Enemy war crimes are finally being described as such

Douglas Hanson:

It seems that since General David Petraeus has taken command of the Coalition forces in Iraq, the official state of denial about Iraq's WMD from both MNF-I Headquarters and the Pentagon has been lifted concerning "insurgent" use of chemical weapons. In a report from the Army News Service, Gen. Petraeus issued a written statement blasting Al-Qaeda and its allied insurgents for the "barbaric actions against innocent Iraqi citizens." The attacks were carried out on crowded market places using conventional high-explosives and chlorine gas, resulting in the deaths of over 50 Iraqis and sickening hundreds, including 14 US Soldiers.

Even the Pentagon has acknowledged the obvious and has provided additional information. Joint Staff deputy director for operations, Army Maj. Gen. Michael D. Barbero said that on March 23, five days before the chlorine bomb attacks, Iraqi police in Ramadi foiled an attack that could have resulted in mass casualties by intercepting a truck carrying 5,000 gallons of chlorine [emphasis added] and two tons of explosives.

Maj. Gen. Barbero noted the significance of these chemical attacks by saying,

"I strongly believe that this use of chlorine should not be dismissed simply as a new tactic or an emerging trend," Barbero said. "Chlorine is a poison gas being used on the Iraqi people. Before these attacks, the last time poison gas was used on the Iraqi people was by Saddam Hussein."

This candor concerning encounters with chemical agents is a much needed injection of honesty into a puzzling and frustrating official policy of denial concerning WMDs in Iraq.

...

Chemical weapons are not the only war crimes perpetrated by this enemy. For too long we have permitted "neutral" reporting to overlook the fact that the enemy strategy in Iraq is based on a deliberate violation of the Geneva Conventions that is focused primarily on the mass murder of non combatants. It has certainly been an effective strategy in routing the Democrats who voted for the war before they voted for retreat.