Originally posted by wansu
No.
No the US is not using WMD in Iraq. You need to look up the definition of what constitutes a WMD.
Actually, you need to look up what constitutes a WMD:
"In security and foreign policy analyses, �weapons of mass destruction� is a term that generally encompasses nuclear, chemical, and biological
weapons, with radiological weapons occasionally included. Contemporary international legal analysis generally follows this conventional definition of
WMD, even though neither treaty law nor customary international law contains an authoritative definition of WMD. "
From:
www.asil.org...
Many states, even the UN have a borderline stance on whether or not Depleted Uranium ordinance constitutes a WMD. For example:
"A rapid examination of compliance with this obligation over the past decade indicates that two countries that are permanent members of the Security
Council, namely the United States and the United Kingdom, have on many occasions openly and deliberately violated their obligations under the United
Nations resolutions on environmental protection. They likewise violated their obligations under the disarmament and arms limitation agreements by
using more than 800 tons of munitions containing depleted uranium in their 1991 aggression against Iraq. In
1999 they used them again, this time in Kosovo against Yugoslavia, despite their prior knowledge of the catastrophic damage the use of this
radiological weapon does to health and to the environment in the areas in which it is used."
From:
www.un.org...
Also, a paper on the UN website indicates:
"the four established humanitarian law principles by which weapons are to be considered banned, namely:
(a) If their use has indiscriminate effects (no effective distinction between civilians and belligerents);
(b) Their use is out of proportion with the pursuit of legitimate military objectives;
(c) Their use adversely affects the environment in a widespread, long-term and severe manner; and
(d) Their use causes superfluous injury or unnecessary suffering."
and
"Several scientific studies on DU are alluded to, including one where the researcher addresses the �whys� of DU use and concludes that the use of a
radiological weapon in the first Gulf war had broken a 46 year military taboo and could be invoked as a precedent to justify the eventual use of �mini
nukes�"
From:
www.unhchr.ch...$File/G0314479.doc?OpenElement
So, basically...don't go callin' folks out w/o a clear understanding of your own position.