UK report shows Iraq war illegal: former defence chief

[NNN0LHI]

http://www.abc.net.au/news/newsitems/200504/s1356145.htm

Former Australian defence force chief Peter Gration says a secret British report on the war in Iraq is further evidence the conflict was legally and morally unsound. snip

"There was very eminent British legal opinion before the war started that the war was illegal," he said.

"The grounds on which that opinion were given haven't changed so I'm not at all surprised to hear that.

"The fact that it was unprovoked aggression against another country I think made it morally quite dubious."

more

[cal04]

1. Blair was told deposing Saddam's regime was illegal

TONY Blair went to war in Iraq after being told that the objective of deposing Saddam Hussein was illegal under international law, according to secret advice from the Attorney General published yesterday.

Lord Goldsmith told Mr Blair that regime change was not a lawful aim for the war and that British troops must limit their mission to disarming - not removing - the Iraqi leader.

The advice Mr Blair was given on 7 March, 2003, only two weeks before the war, was laden with caveats and warnings that had been purged from the official summary released to the public ten days later. Lord Goldsmith starts by saying that the Bush administration’s doctrine of pre-emptive strike - the official United States basis for the war in Iraq - was "not a doctrine which, in my opinion, exists or is recognised in international law".

As Iraq could not be said to be an imminent threat to Britain, or overseeing a humanitarian disaster, the only ground for war was Article VII of the United Nations Charter. The best course, Lord Goldsmith said, would be to secure explicit permission from the UN. But even if Mr Blair received that permission, Lord Goldsmith says, British troops could only have as their objective the terms of the 1990 ceasefire that ended the Gulf war.

http://news.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=457242005

[oblivious]

2. Well, DUH!

1. Illegal acroding to the UN
"I've indicated that it was not in conformity with the UN charter from our point of view, and from the charter point of view it was illegal"
- UN Secretary General Kofi Annan to BBC

2. Illegal under US law
The Congressional authorization for the use of force had two requirements in it, that the President prove Iraq was a direct threat to the United States, and that the President prove Iraq was linked to 9-11

3. Terrorism according to the FBI
Terrorism is the unlawful use of force or violence against persons or property to intimidate or coerce a government, the civilian population, or any segment thereof, in furtherance of political or social objectives.
- US Federal Bureau of Investigation

4. Illegal according to the US judges at the 1946 Nuremburg Tribunal
"To initiate a war of aggression, therefore, is not only an international crime; it is the supreme international crime differing only from other war crimes in that it contains within itself the accumulated evil of the whole."

5. Illegal according to the UN charter
The U.N. Charter says: "All members shall refrain...from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state". It says force may only be used in self-defence or if approved by the Security Council.

6. Illegal according to Hans Blix
Hans Blix, the head of the UN weapons inspection team declared that the war in Iraq was illegal.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5813.htm

7. Implicitly illegal according to the Intl Atomic Energy Ass.
IAEA chief's statement on Iraq - Jan 27, 2003
To conclude, we have to date found no evidence that Iraq has revived its nuclear weapons program since its elimination of the program in 1990s.

8. Illegal acording to 43 Australian experts in international law and human rights legislation
They issued a declaration that an invasion of Iraq would be an open breach of international law and a crime against humanity, even if it took place with the authorisation of the UN Security Council.

http://www.gooff.com/NM/templates/Breaking_News.asp?articleid=114&zoneid=2

9. Illegal according to the Russian foreign minister
"Without corresponding resolutions of the U.N. Security Council, this occupation will be illegal," Russian Foreign Minister Igor Ivanov

...and so on

[nodehopper]

3. duplicate...locking