The German mainstream media reported yesterday that journalists have obtained a written statement from the US military admitting to using Napalm on several instances during the Iraq invasion.
On March 22, 2003, CNN embedded journalist Savidge described his day:
“It is now estimated the hill was hit so badly by missiles, artillery and by the Air Force, that they shaved a couple of feet off it. And anything that was up there that was left after all the explosions was then hit with napalm. And that pretty much put an end to any Iraqi operations up on that hill.”
This statement had been checked and acknowledged by the Pentagon. When some of the alternative media picked up the fact that napalm had been used which was only casually mentioned in the above report, the Pentagon was quick to deny having used Napalm in the Iraq invasion in an article in the New York Times. In fact, US Navy sources denied even possessing any Napalm after the last canister was destroyed in April 2001.
The German TV program ‘Monitor’ got a different response when they inquired about the use of deadly Napalm on Iraqis. You can see the report on the internet where one US soldier says: “ We only used 30 canisters [of Napalm] in 30 days of war.” The program is in German, but even if you don't understand German, you can still hear the Americans speak before it is translated. The Napalm that was used is called MK-77 and is a newer version of Napalm but is considered the same substance. It is against international agreements to use this weapon, because it cannot be used in way to discriminate between soldiers and civilians. The story has been picked up by many newspapers and TV news in Germany. I am not sure if it has gotten to the anglophone media.
Have a look at these websites for yourself:
The Monitor program can be viewed at this website. It is called ‘Schwere Vorwürfe gegen US-Pentagon: Napalm-Bomben im Irak-Krieg’
http://www.wdr.de/tv/monitor/beitragsuebersicht.phtml
The original CNN story:
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/21/otsc.irq.savidge/
Some background info:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/attack/consequences/2003/0407irregular.htm
http://www.sueddeutsche.de/ausland/artikel/952/15937/ (in German)
An embedded Australian journalist reported Napalm use which was then denied by the US:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/23/1048354475977.html
“It is now estimated the hill was hit so badly by missiles, artillery and by the Air Force, that they shaved a couple of feet off it. And anything that was up there that was left after all the explosions was then hit with napalm. And that pretty much put an end to any Iraqi operations up on that hill.”
This statement had been checked and acknowledged by the Pentagon. When some of the alternative media picked up the fact that napalm had been used which was only casually mentioned in the above report, the Pentagon was quick to deny having used Napalm in the Iraq invasion in an article in the New York Times. In fact, US Navy sources denied even possessing any Napalm after the last canister was destroyed in April 2001.
The German TV program ‘Monitor’ got a different response when they inquired about the use of deadly Napalm on Iraqis. You can see the report on the internet where one US soldier says: “ We only used 30 canisters [of Napalm] in 30 days of war.” The program is in German, but even if you don't understand German, you can still hear the Americans speak before it is translated. The Napalm that was used is called MK-77 and is a newer version of Napalm but is considered the same substance. It is against international agreements to use this weapon, because it cannot be used in way to discriminate between soldiers and civilians. The story has been picked up by many newspapers and TV news in Germany. I am not sure if it has gotten to the anglophone media.
Have a look at these websites for yourself:
The Monitor program can be viewed at this website. It is called ‘Schwere Vorwürfe gegen US-Pentagon: Napalm-Bomben im Irak-Krieg’
http://www.wdr.de/tv/monitor/beitragsuebersicht.phtml The original CNN story:
http://edition.cnn.com/2003/WORLD/meast/03/21/otsc.irq.savidge/ Some background info:
http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/attack/consequences/2003/0407irregular.htm http://www.sueddeutsche.de/ausland/artikel/952/15937/ (in German) An embedded Australian journalist reported Napalm use which was then denied by the US:
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2003/03/23/1048354475977.html
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