Chemical. Weapon?

BBC News website
What is white phosphorus?

White phosphorus is a solid, waxy man-made chemical which ignites spontaneously at about 30C and produces an intense heat, bright light and thick pillars of smoke.

The US military says it used white phosphorus to flush out insurgents.

It continues to burn until deprived of oxygen and, if extinguished with water, can later reignite if the particles dry out and are exposed again to the air.

Also known by the military as WP or Willie Pete, white phosphorus is used in munitions, to mark enemy targets and to produce smoke for concealing troop movements.

It can also be used as an incendiary device to firebomb enemy positions.

What are its effects?

If particles of ignited white phosphorus land on a person's skin, they can continue to burn right through flesh to the bone. Toxic phosphoric acid can also be released into wounds, risking phosphorus poisoning.

Skin burns must be immersed in water or covered with wet cloths to prevent re-combustion until the particles can be removed.

Exposure to white phosphorus smoke in the air can also cause liver, kidney, heart, lung or bone damage and even death.

A former US soldier who served in Iraq says breathing in smoke close to a shell caused the throat and lungs to blister until the victim suffocated, with the phosphorus continuing to burn them from the inside.

Long-term exposure to lesser concentrations over several months or years may lead to a condition called "phossy jaw", where mouth wounds are caused that fail to heal and the jawbone eventually breaks down.

How did the US use it?

The US initially denied reports it had used white phosphorus as a weapon in Falluja in November 2004, saying it had been used only for illumination and laying smokescreens.

However, the Pentagon has now confirmed the substance was used as an "incendiary weapon" during the assault.

It was deployed as a conventional - rather than chemical - munition, the military said, and its principal use was as a smokescreen and to mark enemy targets.

However, the US has now admitted its forces also used white phosphorus rounds to a lesser extent to flush enemy forces out of covered positions, allowing them to be targeted with high explosives.

The US military denies using the chemical against civilians and stresses its deployment is not illegal.

What are the international conventions?

White phosphorus is covered by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Conventional Weapons, which prohibits its use as an incendiary weapon against civilian populations or in air attacks against enemy forces in civilian areas.

The US - unlike 80 other countries including the UK - is not a signatory to Protocol III.

it was used primarily as an illumination device more intense than flares

phosphorus grenades and shells have been used for over 40 years as weapons...they cause horrendous burns

the best example seen in film is in 4we were soldiers when the guy has to get the piece of white hoit grenade fragment cut out of his face with a bayonet...

it burns similar to the way magnesium burns (if you have done that at school or college) but in powder form it burns more quickly

wouldn't class it as a chemical weapon as it isn't a nerve agent and doesn't dissolve tissue...simply burns it

brutal weapon though

I support the use of white phosphorous.

And, if this is going where I think it is going, the term "chemical weapons" is meant to mean chemical agents that do such things as cause cardiac or respiratory arrest (as white phosphorous is also considered an incendiary weapon).

When you fight a war you fight a total war. And that means using every weapon in your arsenal. We fight these people out there or in our homelands.

Heck, if you call white phospohrus a 'chemical' weapon, then by that logic ALL firearms are chemical, involving as they do a chemically-caused explosion.

We should drop some chemical bombs on the iraqies..we need some animals to test them on.

Originally posted by Imagawa666
When you fight a war you fight a total war. And that means using every weapon in your arsenal. We fight these people out there or in our homelands.

Not using nukes, though.

Originally posted by KidRock
We should drop some chemical bombs on the iraqies..we need some animals to test them on.

You are a wanker - I didn't realise before that you did it on purpose.

Originally posted by Imagawa666
When you fight a war you fight a total war. And that means using every weapon in your arsenal. We fight these people out there or in our homelands.

Now now, even though our terrorists enemies don't use it we must follow the Geneva Convention.

Hey KidRock>......... or we could just use you for the experiment? 😱

Originally posted by KidRock
We should drop some chemical bombs on the iraqies..we need some animals to test them on.