White phosphorous in Falloojeh

The Pentagon spokesman recently said:

"It's part of our conventional-weapons inventory and we use it like we use any other conventional weapon,"

This war has redefined ‘conventional’. It has taken atrocity to another level. Everything we learned before has become obsolete. ‘Conventional’ has become synonymous with horrifying. Conventional weapons are those that eat away the skin in a white blaze; conventional interrogation methods are like those practiced in Abu Ghraib and other occupation prisons…

Quite simply… conventional terror.

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The above words came from a blog written in Baghdad early this morning. The name of the blog is Baghdad Burning.

Many Americans will remember the war in Vietnam where napalm was used with horrifying results on the civilian population.

Many Americans and other members of the Allies will remember the bombings that took place in Europe as well as the bombings by planes and rockets on England. We were all involved. And of course we had the atomic bomb incidents in Japan. All of these events were undertaken to bring about an early end to the Second World War, to bring peace to the world.

The use of white phosphorous in Iraq can’t be justified and should not be tolerated. The American people are being disgraced by those responsible for the military, from the President to members directing the war from the Pentagon.

Now, we are all involved in a war either directly or indirectly. Canada did not join the United States and England in the invasion of Iraq but the country has been affected by the war. Canada is affected by most everything that happens in the United States of America. If the U.S. sneezes, Canadians catch the cold! Sleeping next to an elephant can be dangerous for a mouse!

Canadians are spending heavily for security and all the while our liberties are being curtailed. Under the name of secrecy, some of our rights are being abused. For the sake of humanity, the United States should terminate its involvement in Iraq.

We learned yesterday that security at airports that handle freight at times in non-existent. An explosive device could be placed in the cargo and if activated, the aircraft with all aboard would be lost. Yet, security at border crossing points where Canadians enter the United States is very tight. There is a lack of security for air travel where cargo is not subjected to adequate inspection to protect the air traveler at the same time, there could be too much for land travel between Canada and the United States leading the American public to believe that their interests are well protected; this is a false sense of security!

I have come to the conclusion that the terrorist have America under control. The terrorist have the power and have caused Americans to fear for their lives. Americans have no choice but to pay high taxes to increase the security that is expected. There is no doubt that the terrorist can strike most any target using whatever weapons that they choose.

The security industry is large and flourishing. It provides employment to many and that helps the American economy. The weapons industry is large and flourishing and that helps the American economy. The military industry is alive, well and large and that provides employment to many and that helps the American economy.

One point of view that has been expressed is that the economy of the United States is now dependent upon the war and the security industry; both of these have flourished at great cost to the American people. When we look at the United States, we Canadians know that the American economy did quite well during the early years of both World Wars producing instruments and munitions during which time Canadians were fighting the wars in Europe. Nevertheless, the world was grateful for the American entry into both wars for without the American assistance, those wars would have been lost and the democratic philosophy and way of life would not exist today.