Napalm Lite - American Empire Posted by Jeff (Tuesday November 08 2005 @ 10:50AM EST)

After George Bush triumphed in the 2004 election, the United States launched a no-holds barred attack on Fallujah. "Usually we keep the gloves on," said Captain Erik Krivda, the senior officer in charge of the tactical operations command center. "For this operation, we took the gloves off." The United States used incendiary charges in that campaign, a tactic that created quite a stir abroad. In response to foreign assertions that Fallujah was fire-bombed, the State Department claimed white phosphorus was used for "illumination purposes." Major media outlets rarely describe tactical details so it should surprise no one that smoke screens and illumination were barely mentioned. Newsweek echoed the State Department's claim but most major media outlets ignored it all together. On Monday, Italian RAI News 24 reported that the United States used white phosphorus incendiary charges to strafe Fallujah in 2004. The report relies on eyewitness testimony from former marines as well as video footage from the scene. White phosphorus cannot be extinguished with water and its intense heat can strip flesh from the bone. It continues to burn into the skin after contact and medical personnel require adequate training in order to treat victims of an attack. According to RAI's source, women and children were among the victims. Given the Bushian rationale for war, it's surprising the U.S. military would opt for weaponry similar to those it accused Hussein of harboring.... Click for video

< Iguales cagaron diverso país | You Mean They're Wackos? Hmmmm >

By jeffiswrong (Tuesday November 08 2005 @ 11:31AM EST)

Middle class filling up military, study says. Interesting that Middle-class fills in the rank rather than, as reported here, the poor

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By Jeff (Tuesday November 08 2005 @ 01:05PM EST) Our concern focused on Bush's War, not the ranks of all armed services. One of our most recent assetions on this topic was based on Robert Cushing's study of the dead in Iraq. The professor's analysis revealed those who died came from mostly poor white rural counties. While other branches met their recruiting goals, the Army was forced to lower its standards on competency tests. Keep in mind, she got in before the standards were lowered. If you, the Moonies or the Heritage Foundation are trying make a statement about the war, then you'll have to do so with actual combatants. No offense to the kid patrolling the Chesapeake Bay in a coast guard cutter, but his background contributes nothing to the demographic profile of soldiers in Iraq. It says even less about the dead. [ reply | parent ]

By MattC (Tuesday November 08 2005 @ 04:31PM EST) The article cites 85% of recruits as coming from households where incomes ranged from $30,000 to $200,000. $30,000 to $200,000?!?!?!?!? A bit more specific data would be useful. And where does $30,000 constitute middle-class and upper-middle-class? I would expect a family of 4 trying to survive on $30,000 would need some kind of public assistance just to get by. [ reply | parent ]

By MattC (Tuesday November 08 2005 @ 03:56PM EST)

At risk of more complaints I'm scooping Jeff again: being a Saddam defense attorney is dangerous work.

[ reply | parent ]

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