****Disclaimer: This is just a draft and should not be judged for structure. It’s going to be fixed. To be solely judged for ideas. Thanks.
A four-man team of Blackwater mercenaries was sent into the city of Fallujah on March 31st, 2004 on a mission to protect a humanitarian aid vehicle delivering food. The city was a hotspot for insurgents; however, it was pointed out as the fastest route for the mission. As they approached the city, the mercenaries were cut off by oncoming traffic and all routes were blocked. The next events were broadcast on live television. The American mercenaries were shot to death before they had time to defend themselves. After, their bodies were torched and dragged by towing ropes through the city. Then, the insurgents hanged their bodies on a bridge over the Euphrates. The videos circulated to the families of the Blackwater Mercenaries.
The US military was sent in to not only retrieve the corpses, but to also regain control of the insurgent infested city. This city was surged by terrorists and one house was found to be the place where the journalist, Michael Burg, was beheaded. The goal was to reclaim Fallujah as a free territory and to allow the citizens to live without fear. The US military took control of a local radio station and warned the citizens of the upcoming attack. Citizens were allowed to leave and three hundred thousand, ninety percent of the citizens, flocked to cities outside of Fallujah. The military then began their attack on the insurgents of Fallujah.
During the combat, the military used white phosphorus as a smoke screen to protect the soldiers during their movements through the city. White phosphorus is used by most militaries in the world such as the United States, Great Britain, and Russia. Also, white phosphorus was used by the Israelis and Pakistanis in January of 2009 in the Gaza attacks. It’s used in most incendiary grenades and used as smoke screens to protect the soldiers and equipment during missions. However, the chemical does have adverse effects if it is exposed to the skin or eyes. It ignites when exposed to oxygen and burns until all the oxygen is used up. It’s a wax like substance that soaks easily into the skin and is hard to remove. Basically, it eats the flesh until it hits the bone.
As the battles of Fallujah continued, the surrounding hospitals were getting unidentifiable, burned corpses into the morgue. The corpses were burned to the bone and their faces were unrecognizable. As more of these bodies piled in, the United Nations looked into the deaths. They were caused by white phosphorus. So the United States was investigated for the use of this chemical. However, the use of this chemical is not banned or a violation of any international treaty. White phosphorus is used as a non-combatant chemical, but it does have adverse effects. It’s a known fact that people are going to die during war whether it’s by bullet wounds or by chemicals. People are going to die. White phosphorus has been established as a legal weapon during battles. When the military is in a city to regain its control and bring home the dead, exploited bodies of their comrades, it’s not appropriate to question their motives.
The military did not use excessive force to defend themselves as plenty of our own died at the hands of these radicals. White phosphorus is a legal chemical during war that does not violate any treaties or international law. The battle was actually exploited to prove a pacifist theory that chemical warfare is wrong. What about all our soldiers that have died by Napalm or being burned alive or slaughtered or beheaded? Let’s save our own military before we think about the deaths of terrorists who tortured. This is war and death is going to happen. These terrorists deserved death and that was our mission. It’s like saying that a rapist shouldn’t go to trial because he might end up being sentenced to death.
It’s a perfectly legal weapon in times of war, and no treaty is going to be signed against it. For all militaries in the world use some form of white phosphorus as a weapon. It’s an accepted use of a weapon. If you’re going to light a stove, be prepared to get burned.
Thank you Rebecca. As a former member of this nation’s military, it is nice to see this story explained in such a way. You presented both sides of this story very well, and you seemed to have done a very good job researching both the cause of, and outcome of the events. Not to mention you also did an admirable job describing the effects and usage of what we used to call in the Air Force…”Willy Pete” (which stands for White Phosphorus).
ReplyDeleteSome of the things I noticed that might need some attention is the lack of any attached images. Also, there was not works cited, and I would greatly liked to have seen your sources. Of course, since this is just the first draft, that can be overlooked. Might I suggest attempting to find some images of the white phosphorus weapons that are typically used. While I wouldn’t use images of bodies, you might see if you can find unit pictures of those that lost their lives on our side. While those opposed to what happened would exploit images of the injured or dead insurgents, a face of our military members reminds the reader of our own humanity and the sacrifices we have made.
As it has been said, war is hell. You can’t expect to walk through fire and not get singed. The fact that this story of yours presents that fact, and still allows the military to continue its job is admirable. It isn’t often I get to see this in college students. Thanks again.
I liked how you started your blog off with an anectdote, it really me into what you had to say. One thing though was that after your intro I think you should address your audience more directly like say "for those of you who don't know what white phosphorus is..."
ReplyDeleteAlso I know read your disclaimer (nice by the way). Some structure you could look at is in your third paragraph you could say what White Phosphorus is then describe its adverse side effects.
In your fourth paragraph you mention that White Phosphorus does not violate any international treat and a couple of sentences later you say that it has been established to be legal. Just the way its set up makes it sound redundant instead you could try to say That it has been established to be legal and therefore doesn't violate any treaty.
Other then that I really liked how you ended it too. That last line fit perfectly