An "Incendiary Device" Not A Chemical Weapon

YAH RIGHT!!! I am sure this will be the explanation given by the military (especially that king of spin Rumsfeld) for the use of White Phosphorous in Iraq. As I posted here earlier you can see the report coming out from the Italian and British media. If you watched the video, you saw one of the soldiers who heard the order for the use say they said "Willy P" would be dropped in 5 minutes. Well here is an interesting article about just what White Phosphorus is. In the article it is also referred to by that name. Synonyms and related keywords: yellow phosphorus, Willy P, hand grenades, mortar rounds, artillery rounds, smoke bombs, munition igniter, chemical burn, munitions, white phosphorus exposure, white phosphorus burn. ----- Background: White phosphorus has been used commonly by the military as an incendiary agent or as an igniter for munitions. It commonly is found in hand grenades, mortar and artillery rounds, and smoke bombs. Munitions-quality white phosphorus commonly is found in solid form. When exposed to air, it spontaneously ignites and is oxidized rapidly to phosphorus pentoxide. Such heat is produced by this reaction that the element bursts into a yellow flame and produces a dense white smoke. Phosphorus also becomes luminous in the dark, and this property is conveyed to "tracer bullets." This chemical reaction continues until either all the material is consumed or the element is deprived of oxygen. The article goes on to say most injuries are caused by accidental use. That may very well be the case, but to me the term "accident" is definitely not applicable in this case, since they went to the trouble of warning their personnel first. To bad they didn't do the same for the innocent citizens of Fallujah who suffered the burning agony and consequences of its' use.