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Chemical weapons in Lebanon

freddie | 22.07.2006 19:00

Article from Wayne Madsen Report indicates chemical weapon use in Lebanon

 http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/




July 22/23, 2006 -- U.S. military intelligence sources have told WMR that the artillery shell shown below being used by an Israel Defense Force member in Lebanon, is a type of dual and multi-use weapon the neocons falsely accused Saddam Hussein of possessing. Although the canister artillery shell is marketed as an anti-land mine fuel-air bomb, its payload can also include the chemicals used in thermobaric bombs, white phosphorous weapons, and chemical weapons. Thermobaric bombs contain polymer-bonded explosives or solid fuel-air explosives in their payloads. Thermobarics use a fuse munition unit (FMU) such as that seen on the nose of the Israeli artillery shell. The shell penetrates buildings, underground shelters, or tunnels, creating such a blast pressure that all the oxygen is sucked out from the spaces and the lungs of anyone who happens to be in proximity. Israel's use of such "vaccum" weapons has been reported from across Lebanon.

The artillery shell below, with its FMU penetrator, can also be used to deliver chemical weapons, the use of which is also being reported from southern Lebanon. In addition, it can deliver white phosphorous, a substance that literally melts through skin but leaves clothing relatively intact. In Fallujah and elsewhere in Iraq, U.S. forces have used white phosphorous on civilians, leaving grotesque corpses as a psychological warfare reminder to the civilian population to surrender or evacuate an area. The photo from Sidon of a burnt and badly disfigured young Lebanese girl is a telltale sign of white phosphorous use by the Israelis. Similar photos from Fallujah were shown to this editor by a top investigative reporter for Italy's RAI television network.

U.S. military intelligence experts believe the ease at which the Israeli soldier is handling the artillery shell is an indication that the payload contains light-weight gas and not a fuel-air mixture or thermobaric bomb components. WMR continues to receive reports from Lebanon of depleted uranium shells being used by the Israelis. The New York Times today is reporting that the U.S. is stepping up its delivery of "precision-guided" munitions to Israel

freddie

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More on this NYT story

23.07.2006 14:28

Some further elaborations on this article:
Firstly, this is a deal that has been already signed and agreed to between Israel and the USA. It is "an arms-sale package approved last year [that] provides authority for Israel to purchase from the United States as many as 100 GBU-28’s, which are 5,000-pound laser-guided bombs intended to destroy concrete bunkers. The package also provides for selling satellite-guided munitions." (NYT in  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14134.htm ). This raises the question as to whose satellites will be providing the data for satellite-guided munition systems?
Second, some basic info about the weapon that is being bought/sold: The GBU-28 "is a special weapon developed for penetrating hardened Iraqi command centers located deep underground. The GBU-28 is a 5,000-pound laser-guided conventional munition that uses a 4,400-pound penetrating warhead." (  http://www.fas.org/man/dod-101/sys/smart/gbu-28.htm ). In addition to its sheer percussive blast potential and its delay fuse to ensure penetration precedes detonation, the GBU-28 was known to have contributed to the DU used in the Balkans (1999) and in Afghanistan (  http://www.cursor.org/stories/uranium.htm ). Each bomb carries a price-tag of "about $145,600 in Fiscal Year 1998 dollars" (  http://www.clw.org/archive/milspend/gbu28.html ).
Third, despite the existence of a pre-agreed arms deal with Israel, it is the element of speed with which Israel is pushing these requests through the system which is out of the ordinary: "American officials said that once a weapons purchase is approved, it is up to the buyer nation to set up a timetable. But one American official said normal procedures usually do not include rushing deliveries within days of a request. That was done because Israel is a close ally in the midst of hostilities, the official said." (  http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article14134.htm ).

Why the rush? Is it because Bush has only given Israel a week left to bomb Lebanon to smithereens and the rush is on to get to use some of those new weapons? Who knows, perhaps even USA would be interested to see how they fair under the current conditions? How will it be determined whether or not they contain DU when used, because these missiles do have the capability?

stuart palmieri
mail e-mail: stupalmieri@hotmail.com

rocket in photo ID'd.

23.07.2006 16:52

The rocket being handled in the photograph looks like part of the 'Carpet' mine-clearing system which the Israelis are known to have (see  http://www.israeli-weapons.com/weapons/mines/carpet/Carpet.html ), a point apparently missed by the nameless "U.S. military intelligence experts" who Madsen mentions.


Perhaps wise to take anything from Wayne Madsen with a pinch of salt. This is the man who claims the USS Cole was hit by a cruise missile launched from an Israeli submarine (  http://www.waynemadsenreport.com/Baffles.htm ), and said 2 years ago that the CIA were mere days away from assassinating him (  http://www.insider-magazine.com/madsen_under_threat.htm,  http://www.arcticbeacon.com/27-Aug-2005c.html ).

Rocketeer