James Chamblee
Guest
|
 Posted:
Sat Jul 02, 2005 12:05 am Post subject:
U.S. Hiding Napalm Use in Iraq |
|
|
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=8186
Covering up Napalm in Iraq
by Mike Whitney; June 28, 2005
"You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world
smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one
time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked
up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you
know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Robert
Duvall, "Apocalypse Now" (1979)
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 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 have
used them to subjugate the indigenous people.
"Despite persistent rumors of injuries among Iraqis consistent with the use
of incendiary weapons such as napalm" the Pentagon insisted that "US forces
had not used a new generation of incendiary weapons, codenamed MK77, in
Iraq." (UK Independent)
The Pentagon lied.
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."
Regrettably, "indiscriminate and extreme injuries" are a vital part of the
American terror-campaign in Iraq; a well-coordinated strategy designed to
spawn panic through random acts of violence.
It's clear that the military never needed to use napalm in Iraq. Their
conventional weaponry and laser-guided technology were already enough to run
roughshod over the Iraqi army and seize Baghdad almost unobstructed. Napalm
was introduced simply to terrorize the Iraqi people; to pacify through
intimidation. Cheney, Rumsfeld and Negroponte are old-hands at terrorism,
dating back to their counterinsurgency projects in Nicaragua and El Salvador
under the Reagan Administration. They know that the threat of immolation
serves as a powerful deterrent and fits seamlessly into their overarching
scheme of rule through fear. Terror and deception are the rotating parts of
the same axis; the two imperatives of the Bush-Cheney foreign policy
strategy. Napalm in Falluja
The US also used napalm in the siege of Falluja as was reported in the UK
Mirror ("Falluja Napalmed", 11-28-04) The Mirror said, "President George
Bush has sanctioned the use of napalm, a deadly cocktail of polystyrene and
jet-fuel banned by the United Nations in 1980, will stun the world.. Reports
claim that innocent civilians have died in napalm attacks, which turn
victims into human fireballs as the gel bonds flames to flesh.Since the
American assault on Falluja there have been reports of 'melted' corpse,
which appeared to have napalm injuries."
"Human fireballs" and "melted corpses"; these are the real expressions of
Operation Iraqi Freedom not the bland platitudes issuing from the
presidential podium.
Dr. Khalid ash-Shaykhli, who was the head of the Iraqi Ministry of Health in
Falluja, reported to Al Jazeera (and to the Washington Post, although it was
never reported) that "research, prepared by his medical team, prove that the
US forces used internationally prohibited substances, including mustard gas,
nerve gas, and other burning chemicals in their attacks on the war-torn
city."
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.
As journalist Dahr Jamail reported later in his article "What is the US
trying to Hide?", "At least two kilometers of soil were removed..exactly as
they did at Baghdad Airport after the heavy battles there during the
invasion and the Americans used their special weapons."
A cover up?
So far, none of this has appeared in any American media, nor has the media
reported that the United Nations has been rebuffed twice by the Defense
Dept. in calling for an independent investigation into what really took
place in Falluja. The US simply waves away the international body as a minor
nuisance while the media scrupulously omits any mention of the allegations
from their coverage.
We can assume that the order to use napalm (as well as the other,
unidentified substances) came straight from the office of Donald Rumsfeld.
No one else could have issued that order, nor would they have risked their
career by unilaterally using banned weapons when their use was entirely
gratuitous. Rumsfeld's directive is consistent with other decisions
attributed to the Defense Secretary; like the authorizing of torture at
Guantanamo and Abu Ghraib, the targeting of members of the press, and the
rehiring of members of Saddam's Secret Police ( the Mukhabarat) to carry out
their brutal activities under new leadership. Rumsfeld's office has been the
headwaters for most of the administration's treachery. Napalm simply adds
depth to an already prodigious list of war crimes on Rumsfeld's resume'.
Co-opting the Media
On June 10, 2005 numerous sources reported that the "U.S. Special Operations
Command hired three firms to produce newspaper stories, television
broadcasts and Internet web sites to spread American propaganda overseas.
The Tampa-based military headquarters, which oversees commandos and
psychological warfare, may spend up to $100 million for the media campaign
over the next five years." (James Crawley, Media General News Service) It's
clear that there's no need for the Defense Dept. to shore up its "strategic
information" (propaganda) operations in the US where reliable apparatchiks
can be counted on to obfuscate, omit or exaggerate the coverage of the war
according to the requirements of the Pentagon. The American press has been
as skillful at embellishing the imaginary heroics of Jessica Lynch and Pat
Tillman as they have been in concealing the damning details of the Downing
Street Memo or the lack of evidence concerning the alleged WMDs. Should we
be surprised that the media has remained silent about the immolation of
Iraqis by American firebombs?
The US "free press" is a completely integrated part of the state-information
system. Its meticulously managed message has been the most successful part
of the entire Iraqi debacle. By providing the requisite cheerleading,
diversions and omissions, the media has shown itself to be an invaluable
asset to the men in power; perpetuating the deceptions that keep the public
acquiescent during a savage colonial war. Given the scope of the media's
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.
|
|
Lion
Guest
|
| Posted:
Sat Jul 02, 2005 8:03 am Post subject:
Re: U.S. Hiding Napalm Use in Iraq |
|
|
You may be interested in this excerpt below, taken from
THE LIES BEHIND THE LIES
http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1519047,00.html
"For example, the Pentagon strenuously denied that it had used napalm in
Iraq, despite an Australian correspondent witnessing its use. That wasn't
napalm, said a spokesman, it was a Mark 77 firebomb. As Hiro observes this
statement was "cynical sophistry", since the Mark 77 is a mixture of
kerosene and polystyrene, while napalm is a mixture of jet fuel and
polystyrene. The result is just the same: death in a fireball. "
Lion
"James Chamblee" <jim-chamblee@mindspring.com> wrote ..
| Quote: |
http://www.zmag.org/content/showarticle.cfm?SectionID=15&ItemID=8186
Covering up Napalm in Iraq
by Mike Whitney; June 28, 2005
"You smell that? Do you smell that? Napalm, son. Nothing else in the world
smells like that. I love the smell of napalm in the morning. You know, one
time we had a hill bombed, for twelve hours. When it was all over I walked
up. We didn't find one of 'em, not one stinkin' dink body. The smell, you
know that gasoline smell, the whole hill. Smelled like... victory. Robert
Duvall, "Apocalypse Now" (1979)
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 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 have
used them to subjugate the indigenous people.
"Despite persistent rumors of injuries among Iraqis consistent with the
use
of incendiary weapons such as napalm" the Pentagon insisted that "US
forces
had not used a new generation of incendiary weapons, codenamed MK77, in
Iraq." (UK Independent)
[snip] |
|
|
FAQ
Memberlist
Register
Profile
Log in to check your private messages
Log in