British Prime Minister Winston Churchill privately criticized the American use of napalm, writing that it was "very cruel", as US forces were "splashing it all over the civilian population", "tortur[ing] great masses of people". He conveyed these sentiments to U.S. Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Omar Bradley, who "never published the statement." Publicly, Churchill allowed Bradley "to issue a statement that confirmed U.K. support for U.S. napalm attacks."[26]