Two weeks ago the UK Independent ran an article which confirmed that the US had “lied to Britain over the use of napalm in Iraq.†(06-17-05) Since then, not one American newspaper or TV station has picked up the story even though the Pentagon has verified the claims.
A firebomb, according to the Federation of American Scientists, is a thin skinned container of fuel gel designed for use against dug-in troops, supply installations, wooden structures, and land convoys. The MK 77 500-pound fire bomb is the only fire bomb now in service. Fire bombs rupture on impact and spread burning fuel gel on surrounding objects.
It just so happens that those “objects†are often people. Those sorry weasels in the Pentagon tried to brush aside reports in 2003 that it was using firebombs in Iraq, by denying the use of “napalm.†When is napalm not napalm? Apparently when you switch gasoline for jet fuel and use some other name like Mark 77 firebomb.
As per usual U.S. military personel are a little more forthcoming than their civilian spin masters: “We napalmed both those [bridge] approaches,†said Colonel James Alles, commander of Marine Air Group 11. “Unfortunately there were people there … you could see them in the [cockpit] video. They were Iraqi soldiers. It’s no great way to die. The generals love napalm. It has a big psychological effect.â€
Use of such bombs against civilians was banned in the 1980 United Nations Convention on Inhumane Weapons. Not surprisingly the U.S. refused to sign this agreement.
In case you missed it:
- ‘Dead bodies are everywhere’ (22 March 2003)
- Napalm by another name (22 March 2003)
- Officials confirm dropping firebombs on Iraqi troops (5 August, 2003)
- US rejects German napalm bombing report (8 August, 2003)
- US admits it used napalm bombs in Iraq (10 August, 2003)
- US Troops Reportedly Gassing Fallujah (10 November 2004)
- Exchange With the BBC’s Director of News (on the BBC’s failure to report effectively on alleged U.S. atrocities) (30 March, 2005)
- US lied to Britain over use of napalm in Iraq war (17 June, 2005)
Meanwhile, Gary Younge, writing for The Guardian, argues that the American public may have reached the tipping point with regard to the occupation of Iraq.
At just around the time when Hush Puppies were believed to have been relegated to the footwear of choice for old geezers and ageing hippies, they suddenly enjoyed a comeback. Hip people started scouting around in unfashionable shops to buy them and then hip stores in Greenwich Village started to sell them. A Hush Puppy executive, Geoffrey Lewis, was taken completely by surprise. “We were told that Isaac Mizrahi was wearing the shoes himself,†he said. “I think it’s fair to say that at the time we had no idea who Isaac Mizrahi was.â€
In Malcolm Gladwell’s book, The Tipping Point, he describes the conditions that are necessary to transform Hush Puppies from the old school to new cool. “The world of the tipping point is a place where the unexpected becomes expected, where radical change is more than a possibility,†he argues. “It is—contrary to all our expectations—a certainty.â€
American public opinion appears to be approaching just such a point in relation to the war in Iraq.
And this week’s Harper’s Weekly includes:
It was revealed that North Korea had approached the United States in 2002, offering to “resolve the nuclear issue†if North Korea’s sovereignty was acknowledged; the Bush Administration rejected the offer.
“The reality,†said Senator Chuck Hagel (R., Nebraska), “is that we are losing in Iraq.†“Insurgencies,†said Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, “tend to go on five, six, eight, ten, twelve years.†“I think about Iraq,†said President George W. Bush.
In Spartanburg, South Carolina, a man was caught molesting a dog. “He had his pants down,†said the owner of the dog, “and he was doing sexual activity with the dog like a man would do to a woman.†The dog, Princess, later died of related injuries.
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