The Lies of Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre, Part 3

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The Lies of Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre, Part 1
The Lies of Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre, Part 2

False claims are a constant in Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre.

In Part 1 of the series we show that Sigfrido Ranucci's film lies about a napalm attack in the Vietnamese village of Trang Bang in 1972. Despite the fact that this infamous incident was immortalized on film in photographer Huynh Cong "Nick" Ut's 1973 Pulitzer Prize winning photo, it didn't keep Rannuci from trying to blame a South Vietnamese Air Force mistake on Americans. Ranucci's film lied.

In Part 2 of the series we show that Ranucci's film lies about, "A rain of fire shot from U.S. helicopters on the city of Fallujah." But Ranucci's film does not show so much as one helicopter, and Ranucci's "rain of fire" was nothing more than two white phosphorus shell bursts along with one high explosive shell and three magnesium flares. Ranucci's film lied.

And Ranucci's film continues to lie again and again and again.

This time, we'll examine the bodies the "white phosphorus victims" of Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre.

White Phosphorus Pathology
Forensic Pathology is a branch of medical science concerned with analyzing medical evidence for crimes. When applied to the battlefield, forensic pathology can determine if certain wounds are consistent with different kinds of weapons.

In Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre, Sigfrido Ranucci's film shows in excess of 20 bodies his film claims were killed by the use of white phosphorus munitions in the assault on Fallujah, Iraq, in November of 2004.

But what are the characteristics of white phosphorus weapons?

To answer this question I turn to former Marine Grant Holcomb. While a Captain and the Operations Officer for 2d Battalion, 7th Marine Regiment from August 1990 to April 1991, Holcomb's unit conducted a minefield breach in Operation Desert Storm. He is an honor's graduate of the U.S. Marine Corps Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Defense School.

He states:

WP catches fire spontaneously in air, burning with a white flame and producing clouds of white smoke - a mixture of phosphorus(III) oxide and phosphorus(V) oxide. The proportions of these depend on the amount of oxygen available. In an excess of oxygen, the product will be almost entirely phosphorus(V) oxide.

When integrated as part of a projectile, the weapon effect is derived from a chemical reaction. However, a WP based weapon is not a chemical weapon.

If a piece of WP hits clothes, it will burn through it. If WP hits skin it will burn deeply in to the flesh and cannot be put out by covering it or splashing it with water. Marines are told to cut burning WP particles out with a knife. It does not "splash" like a liquid and will subsequently leave very distinctive scars. There is absolutely no mistaking a WP burn. [my bold]

So white phosphorus leaves distinctive burns that easily burn though clothing and go deeply into the flesh.

But Where Are The White Phosphorus Burns?
As stated earlier, Sigfrido Ranucci's film Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre, shows in excess of 20 bodies his film claims were killed by the use of white phosphorus munitions in the assault on Fallujah, Iraq, in November of 2004.

We will now make a brief examination of screen captures of 19 bodies captured from the low quality film to determine if any deep, distinctive burns are present on any of the bodies. As Confederate Yankee strives to be a work-safe blog, I will provide a link to the picture being discussed instead of embedding the image. The time of the still image capture from the film is included should you want to make your own analysis from other, perhaps higher quality versions of the film.

Examining the Dead
Body 1. 8:35 An upper torso of a military-aged male. There are no apparent burn marks on the remains, but the fact that these are only partial remains would indicate that white phosphorus, a non-explosive, is not his cause of death.

Body 2. 9:34 Extremely decomposed remains, cause of death undetermined. Note, however the film datestamp: 18.11.2004. The assault on Fallujah began November 9, 2004. This image, along with most of the images captured, were filmed nine days after the assault began.

Body 3. 9:38 Extremely decomposed remains, cause of death undetermined. No apparent burn marks on the body or clothes.

Body 4. 9:40 Partially decomposed remains of what appears to be a male. No burn marks viable on head or torso, flesh or clothes. Once again, captured with a datestamp of 18.11.2004.

Body 5. 9:53 Extremely decomposed, apparently mummified body, sex indeterminate, but probably male. Again, no burn marks.

Body 6. 10:00 More partially decomposed remains of an apparent military-aged male, without any signs of burn marks on the body or on the clothing. These is a very large wound to the skull above and behind the left eye, and much of the skull is missing, consistent with a bullet wound. This is in direct contradiction the claim of the narrator just six seconds before when he said, "There are no signs of bullet wounds."

Body 7. 10:07 Badly decomposed body of insurgent still wearing AK-47 magazine pouches. No apparent burns of any sort on bodies or clothes.

Body 8. 10:09 Another badly decomposed insurgent still wearing ammunition pouches and maybe body armor or a load bearing vest. No signs of burns on light-colored fabric (probably canvas) web gear which would have clearly shown burn marks if there were any to be found.

Body 9. 12:10 Video provided by Sunni biologist where he claims a female was killed by white phosphorus that passed through her clothes (including a full veil) without touching it, but miraculously melted her face. Fully-clothed body without any burn marks conclusively proves this claim of white phosphorus patently false.

Body 10. 12:25 More still photo evidence provided by the suspect Sunni biologist. A military aged-male, moderately decomposed. No signs of burns on clothing, possible wounds of some sort to the right side of the head, but angle of photo doesn't allow us to speculate what the cause of death was.

Body 11. 12:28 Military aged male, moderately decomposed. no evidence of burns on flesh or clothing that appears to be desert camouflage jacket. Top left of skull apparently missing, consistent with bullet wound.

Body 12. 12:36 A sad victim. Infant male, recently deceased. No signs of burns on clothes or skin. Film appears inconsistent with other footage, possibly spliced in.

Body 13. 12:38 Extremely decomposed remains. Clothing suggests female. Again, no signs of burns on clothing or skin. Extreme nature of decomposition and dirt covering the entire surface of the body would make me think this was a female killed prior to the battle and buried, possibly by al Qaeda/insurgency elements for a "crime" as simple as wearing such a low-cut blouse. This of course is pure speculation, but very consistent with civilian accounts of al Qaeda activity within Fallujah in the months prior to the assault.

Body 14. 12:51 Moderately decomposed military-aged male in light-colored short-sleeved tunic. Lower torso and legs may be missing. No signs of burns on skin or clothing, though blood is evident near lower torso.

Body 15. 13:00 Military-aged male. Heavily decomposed. No signs of burns on body or clothing. Dark stain on upper left quadrant of torso could be blood.

Body 16. 13:31 Extremely decomposed body. Much of the right side of the skull missing and teeming with maggots.

Body 17. 19:01 A skeleton covered in ragged clothing. No muscle, ligament, or tendons visible. Subject was likely deceased long in advance of assault on Fallujah, perhaps measured in years.

Body 18. 19:40 Military-aged male, moderately decomposed. No sign of burns on face or clothes.

Body 19 19:42 Same photo of Body 13, shown again.

Conclusions
There were no signs of burn marks (white phosphorus or otherwise) on any of the bodies in any of the photos that Ranucci presents as evidence in his film. Furthermore, the overwhelming majority of the dead shown were military-aged men, suggesting that these men were likely part of the insurgency, and not civilians. Military gear and military style clothing evident on several of the bodies lends some credence to this theory.

In addition, some of the dead seem to be in extremely advanced stages of decomposition, suggesting death took place prior to the U.S. assault on Fallujah.

Chemical Weapon?
Claims were made throughout the film that white phosphorus was a poison gas, and that it could readily pass through clothing to burn the skin beneath it. Again, I turn to the expertise of U.S. Marine Corps Nuclear, Biological, and Chemical Warfare Defense School graduate Grant Holcomb:

Over a 15 year period, I used WP grenades (white smoke signal) and WP mortar and artillery rounds in virtually every live fire training exercise. The thick bright white smoke generated by the WP chemical reaction with air is used to conceal your location as you move toward an enemy position or as a marker for observers and pilots to designate targets for other weapon systems.

I have personally breathed in the WP white smoke numerous times. It is unavoidable as you move through the battlefield where it is deployed. The smoke does not even make you cough. Clothing exposed to the smoke leaves no noticeable smell. The smoke does not irritate the skin, eyes, or lungs.

If WP smoke presented any hazard, you can trust that the innumerable liberals in California would not allow Marines to use it on training ranges where the white smoke blows into wealthy neighborhoods (Camp Pendleton, California).

Chris Milroy, professor of forensic pathology at the University of Sheffield (England), came to the following conclusions when asked to watch the film for George Monbiot of the British newspaper The Guardian:

He reported that "nothing indicates to me that the bodies have been burnt". They had turned black and lost their skin "through decomposition".

We know that people died in the assault on Fallujah, and that was never in doubt. It is also a sad fact that some civilians died during the assault, even though probably more died at the hands of the insurgency in almost two dozen insurgent-run torture cells before the assault began.

Another thing we know is that white phosphorus does not act the way Ranucci's film claims nor does he show any credible evidence that white phosphorus contributed to the dead and injured he showed in his film.

Sigfrido Ranucci's film Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre, is a living lie, easily disproven. Ranucci isn't the only liar in this film however; he had willing accomplices.

We'll discuss some of them in far more detail before we've concluded The Lies of Fallujah: The Hidden Massacre.

Update: The Signaleer has graphic evidence of the difference between WP burns and those dead shown in Ranuccis' fraudulent film.