Book Description

The US has renounced first use of herbicides in war except under regulations applicable to domestic use or for control of vegetation within US bases and installations and around their immediate perimeters. The US has renounced the first use of RCAs in war. US forces will only use RCAs in war in defensive modes to save lives as approved by the President. In wartime, use of RCAs outside the war zone is authorized as prescribed for peacetime. For RCA and herbicide use, war is any period of armed conflict no matter how it may be characterized, including declared and undeclared war, counterinsurgency, and any other uses of armed forces in engagements between US military forces and foreign military or paramilitary forces. Armed conflict is conflict between states in which at least one party has resorted to the use of armed force to achieve its aims. It also may involve conflict between a state and uniformed or non-uniformed groups within that state, such as organized resistance groups. Commanders must recognize that, while the US does not consider herbicides and riot control agents to be chemical weapons, some other countries do not draw a distinction. Commanders must consider international ramifications and Rules of Engagement before recommending the use of herbicides or RCAs.