White Phosphorus

Here is the current round up on the White Phosphorus "scandal".

Daily Ablution is questioning the seriousness of white phosphorus claims coming out of the British Media. He also gives a thorough rundown on the reports of civilian casualties.

Dozens of high-quality, colour close-ups show bodies of Fallujah residents, some still in their beds, whose clothes remain largely intact but whose skin has been dissolved or caramelised or turned the consistency of leather by the [phosphorus] shells.

Several groups are claiming that intact clothing is a sign of white phosphorus. It isn't. WP burns everything and one of the major ways it causes problems is by lighting a person's clothes and equipment on fire. These poor people probably look the way they do because of their stage of decomposition, not anything having to do with WP.

Remember Jeff Englehart? I mentioned that he might not be the most reliable witness. Turns out that was a pretty good call. He's an antiwar activist and his testimony about WP injuries also conflicts with established facts.

Instapundit is also weighing in with a mammoth post collating commentary from all over. A reader reports that the military still uses WP for marking (similar to a smoke bomb) and illumination, but not as an incendiary.