Rain of Lies

NY Times now has an article on the use of white phosphorous at Fallujah. Part of the article agrees with Bob's comment (see Rain of Fire I) that many of the pictures shown in the Italian documentary were likely not the result of white phosphorus burns. Independent military experts agree that clothing would have been burnt along with skin; instead, they said the clothing looked "decomposed."

However, the Pentagon now admits it lied about the use of white phosphorous. DoD officials had originally claimed white phosphorus shells were used "very sparingly" in Falluja and were fired "to illuminate enemy positions at night, not at enemy fighters." But faced with eye witness testimony from American Soldiers and other documentary evidence, the Bush administration has had to make a public reversal. On Friday, Pentagon spokesmen admitted that white phosphorus had been used directly against Iraqi insurgents. Lt. Col. Barry Venable, a Defense Department spokesman who has been fielding white phosphorus questions, now says, "It's perfectly legitimate to use this stuff against enemy combatants."

Once again, the Bush Administration demonstrates they only will tell the truth when confronted by proof of their lies. Despite their admission last Friday, the Pentagon insists they were careful to avoid hitting any civilians. Oh really? I'm sure the Army did not deliberately take aim at civilians, but the U.S. military has maintained a consistent policy of accepting a lot of "collateral damage" in this fight. Thousands of Iraqis have been killed by American forces so far, and many, many more civilians have been wounded. Given this policy, and given the lies surrounding the Fallujah operations, we have no reason at all to believe any special care was taken to avoid burning civilians.

Cheney today called critics of the war, "dishonest," "reprehensible," "irresponsible," and "revisionist." The man has no shame. His words mean nothing. They are just another torrent in this Presidency's rain of lies.