(THIS ARTICLE IS MACHINE TRANSLATED by Google from Norwegian)
war crimes as the United States commits in Iraq, no end will take. The release of Falluja in November 2004 has now turned out to be a chemical genocide of innocent civilians.
What was immediately claimed by doctors and eyewitnesses in Iraq, but past in the Western media, is now documented: The United States used chemical weapons – more specifically the napalm-like substance white phosphorus against the people of Fallujah. When white phosphorus comes in contact with humans, death is inevitable. One can in no way protect oneself from the particles, they penetrate textiles and other forms of protection. The substance ignites at 30 degrees Celsius, ie when the particles come in contact with skin. White phosphorus burns to the bone. The effect occurs immediately and the combustion can not be stopped with water.
According to the Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, it is illegal to use white phosphorus against civilians. The Pentagon now admits illegal use of white phosphorus. But defend that the United States has not signed the protocol prohibiting the use of white phosphorus against civilians.
If the substance is used for the purpose of exploiting its toxic effect, it falls under the Chemical Weapons Convention. This convention prohibits the use of chemical weapons and it has been signed by the United States. Used for that purpose, white phosphorus is in the same category as napalm and cyanide-based poison gases.
There is no doubt that the Americans used white phosphorus in the attack on Falluja because of its toxic potential. Thus, there is talk of a serious breach of the convention that regulates the use of chemical weapons. Thus, it is a serious war crime committed by US occupation forces.
A big part of Falluja's approximately 300.000 residents were forced to flee their homes when attacks against Falluja started in November 2004, around 150.000 of whom still live as internal refugees. Those who did not escape suffered a terrible fate. There were only a few survivors after the attack. The dead must be counted in tens, both women and children. We know that for sure, because even though the bodies were burnt to the unrecognizable, the clothes were untouched. White phosphorus damages only the living tissue and leaves textiles intact.
But Falluja is not just a city in ruins, the city will forever remain as the symbol of the resistance in Iraq and the defeat of the United States. Because even though the United States shattered the city, they did not defeat the incumbent.
Kristian Kårbø, Committee on a Free Iraq, Bergen.
