christian Science MonitorAh. The US also decided not to sign on to this treaty's prohibition of the use of lasers. Nor has the US signed on to the land mine treaty. If the US wants the "freedom" to use phosphoros weapons in populated areas it should not complain when it's vilified for doing so.
But they do raise the issue of the military's judgment. Because fires can burn out of control during a battle, the Convention on Conventional Weapons in 1980 banned the use of incendiary devices, like white phosphorous, in heavily populated areas. America, however, did not sign the agreement.
The US is a very powerful and influential nation. I like the US and am married into an American family. I have deep emotional ties to the US. That's why, I suppose, I'm so bothered when the US passes up the opportunity to show leadership in the restraint area. They can do better than that and could help others see how to do so as well.
