"read that story carefully and you will see that WP smoke alone was not an effective weapon."

Keith make your mind up - was it a smokescreen or a 'versatile' weapon as clearly stated?
Or are your numerous allegations that phosphorus weapons produce only smoke a smokescreen themselves?

"They were firing it into defensive positions to force the fighters into the open"

The operation was termed 'shake and bake'
An incendiary weapon was fired directly at combatants to inflict chemical burns (ro 'bake' combatants!) for a 'potent psychological' effect

The US Marine Corps Gazette is clear about the 'practical' uses of phosphorus, which ignites on exposure to oxygen and produces an intense heat: "Used when contact is made in a house and the enemy must be burned out."


Keith - please note
The Pentagon now admits that phosphorus was indeed "used as an incendiary weapon against enemy combatants" but denies its use against civilians despite reports such as the embedded reporters that it was fired indiscriminately.

Washington's (and Israel's) Washington's position is that phosphorus is "not a chemical weapon" and "not outlawed or illegal".

The Organisation for the Prohibition of Chemical Weapons, which polices the 1993 convention prohibiting chemical weapons, accepts that position.

Its spokesman said that phosphorus was covered instead by the 1980 Convention on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Certain Conventional Weapons Which May be Deemed to be Excessively Injurious or to Have Indiscriminate Effects.

Both the US and Israel have failed to enact Protocol III, which bans the use of incendiary weapons against civilian populations and in air attacks against military forces in civilian areas

As a result of international disapprobation following the dreadful burns suffered by civilian casualties during Cast Iron the Israeli government has said it will limit (although not outlaw) the use of WP weapons

In a 37 report to the UN the Israeli government said

"the IDF is in the process of establishing permanent restrictions on the use of munitions containing white phosphorus in urban areas,"

"Some Palestinians were killed and injured by Israeli use of a smoke screen.
We could all agree on that."

It seems the Israelis, after initial denials and fudging, have now accepted that fatalities and dreadful burns were inflicted on civilians by the indiscriminate (and for many other nations illegal) use of phosphorus incendiary weapons in densely populated residential urban areas - whatever their alleged purpose

Any chance you could agree on that?