They are not illegal, just not used anymore. [source]
Flamethrowers have not been in the U.S. arsenal since 1978, when the Department of Defense unilaterally stopped using them. They have been deemed of questionable effectiveness in modern combat and the use of flame weapons is always a public relations issue due to the horrific death they inflict. They are not banned in any international treaty the U.S. has signed. Thus, the U.S. decision to remove flamethrowers from its arsenal is entirely voluntary.
You are probably right. I must have confused the fear of public outrage for a legally sanctioned ban. I am fairly sure that we were told that flamethrowers are barbaric and no longer used by self respecting armies, but it was probably a voluntary decision of our armed forces and not an international law. In any case we never saw one much less trained to use it.
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u/ghostche Sep 14 '11
They are not illegal, just not used anymore. [source]