• Firestorm Druid@lemmy.zip
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    2 months ago

    Are all of these “laws” in place because incendiary weapons are especially cruel compared to a simple shot to the dome?

    • alcoholicorn@lemmy.ml
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      2 months ago

      It’s because of their indiscriminate nature.

      The US use of napalm on cities in Korea contributed to the nearly 20% of their population that was wiped out.

      • atlas@sh.itjust.works
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        2 months ago

        Not even mentioning the severe lasting impact it had on generations to come. There are still many who are battling birth defects due to the toxins that remained after the napalm attacks.

        • Machinist@lemmy.world
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          2 months ago

          Not that I’m doubting you, but do you have more info on the lasting toxicity of napalm? I hadn’t heard of this.

          I knew that the defoliant Agent Orange had dioxin contamination that led to all those horrible birth defects and cancers. Also, the contaminating nature of depleted uranium is obvious as a heavy metal but I think we still don’t grasp the magnitude of the problem. Iraq and Afghanistan will likely be seeing awful effects in future generations.

      • CheeseNoodle@lemmy.world
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        2 months ago

        Hasn’t the US also repeatedly allegedly accidentally hit targets with white phosphorus that was intended just as a marking flair?

    • JackFrostNCola@lemmy.world
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      2 months ago

      Preface: I am no expert, this is just my understanding.
      Weapons that are illegal/considered war crimes fall roughly into categories of:

      A. Indiscriminate - kill soldiers and non-combatants/civilians alike (eg. Land mines, incendiary, cluster bombs, etc)

      B. Cruel - especially painful ways to die or designed to cause ongoing suffering and maiming. (Eg: gas/chemical warfare, dirty bombs, etc)
      A lot of weapons tick both of those boxes, and there are possibly more i am unaware of.

    • addictedtochaos@lemm.ee
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      2 months ago

      I assure you one thing: If it happened to you and you survived, you will not wish this on your worst enemy.

      i have a hard time explaining this to people, they simply don’t get it-.