art, you asked, "What is the point, anyway? This is an item that had no business being used as an anti-personnel weapon, it apparently was used as an anti-personnel weapon, and the US State Department, after an initial false/incorrect statement, have said so."

The point is not whether it is or it isn't a chemical weapon. Even if it was, the U.S. was probably not a signator to any agreement restricting its use. The point is that it was used as an anti-personnel weapon and many civilians sufferred as a result. The citizens of Fallujah probably don't give a damn how it was classified. It still burned them to the bone regardless of what you call it.