The U.S. Using White Phosphorous In Afghanistan
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Now that policy, and the military’s blanket denial that phosphorus was used in Farah, have to be questioned, thanks to a recent report filed from a remote area of Afghanistan by a New York Times reporter.
C.J. Chivers, writing in the May 14 edition of the NY Times, in an article headlined “Korangal Valley Memo: In Bleak Afghan Outpost, Troops Slog On,” wrote of how an embattled US Army unit in the Korangal Valley of Afghanistan, had come under attack following a morning memorial service for one of their members, Pfc. Richard Dewater, who had been killed the day before by a mine.
Chivers wrote:
After the ceremony, the violence resumed. The soldiers detected a Taliban spotter on a ridge, which was pounded by mortars and then white phosphorus rounds from a 155 millimeter howitzer.
What did the insurgents do? When the smoldering subsided, they attacked from exactly the same spot, shelling the outpost with 30-millimeter grenades and putting the soldiers on notice that the last display of firepower had little effect. The Americans escalated. An A-10 aircraft made several gun runs, then dropped a 500-pound bomb.
It is clear from this passage that the military’s use of the phosphorus shells had not been for the officially sanctioned purpose of providing cover. The soldiers had no intention of climbing that hill to attack the spotter on the ridge themselves. They were trying to destroy him with shells and bombs. In fact, the last thing they would have wanted to do was provide the spotter with a smoke cover, which would have helped him escape, and which also would have hidden him from the planes which had been called in to make gun runs at his position. Nor was this a case of illuminating the target. The incident, as Chivers reports, took place in daylight.
Clearly then, this article shows that it is routine for soldiers to call in phosphorus rounds to attack enemy soldiers, which is supposed to be against US military policy for this material. Whoever was manning the howitzer had a stock of the weapons on hand, and was ready to fire them.
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http://www.robertstevenduncan.com/2009/05/us-using-white-phosphorous-in.htmlU.S. Denies Using White Phosphorous in Afghanistan, Gates Pledges More Investigation
WASHINGTON, May 11, 2009 – The U.S. military denies using white phosphorous during recent fighting with Taliban militants, and Defense Secretary Robert M. Gates said American and Afghan officials will further investigate the recent Western Afghanistan battle.
The Taliban alleges that U.S. forces employing the chemical during fighting with insurgents wounded Afghan civilians in the May 4 battle in Farah province, a claim the U.S. military refutes.
Gates, speaking to reporters at a Pentagon news conference today, said a high-ranking U.S. officer has been dispatched to work with the Afghan Ministries of Defense and Interior to look into what happened.
“I also understand that General Petraeus is either considering or has already decided to send someone to Afghanistan from outside the country to investigate the tragedy,” Gates said, referring to Army Gen. David H. Petraeus, the commander of U.S. Central Command.
The defense secretary also suggested that the incident – and the Taliban’s exploitation of civilian casualties – highlights the other battle being waged on the strategic communications front.
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http://www.defenselink.mil/news/newsarticle.aspx?id=54294US troops defend use of phosphorous in Afghanistan
US troops in Afghanistan are defending the use of white phosphorus as a battlefield smoke screen. There are allegations that its use has caused civilian injuries.
Coalition soldiers patrolling the Korengal valley regularly call for mortars containing white phosphorus to be fired to shield them from Taliban attack.
On Monday, the US accused Afghan militants of also using the chemical in what it called "reprehensible" attacks on US forces and in civilian areas.
White Phosphorous causes severe burns and human rights groups denounce its use as a weapon, or in populated areas. However, US and NATO troops frequently use it to illuminate targets.
http://www.cctv.com/program/worldwidewatch/20090519/103599.shtml
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