The U.S. government’s already despicable role in aiding and abetting Saudi Arabia’s routine murder of civilians in Yemen may have just become a whole lot more grotesque.
As The Washington Post reports:
Saudi Arabia appears to be using U.S.-supplied white phosphorous munitions in its war in Yemen, based on images and videos posted to social media, raising concerns among human rights groups that the highly incendiary material could be used against civilians.
Under U.S. regulations, white phosphorous sold to other countries is to be used only for signaling to other troops and creating smoke screens. When the munition explodes, it releases white phosphorous that automatically ignites in the air and creates a thick white smoke. When used against soldiers or civilians, it can maim and kill by burning to the bone.
It is unclear exactly how the Saudis are using the munitions, but the government has already received widespread condemnation for its indiscriminate bombing in civilian areas since its campaign against rebel forces in Yemen began in 2015.
U.S. officials confirmed that the American government has supplied the Saudis white phosphorous in the past but declined to say how much had been transferred or when. After reviewing a social media image taken from the battlefield that showed a white phosphorous mortar shell, a U.S. official said it appeared to be American in origin but could not trace it to a particular sale because some of the markings were obscured.
“The United States expects any recipient of U.S. military assistance to use those items in accordance with international law and under the terms and conditions of any U.S. transfer or sale,” said a State Department official, who spoke on the condition of anonymity to discuss politically sensitive issues.
Since coming to office in 2009, the Obama administration has facilitated more than $115 billion in 42 different arms sales to Saudi Arabia, more than any other U.S. administration, according to a report in the Security Assistance Monitor. Batches of the equipment are likely to be delivered for years to come.
International humanitarian law does not ban the use of white phosphorous outright, but there is a strict requirement that it be used only in areas clearly separated from civilians. Even using it against enemy combatants has raised concerns, given that the munitions can cause particularly horrific injuries.
“The United States must not provide or sell white phosphorous munitions to Saudi Arabia or any other military that would use them in the Yemen conflict,” said Sunjeev Bery, Amnesty International’s advocacy director for the Middle East and North Africa. “As a major arms seller to Saudi Arabia, the U.S. risks being complicit in Saudi Arabia’s likely war crimes in Yemen.”
A spokesman from the Saudi Embassy in Washington did not respond to requests for comment for this article. The Saudi government has repeatedly denied claims about unlawful bombings and civilian casualties, pointing to its military’s Western support as validation of its practices.
Let’s see how well that story holds up to the facts…
Saudi Arabia Bombs Second Yemeni Wedding in a Week – At Least 23 Dead
Saudi Arabia Forces the UN to Drop Humanitarian Inquiry Into Yemen Atrocities
38 Dead After Saudi Arabia, Head of UN Human Rights Panel, Bombs Wedding in Yemen
Yep, not so well.
The United States has used white phosphorous against fighters, including in 2004 in Fallujah, Iraq, and sporadically in Afghanistan over the course of the war there. In 2009, Israel used the weapon in populated areas in the Gaza Strip.
Indeed, the U.S. government’s prior use of the substance was highlighted in the 2013 post: 10 Chemical Weapons Attacks the U.S. Government Doesn’t Want You to Know About.
Images on pro-Saudi Twitter and Instagram accounts show that Saudi forces are using several systems for firing white phosphorous munitions, including tank rounds, mortars, howitzers and rifle grenades.
Footage and images and social media posts showing the munition indicate that it is being used near the Saudi-Yemen border — in Najran province — and around the Yemeni capital, Sanaa.
The most recent footage — posted Sept. 9 — shows a U.S.-developed M198 155mm Saudi howitzer with the telltale sea-foam green white phosphorous rounds nearby ready to be loaded and fired.
The only company with the rights to sell to the U.S. government the white phosphorous round pictured in the image is General Dynamics Ordnance Tactical Systems, according to Marine Corps Systems Command documents distributed in 2015. The shell’s design is owned by TDA-Armaments of France. Both TDA-Armaments and General Dynamics manufacture the munition, although it is unclear which country manufactured the round pictured.
When asked about the image, General Dynamics spokeswoman Laurie VonBrocklin said “it wouldn’t be appropriate for us to comment” and deferred further questions to the Pentagon and the State Department.
As is typically the case, the milk cow U.S. taxpayer has no right to know.
In Liberty,
Michael Krieger
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America “leaders” will be tried for war crimes and crimes against humanity.
Very common munition with lots of applications.
In fact, WP is probably the most versatile munition in use.
Gets a bad name because it sounds like a chemical weapon… shouldn’t be branded as such, though it is nasty if used in a nasty way… but that’s the same for anything, from an artillery round to a ball-point pen.
Everyone has WP and everyone uses it, primarily as a marking device or as an obscurant. Pretty vital in today’s day of laser-range finders and long-range video optics.
But it’s also a fine incendiary…
So when you need to be absolutely and completely damn sure that everyone in that room is made dead, reach for Willie Pete… he never lets you down.
In fact, if you scream “Willie Pete” into a doorway or window, that’s usually all it takes for resistance to simmer right on down… regardless of the local language.
did hillary get a cut of the deal/