RE: Depleted Uranium & White Phosphorus Part of Massive Weapons Smuggling Operation Involving US Contractors
What I've been wondering about white phosphorous is that if it constitutes a war crime to deploy it against ground targets, what exactly is its supposed permissible usage in warfare. I know the point of the piece is to point out the ongoing corporate profiteering of these systems, but what I don't get is how they even manage to rationalize the "legitimate use" case for these munitions so they can be "legally" produced in the first place. It looks like a lot can get billed out under the heading "non-standard miscellaneous weapons." Is it really that simple for these contractors to produce and/or buy/sell pretty much any type of munition, legality notwithstanding? This is pretty terrifying if you think of the implications given the pipelines these things are flowing through.
I wrote this article about WP a few months ago, it explains why it is not considered a chemical weapon (of course i believe it absolutely should be classified as a chemical weapon).
https://steemit.com/chemicalweapons/@v4vapid/nsfw-is-white-phosphorus-a-chemical-weapon
Before my time, but I will read that, too. Thanks for taking the time to backtrack & send me the link. & sorry my upvote is so weak.
The problem with White Phosphorus is that it is technically an incendiary weapon, not a chemical weapon. The reason being is that it is a multi-purpose substance in combat. It's used for signalling, smokescreens and illumination. This technicality prevents it from being banned as it causes severe and excruciating burns. It literally melts flesh and it's almost impossible to put out.
It is a crime to use it as an attack weapon, but it's multi-purpose use gives the users of this substance plausible deniability. They can claim that they were simply illuminating the battle field and any casualties/injuries to civilians was completely accidental.
I'm sure militaries take advantage of this.