Taleban using white phosphorus, some of it made in Britain
Why don’t we hear far-left media and bloggers about this?
Taleban fighters have been using deadly white phosphorus munitions, some of them manufactured in Britain, to attack Western forces in Afghanistan, according to previously classified United States documents released yesterday.
White phosphorus, which can burn its victims down to the bone, has been found in improvised explosive devices (IEDs) in regions across Afghanistan including in the south, where British troops are based. It has also been used in mortar and rocket attacks on American forces.
Last night the US military in Kabul condemned the use of white phosphorus by the insurgents as “reprehensible”. White phosphorus is banned as an offensive weapon under international rules of armed conflict.
Major Jennifer Willis, a spokeswoman for the US Army at Bagram, near Kabul, said that markings on some of the white phosphorus munitions that had been recovered showed that they had been manufactured in a number of different countries, including Britain, China, Russia and Iran.
Remember when rumor had it that Israel had used certain weapons against Palestinians / Hamas? Leftist blogs and news outlets jumped all over themselves in their righteous anger. But now that it is a radical, extremist organization like the Taliban doing it… silence.
The question now is how the Taliban got their hands on phosphorus produced in Britain. Iran is logical: we all know that Tehran actively supports extremist groups throughout the region. But Britain?
More:
The US military released details of 44 known cases — six in southern Afghanistan — which included incidents where Nato troops and Afghan civilians had received severe burns. US sources said that there was strong evidence that the Taleban had been responsible for the deaths of more than 100 civilians in the battle that took place in Farah province last week and that they had used white phosphorus.
The Americans were initially blamed for killing the civilians in airstrikes. But local doctors discovered unusual burns among the dead and injured, which pointed to the use of white phosphorus.
So first the angry finger is pointed at the United States, as usual, and only later it is discovered that not the US but radical militants used white phosphorus which resulted in many casualties and tremendous suffering for the local population.
“Why don’t we hear far-left media and bloggers about this?”
Because Israel claims to be on the moral high ground and seeks legitimacy, recognition and treatment as such. Dog bites man, but here we have a man biting a man. The media is supposed to cover news – the taliban acting like scum with no concern for civilians or international standards is not news. My cat just ran like a torpedo across the room for no apparent reason and then tried to feign nonchalance and dignity afterwards – should I call Reuters?
“Leftist blogs and news outlets jumped all over themselves in their righteous anger. But now that it is a radical, extremist organization like the Taliban doing it… silence.”
Blogs have more of a responsibility to inform evenly, at least if they have a history of being particularly angry about human rights abuses in general.
Garland;
Please connect “Israel claims to be on the moral high ground” with a story about the Taliban.
So are you saying it would be much better if Israel or ?U.S. just admitted they were scumbags and then we could better accept them as such?
Garland’s excuse for his anti-Israel double standard is fairly typical on the left. What I find remarkable is that they can’t seem to notice the double-edged bigotry in the position. Either they are anti-semetic by virtue of condemning Israel for that which they excuse from others OR they are anti-Muslim because they aren’t willing to see Muslims as human beings that are morally responsible for their actions but rather as animals who can’t be expected to behave as anything but animals.
It is necessary to be one or the other — nothing else could possibly explain both the anti-Israel double-standard and the excuses so frequently presented to rationalize it. Garland’s last comment pretty explicitly embraces the latter — he gives Muslims a pass for the same reason he gives a dog or his cat a pass — because animals are incapable of morality and thus cannot be evaluated using morality. That means he sees militant Muslims (presumably not all Muslims, but the view is pretty slippery on any limits to its application) as sub-human and refuses to judge them by the standards he uses for those that are human.
Usually leftists are pretty sharp at catching coded bigotry, especially when it is politically useful. But apparently when coded bigotry is useful to evade accountability for a pretty blatant leftist double standard with regards to Israel, it’s ok. And in the end, Israel gets bashed as humans, but as evil humans who violate international law every day they dare to continue breathing. Militant Muslims get bashed as sub-humans who aren’t even capable as moral agents with the capacity to be held accountable. And leftists wind up being the only winners — the exalted judges who can classify and justify according to an enlightened moral code only they are able to grasp.
“Garland;
Please connect ?Israel claims to be on the moral high ground? with a story about the Taliban.”
The story was partially about how the MSM is mean and biased and also mean for bringing up white phosporous when Israel used it but not as much when the taliban did it. I said that the fact that Israel claims to be a different entity than the taliban (of a different, better quality) makes its misdeeds more newsworthy. Israel isn’t a dog, but a man, and men don’t bite other men and when they do it makes the news. The taliban in this analogy are dogs, not because they’re muslims and “don’t know any better” or whatever Jason has invented about me – but because, they’re, the, taliban.
“So are you saying it would be much better if Israel or ?U.S. just admitted they were scumbags and then we could better accept them as such?”
Oh, way to confront me. They act as scumbags sometimes. We *all* do. What matters is that when the US and Israel are *not* being scumbags (very often) they aren’t mindful of their past scumbaggery (“Waaaah the UN isn’t blaming the other side between every breath when talking about our accidental mistakes. Waaaaah we can’t bother to investigate possible war crimes because we want to move on and things will get all partisan WAAAAAAH”) and they also use the scumbaggery of others as reasons/excuses for doing things that often are seen as self-serving, short-sighted, overly aggressive and non-proportional. The US and Israel claim to be of one quality in one situation, and act in a manner unbecoming of such a quality when it suits them.
The gap between word and deed often makes the news. A politician claims to deserve power – his or hers misdemeanors and greed will make the news, while the misdeeds of those with less power isn’t as interesting to the news media or to its perusers.
“Garland?s excuse for his anti-Israel double standard is fairly typical on the left.”
What double standard? Using white phosporous is something the bad guys do. It’s sick and cowardly. Talibans are bad guys, have always been bad guys and are expected to behave as such. The Israel/Palestine region is a controversial hotbed people are concerned about. One side that isn’t unambiguously bad (unlike the taliban) and claims to deserve to be seen as completely and utterly different from the taliban in every way do something bad. News. Are the news people supposed to focus on stuff that isn’t as interesting/important/of as much concern to people?
“Either they are anti-semetic by virtue of condemning Israel for that which they excuse from others OR they are anti-Muslim because they aren?t willing to see Muslims as human beings that are morally responsible for their actions but rather as animals who can?t be expected to behave as anything but animals.”
I’m not saying either side is condemnable or NOT condemnable based on what I expect from them based on their ethnicity – I’m just saying that the news media isn’t going to focus on two equally condemnable acts equally when the regions, players, victims and other parameters are different. OF COURSE the taliban are morally responsible for what they have done. I’m seriously getting angry. I specifically said that white phosporous is unconscionable as a weapon anywhere, and absolutely atrocious when used in situations where civilians can get hurt. I also said that it doesn’t make sense for news agencies or people to expect the same behavior from Israel as they do from the Taleban, especially considering Israel often claims its duress from the truly nasty as a rationale for toeing the line to nasty. News is about what people consider of novelty or import – you’d think the people who make profit from attention are going to focus on what is more eye-raising, and naturally they are going to bring up Israel’s actions in a region people care about. Blame the people who watch the “news” media.
Where does JEWS and MUSLIMS enter here? I won’t consider the rest of your comment because I can’t bother with someone who accuses me of anti-semitism or anti-islam sentiments when that didn’t enter my rationale. I’m not interested in your comment because I can’t learn anything from it or derive anything from it. The vinyl is scratched and you fall into the same track every time. The track is perfectly sensible, but I’ve heard it and you play it even when it isn’t necessary. I don’t fit as the symbolical epithet of your ballad of the evil leftists and I’m not defending myself from the accusation when it’s obviously being leveled randomly and unreasonably. I’m standing by these words because I am angry and I want to express it.
As a US military member, I have to clear up one misunderstanding here. Despite what the article said, WHITE PHOSPHORUS IS NOT BANNED AS A WEAPON. It does not count as a chemical weapon under the international treaty on chemical weapons.
It is banned for use against civilian targets or when its used indiscriminately. However, that prohibition holds for EVERY weapon in existence. However, people confuse this distinction and I often see the canard that it’s an illegal weapon.
And it’s also not terribly deadly or particularly efficient as a weapon either. It’s normal use is to create illumination or smoke. Yes, it can burn right through you, but if you have a minimum of body protection, it probably won’t do much damage. A bullet or a bomb is much more certain way to kill. When the US used it in Fallujah in the “shake and bake” operations, it was used to create lots of smoke to force enemies out of their hiding places. It was not used as the killing weapon.
That’s not an excuse to ignore this story. Do I think things Israel do are often swept aside by the U.S. government? Sure.
But you can’t just sweep aside this concern because you have misgivings for the acts of another group.
People don’t often get that news holds the unique distinction as holding both societal and corporate responsibilities. So yes, they must think about their ratings/subscribership.
Nonetheless, I think there is plenty room for this story as well. A professor once told me there is a story anywhere you look. The fact that these guys might try using this stuff against our soldiers is pretty important. I think so, anyway.
Maybe you don’t.
“That’s not an excuse to ignore this story.”
Which I wasn’t trying to do, see.
“Do I think things Israel do are often swept aside by the U.S. government? Sure.”
It’s even swept aside by the U.S. media from time to time. It’s some sort of self-censorship that is pretty sad to see.
“People don’t often get that news holds the unique distinction as holding both societal and corporate responsibilities.”
Not anymore they don’t, from what I can see. I’ve never been given the impression that they chase anything but ratings these days.
A more balanced report on this comes from radio Free Europe:
http://www.rferl.org/content/Investigation_Launched_Into_White_Phosphorus_Claims_In_Afghanistan/1731117.html