Staggering loss of civilian life from US-led airstrikes in

[mentalgongfu2]

Right. QED, as this thread proves, yet again again. They also have a well honed ability to focus on their own incredibly precious and fragile feelings, the most important things in the world.

Thank God you're here to set us straight. Comments like this really help to keep the focus where it belongs.

[MacCruiskeen]

You're welcome, and thank you for sharing your feelings with us. Comments like yours really help to keep the focus where it belongs, i.e., on the putative thread-topic, "Staggering loss of civilian life from US-led airstrikes in."

[MacCruiskeen]

Interview with Vanessa Beeley:

[Cordelia]

Thanks for this thread Blue. Yes, perspective; it is sobering and this is all staggerng, to say the least. (The images of the 2004 massacre in Fallujah, not so long ago, but long forgotten.)

Human Rights Watch plea referred to in OP Guardian article.

June 14, 2017 12:01AM EDT

Iraq/Syria: Danger From US White Phosphorus

Take All Needed Measures to Minimize Civilian Harm


(Washington, DC) – The use of artillery-delivered white phosphorus by the United States-led coalition fighting Islamic State (also known as ISIS) forces in Syria and Iraq raises serious questions about the protection of civilians, Human Rights Watch said today. This multipurpose munition should never be used as an incendiary weapon to attack personnel or materiel in populated areas, even when delivered from the ground.


Photo of smoking and burning white phosphorus streaking to the ground in west Mosul on June 2, 2017.

“No matter how white phosphorus is used, it poses a high risk of horrific and long-lasting harm in crowded cities like Raqqa and Mosul and any other areas with concentrations of civilians,” said Steve Goose, arms director at Human Rights Watch. “US-led forces should take all feasible precautions to minimize civilian harm when using white phosphorus in Iraq and Syria.”
White phosphorus munitions can be used for several purposes on the battlefield: as an obscurant or smoke screen, for signaling and marking, and as an incendiary weapon. US forces are using white phosphorus in both Mosul, in Iraq, and in the ISIS stronghold of Raqqa, in Syria. But the rationale for its use by US-led coalition forces is unclear as the coalition does not comment on specific incidents.

Human Rights Watch was not able to independently verify whether the use of the munitions resulted in any civilian casualties. A Raqqa resident living in Beirut told the New York Times that an internet cafe in Raqqa was recently hit by white phosphorus, killing around 20 people.

In Syria, a video published on Facebook on June 8, 2017, and reported on Facebook as shot that day in Raqqa, shows the use of ground-fired artillery projectiles containing white phosphorus, which are distinctive when air-burst. Another video broadcast by Amaq News Agency, an ISIS-linked news outlet, purports to show the same incident with fires on the ground started by white phosphorus, but its veracity cannot be determined. A video published online on June 10 suggest further use of white phosphorus on June 9.

Continued...........
https://www.hrw.org/news/2017/06/14/ira ... phosphorus

[seemslikeadream]

the only "feelings" that are allowed at RI are Mac feelings

disgust
condescending
profound disapproval
anger
discontent
displeasure
exasperation
frustration
indignation
irritation
pique
irascibility
annoyance


get a clue people

[minime]

Mac may or may not know who the enemy is, but he doesn't know where the enemy is.

Less spleen, more heart.

[Cordelia]

Yes, and the Rigorous Irony of members hurling metaphorical sticks and stones in this particular thread.

[MacCruiskeen]

Note that these are not just "allegations" but the findings of a UN comission of inquiry officially tasked with investigating war crimes and then reporting back to the Human Rights Council in Geneva. From the article quoted in the OP:

'Staggering' loss of civilian life from US-led airstrikes in Raqqa, says UN

Kareem Shaheen in Istanbul

Wednesday 14 June 2017 14.14 BST

UN war crimes investigators have denounced a “staggering loss of civilian life” caused by the US-backed campaign to reclaim Raqqa, the de facto capital of Islamic State.

The independent commission of inquiry tasked with investigating violations of international law, war crimes and crimes against humanity in Syria said the intensification of airstrikes by the US-led coalition [sic] had led to the deaths of at least 300 civilians in the city.

The Raqqa operation began last week with a ground assault by the Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF), an umbrella group comprising Kurdish and Arab militiamen armed by the US and supported by coalition [sic] airstrikes.

They have already pushed into Raqqa from the east and west, reportedly approaching the old city walls. Citizens have reported intense combat in areas of the city.

“We note in particular that the intensification of airstrikes, which have paved the ground for an SDF advance in Raqqa, has resulted not only in staggering loss of civilian life, but has also led to 160,000 civilians fleeing their homes and becoming internally displaced,” Paulo Pinheiro, the chairman of the UN commission of inquiry, told the human rights council in Geneva.

Karen Abuzayd, an American commissioner on the independent panel, said: “We have documented the deaths caused by the coalition [sic] airstrikes only and we have about 300 deaths – 200 in one place, in al-Mansoura, one village.”

The civilian cost of the campaign was highlighted last week when footage emerged of coalition [sic] planes deploying white phosphorus in the city, which is home to tens of thousands of civilians, prisoners of war, enslaved Yazidi women, and a few thousand Isis militants.

[...]

https://www.theguardian.com/world/2017/ ... qa-says-un

Comments are disabled under that Guardian article.

I wonder which members of that "US-led coalition" (sic) will ever stand trial for these particular war crimes, this particular "staggering loss of civilian life", and all the others.

[MacCruiskeen]

Drugs & Diseases > Emergency Medicine
White Phosphorus Exposure

Updated: Apr 17, 2017

Author: Lisandro Irizarry, MD, MPH, FACEP; Chief Editor: Zygmunt F Dembek, PhD, MPH, MS, LHD

Pathophysiology

White phosphorus can cause significant injury and death, and its use by the military has been highly criticized. Morbidity and mortality can occur by exposure to soft tissue, through inhalation, and by ingestion.

White phosphorus skin exposure results in painful chemical burn injuries. The resultant burn typically appears as a necrotic area with a yellowish color and characteristic garliclike odor. These burns carry a high risk of morbidity and mortality. White phosphorus is highly lipid soluble [i.e., it is highly soluble in animal or human fat] and, as such, is believed to have rapid dermal penetration once particles are embedded under the skin. This deep absorption can result in heart, liver, and kidney damage. It has also been postulated that, because of its enhanced lipid solubility, these injuries result in delayed wound healing.

Few studies have investigated the degree of tissue destruction associated with white phosphorus injuries. In the experimental animal model, most tissue destruction appears to be secondary to the heat generated by oxidation.

Systemic toxicity has been described extensively in the animal model. [7] Pathologic changes have been documented in the liver and kidney. [7] These changes result in the development of progressive anuria, decreased creatinine clearance, and increased blood phosphorus levels. Depression of the serum calcium level with an elevation in the serum phosphorus level (reversed calcium-phosphorus ratio) with electrocardiographic changes including prolongation of the QT segment, ST-segment depression, T-wave changes, and bradycardia also have been observed.

Oral ingestion of white phosphorus in humans has been demonstrated to result in pathologic changes to the liver and kidneys. The ingestion of a small quantity of white phosphorus can cause gastrointestinal complaints such as nausea, abdominal cramps, and vomiting. Individuals with a history of oral ingestion have been noted to pass phosphorus-laden stool ("smoking stool syndrome"). The accepted lethal dose is 1 mg/kg, although the ingestion of as little as 15 mg has resulted in death.

Inhalation of white phosphorus smoke is presumed to be the least severe form of exposure, as it has not been shown to cause casualties. It may result in irritation to the eyes and nose and may cause a violent cough. However, prolonged exposure to the gas does have the potential to cause death.

http://emedicine.medscape.com/article/8 ... verview#a5

[Cordelia]

Video and images of the results of 'deploying' white-phosphorus (I'd say view w/discretion, but Hell, our tax $$ pay for this.)


https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WY0dpyKiW34

https://www.google.com/search?q=impacts ... 52&bih=576

(back to OP, I heard on NPR that CNN is broadcasting the Congressional Baseball Game tonight.)

[Sounder]

Sounder wrote:

Westerners have a well honed ability to focus on the TV reality star, while totally ignoring the background fundamentals of any given event.

Mac wrote...
Right. QED, as this thread proves, yet again again. They also have a well honed ability to focus on their own incredibly precious and fragile feelings, the most important things in the world.

Might seem odd but, Blue commented not just westerners, OK true, but the Indian farmers that are having their indigenous crop practices overrun by Monsanto mono crop practices might not have the time for or awareness to see the long term negative results. Western culture is coercive in the extreme and as sport.

It's like Karl Rove (paraphrased, said by that Russian guy also, Surkov maybe, whatever); We move fast so you don't know which end is up.

Look TBH I am not a fan of obsessive people, being a sort of one myself and so knowing how easily that sort of thing can take one off the rails.

My original comment was pointed toward SLAD in this case but it's no different than it's ever been, forever and always. It's like we all live in North Korea where they have a big joke culture so as to avoid sensitive topics, only here we use emotional triggers and badjacketing to inhibit attempts at discussing issues involved.

Whether done consciously or unconsciously, it's about not wanting to deal with the issues.

People try to avoid pain, I get it, but it is still a bad strategy.

[minime]

Greetings, Sounder...

Sounder may or may not know who the enemy is, but he doesn't know where the enemy is.

[MacCruiskeen]

^^The enemy is in the US ("US-led coalition", remember?), not just in the Pentagon and the CIA and in Syria and over 100 other countries. But also in the media, which term - NB -- includes not just CNN and the BrainWashington Post but also the crappiest, most uninformative, most content-free "liberal" "takes" on the obscurest Canadian discussion-board or elsewhere, all of which stuff serves only to distract and mislead people and waste their time.

QED & HTH.

Here's a huge surprise:

ARA News

June 15, 2017

The US-led coalition on Thursday rejected [sic] accusations [sic] by the United Nations that coalition strikes in Raqqa caused a staggering loss of civilian life, and made clear that [sic!] ISIS brutality is the main cause of civilian suffering.

In an exclusive interview with ARA News, the Coalition’s Director of Public Affairs Col. Joe Scrocca said: “The Coalition steadfastly rejects the accusations by the United Nations that place the Coalition of 68 nations and partner organizations on the same footing as ISIS.”

http://aranews.net/2017/06/coalition-re ... suffering/

[minime]

It's pretty obvious you're not going to make it, Mac.

Pray for reincarnation.

[MacCruiskeen]

Ignoring all timewasting trolls, and staying on-topic:

UN: More than 40,000 Children Caught in Raqqa Crossfire

Asharq Al-Awsat English
6 days ago

https://english.aawsat.com/asharq-al-aw ... -crossfire

I hope those children know they are being liberated by that US-led coalition, by any means necessary, including white phosphorus.