Movies - Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre

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	Movies - Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre

"Fallujah, The Hidden Massacre" is a documentary film by Sigfrido Ranucci and Maurizio Torrealta which first aired on Italy's RAI state television network on November 8th, 2005. The film documents the use of weapons that the documentary asserts are chemical weapons, particularly the use of incendiary bombs, and alleges indiscriminate use of violence against civilians and children by military forces of the United States of America in the city of Fallujah in Iraq during the Fallujah Offensive of November 2004.

The film's primary themes are:

Establishing a case for war crimes against civilians committed by the United States.
Documenting evidence for the use of chemical devices by the US military.
Documenting other human rights abuses by American forces and their Iraqi counterparts.

This article offers a synopsis of the material presented in the documentary.

War Crimes

The primary theme of the film is its establishment of a case for war crimes committed by the United States in its military offensive against Fallujah. The film documents the use of weapons based on white phosphorus and other substances similar to napalm, such as Mark-77, by American forces.

Interviews with ex American military personnel who were involved in the Fallujah offensive back up the case for the use of weapons by the United States, while reporters who were stationed in Iraq discuss the American government's attempts to suppress the news by covert means, although it has been discovered that one of the servicemen interviewed for the documentary was not actually part of the November 2004 assault on Fallujah.

Incendiary weapons used against personnel and civilians

The use of napalm and similar agents was banned by the United Nations in 1980 for use against civilians and also for use against military targets in proximity to civilians. A general feature of these types of weapons is that they wound or kill indiscriminately, and their area of effect can be wide. Munitions containing white phosphorous burn on contact with oxygen, water and organic material and will incinerate a human being without damaging clothing, buildings or equipment.

The consensus opinion is that white phosphorus is not banned by Protocol III of the 1980 Convention on Certain Conventional Weapons. The protocol specifically excludes weapons whose incendiary effect is secondary, such as smoke grenades. This has been often read as excluding white phosphorus munitions from this protocol, as well. The United States is among the nations that are parties to the convention but have not signed Protocol III.

Graphic visual footage of the weapons being fired from helicopters into urban areas is displayed, as well as detailed footage of the remains of those supposedly killed by these weapons, including children and women. The filmmakers interview ex US military solider Jeff Englehart of Colorado who discusses the American use of white phosphorus, codenamed "Whiskey Pete", in built-up areas, and describes the Fallujah offensive as "just a massive killing of Arabs."

Englehart claimed in a later interview that the producers of the documentary took his statements out of context. Although the film gives the impression that Englehart witnessed the use of white phosphorus, he had not been directly involved in the November 2004 assault on Fallujah and gave second hand information about the events. He also said that the documentary "wasn't very good journalism".

Indiscriminate Violence

During the Fallujah offensive, it is alleged that the US military deliberately targeted Iraqi civilians and children as part of its campaign to exterminate opposition to its occupation. The filmmakers interview ex US military sniper Garret Reppenhagen, also from Colorado, who admits to murdering civilians on order from his commanders.

The US military responded by stating that they gave civilians several days of advanced warning of the assault and urged them to evacuate the city.

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