The horrors of the War on Terror, page 2
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reply posted on 21-5-2007 @ 03:44 PM by Brother Stormhammer
Somebody needs to do some *serious* research on exactly where and why depleted uranium is used in weapons. It's used in APFSDS anti-armor rounds for the Abrams tank's main cannon, because it's very, very, very good at transferring kinetic energy, which makes it the tool of choice for penetrating heavy armor. It's used in some of the ammunition fired by the GAU-8 cannon on an A-10 for the same reason (and the same mission...armor busting). It's used in the armor on an Abrams tank's glacis and turret face, due to its high density.

It's *not* used in free-fall bombs (dumb or smart variety), because it would simply be added weight for no added gain. It's also not used in 5.56 or 7.62 rifle ammo (again, weight and cost go up a lot faster than the benefits).

Note that I'm not saying that the stuff isn't dangerous, particularly in particulate form...I am suggesting that it's not nearly as widespread as implied.

As for 'weapons used against civilians', I get *really* tired of hearing that crap. Has it ever crossed the minds of all and sundry that if the American military had really been interested in 'targeting civilians', we could've simply loaded up a few dozen B-52s with a mix of HE, incindiary, and cluster munitions cannisters and carpet-bombed every major population center in Iraq? It's an unfortunate truth that no matter how carefully you conduct operations, there will be collateral damage...particularly when targets of military interest are in the middle of urban areas. The fact that civilian casualties happen isn't evidence that civilians are / were being targeted. It's was true long before W.T. Sherman said it..."War is Hell". It's never been pretty, and the destructive power of modern weapons has only made it uglier. That's why the use of armed force should be a last resort. On the other hand, when it becomes necessary to use armed force, it should be used in as decisive a way as possible.

I'd also be interested in knowing how white phosphorus managed to burn skin, and leave clothing intact...was it neutron WP?



reply posted on 21-5-2007 @ 04:00 PM by KilgoreTrout
AccessDenied

Thank you for posting that link. I looked at earlier and I was too disturbed to reply then. As I put my own child to bed I couldn't shake it from my mind.

There is no justification for inflicting that horror on unborn children. Even if it was a legally justified war it would not be right. What have those children done to us. What is more disturbing still is the attitudes of kacen and RWPBR, its okay because they're muslims, its okay this is what happens in war.

When you have carried a child inside you for nine months, spent all that time caring for yourself the best way that you can, ensuring that you do all that you can to make your baby strong and healthy. Hours of painful labour, strengthened by the fact that it will all be worth it in the end, only to produce a monster that may not even take a breath. My heart sincerely bleeds for every one of those women and I feel shame that my country is a part of that destruction of hope. No man can tell me that that is okay, that that is a fact of life, that those women deserve that experience because of the religion that they follow. Those people in my mind lack any humanity.

We have made a bad situation worse, we need to clean up our mess as quickly and efficently as possible, and if we can't do that, then perhaps we should just leave them to fight it out amongst themselves. Would it really be any worse than this? How can we criticise anyone elses weapons and then use weapons that do this to babies? How can a nation that is pro-life condone a weapon that causes these abnormalities in unborn children?

No answers from me, but I wish more people were like you AccessDenied and would try to step in others shoes and see what the world looks like from there.

All the best

[edit on 21-5-2007 by KilgoreTrout]


reply posted on 21-5-2007 @ 04:10 PM by deltaboy
Originally posted by AccessDenied
I couldn't find any info on it not burning clothing.However this is very nasty stuff, and was used by US troops.Here is a link.
news.bbc.co.uk...


You won't find any info that it would not burn clothing because you won't. Its an incendiary device which burns both flesh and clothing. Similar to napalm. That video was deceiving when showing bodies all cooked up while clothing still intact. Reminds me of cooked up dead insurgents being left in the hot burning sun for days while clothing still looking clean.


reply posted on 21-5-2007 @ 04:10 PM by AceWombat04
I'm noticing many posts indicating that support for the war (and for the notion of war in general) is linked to an ignorance of the brutal realities entailed therein. I respect that view, and it is an opinion I once shared, but I have subsequently become convinced that many people are fully aware of and willing to accept those realities and their costs. In other words, support for the war does not make one ignorant or unaware of the realities that it precipitates anymore than opposition to it makes one ignorant of the challenges and risks in not assuming an aggressive military posture. Support or opposition for the war and acute awareness of the risks and costs of either stance are not mutually exclusive.

Support for the war is not something I can understand in the context of personal experience. I'm a different person. I oppose war in all instances, even those wars which are regarded as just and necessary by most people. My reason for this is that I do not (and for some reason, seem incapable of doing so) regard those dwelling in other regions or nations or those committed to organizations hostile to the land I happened to be born in as my adversaries or separate from me. To me, they are fellow human beings who happen to have led different lives filled with very difference experiences and perceptions, leading them to take action which, while in their mind justified, is contrary to the wellbeing of those who live in the land I happened to be born in. I do not adhere to the notions of nationality, race, ethnicity, or organizational division. For me, the only differences between people all over the world boil down to experiences and perceptions derived from their accumulation. For me, the death of a so-called enemy is just as tragic and sad as the death of an American soldier. Both are events I wish did not have to take place, and both cause me sorrow.

At the same time, I know and understand that other people have led very different lives from the life I have led, and that as such, they have very different perceptions and opinions of themselves, other people, and the world we all live in together. I understand those who support the war, and why they support it. I understand those who oppose this war, but support others. I respect their views, and believe they have a right to them and that their beliefs do not have to constitute ignorance or foolishness - although they certainly could, as could my own. None of us can experience the sum total of everything the world holds for us or know everything there is to know, so in that sense, we are all ignorant of different things and in very different ways.

My point is that showing someone who has already accepted the costs inherent in war what they have committed themselves to supporting has little chance of changing their view. There are those who hold views out of ignorance, and for those people, seeing these images might make them think twice. For that reason, sharing these images with people is a good thing, as it adds more knowledge - more information to add to our collective databanks if you will - to us all. It makes us that much less ignorant. However, we should not assume that support for the war stems from ignorance alone. There are many people who are well aware of the costs and risks of military conflict who still support this war, and wars in general. I comprehend and respect those views, even if I disagree with them, and do not think that one must be ignorant in order to have formed such an opinion.

This should not be taken to imply that the OP was making war supporters out to be ignorant. It was just a line of thought that occured to me as I read.
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