Blackwater's Invasion of Fallujah, Iraq

Following the mainstream media in the US, one would never know of the hideous atrocities committed in all Americans' names in Fallujah.

Blackwater is the notorious mercenary group founded in 1997 and run by neo-conservative Christian (and Bush buddy and Republican donor) Erik Prince. They are frontline soldiers in Iraq, where they are universally loathed by everyone, even fellow Americans.

Clothed in military fatigues and bristling with weaponry, they like to knock out cars with their humvees and shoot at people for sport.

They are immune to Iraqi law, and above American laws. On September 16, 2007, a group of them opened fire in Nisoor Square in Baghdad, killing eleven civilians. It was established beyond doubt that their attack was unprovoked. There were no significant consequences.

Blackwater in Iraq

On March 31, 2004, residents of Fallujah seized four of the mercenaries, killed them, and hung their remains from a nearby bridge. This led to a retaliatory siege of the city of 300,000 by US the military, but it was repulsed. A second siege was planned for just after Bush’s election in 2004. It would be as deadly as it was criminal.

When the attack came on November 8, 2004 (Operation Phantom Fury) it was 12,000 strong. It included F-16 fighter jets, Cobra and Apache helicopters, AC 130 gunships, tanks, and Bradley fighting vehicles.

Any civilian who had not left the city, including kids and men who had been turned back, were considered legitimate targets for death. Water had been cut off. Food and medicine were prevented from entering the city. The Iraqi Red Crescent was not permitted to operate. Neither were journalists, except the military’s own.

Thirst and hunger were used as weapons. Some snipers would purposely wound rather than kill, the screams of the victims causing maximum terror. Ambulances, their drivers and passengers were not immune.

Chemical Warfare in Hallujah

White phosphorous was used both as an indiscriminate bomb and in conjunction with conventional explosives to kill people. It can melt the skin, while allowing phosphorous to enter the wounds and cause multi-organ failure. There are many photographs(warning: graphic) and much witness evidence (warning: graphic) of the use of WP against civilians.

The US military first denied its use, then admitted to limited use which they claim is legal because the US had not signed Protocol III of the UN Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons, which covers the use of such barbaric weapons.

The military also vehemently denied the use of napalm based on the fact that instead of using gasoline, benzene and polystyrene to form a gel, it was using aviation fuel containing less environmentally harmful benzene. MK77, as it is known, comes in 750 lb canisters and can be dropped from a plane or helicopter to set fire to buildings or people. The new version contains an oxidant to make it more efficient.

Since they considered all remaining residents of Fallujah combatants, the Americans did not hesitate to use thermobaric weapons in public or private buildings. These have been described as tactical nuclear weapons without the radioactivity. They kill by heat, a shock wave, or merely collapsing a building on residents.

So was depleted uranium. The ingestion of even a tiny amount of its fine radioactive dust into the lungs will cause cancer and birth defects. Its use is a crime against all humanity, since its particles are so fine they spread throughout the entire world environment.

About 36,000 buildings were destroyed and between 6,000 to 10,000 civilians were killed. Many thousands of ex-residents remain displaced as virtually nothing has been rebuilt.

Given that the invasion of Iraq was illegal from the start, the crimes committed at Fallujah must rank as some of the basest acts of human history.