posted on Jul, 17 2003 @ 07:52 PM
International Laws Violated:
Article 2 of the United Nations Charter.
Text of Article 2, Section 3- 4. �All Members shall settle their international disputes by peaceful means in such a manner that international peace
and security, and justice, are not endangered. .... [and] refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the
territorial integrity or political independence of any state, or in any other manner inconsistent with the Purposes of the United Nations.� [UN
Charter, Article 2, Sections 3,4]
Violation. The US used force to settle its dispute with Iraq, ignoring calls from UN Security Council members for a peaceful resolution.
Articles 39 - 50 of the United Nations Charter.
Summary of Articles 39-50. Articles 39 - 50 of the United Nations Charter clearly stipulate that no member state is authorized to use military force
against another country without the UN Security Council first determining that certain criteria have been met. (1) There must be a material breach of
its resolution; and (2) All nonmilitary and peaceful options to enforce the resolution must be fully exhausted. Once it has been decided that the
necessary conditions for military action have been met, only the UN Security Council can authorize the use of military force.
Violation. The United States and its conscripted coalition invaded Iraq without the approval of the UN Security Council. The Bush administration chose
not to take the issue to the council because it knew that a resolution to use force against Iraq would not pass.
Article 51 of the United Nations Charter.
Summary of Article 51. Article 51 allows for a nation to use military force to defend itself only in cases of an ongoing or impending attack. It only
provides this military solution as a temporary one �until the UN Security Council can find the appropriate peaceful response. The intention of this
article was not to set criteria for the justification of war. Quite the contrary; its intent was to prevent conflicts from escalating into war.
Violation. The US and its conscripted coalition invaded Iraq - calling it a preemptive defense strike, a concept with no legal meaning - despite being
unable to prove its allegations that it posed an imminent threat to the US Although the US claimed that Iraq possessed weapons of mass destruction,
that Iraq was developing these weapons, and that Iraq intended to use these weapons against the US, the US failed to provide any evidence to
substantiate these claims. UN weapons inspectors who examined suspected banned weapons facilities in Iraq found no support for the US assertions. The
US also alleged that Iraq had ties to terrorist groups and would likely provide these organizations with weapons of mass destruction. No evidence was
presented to the UN to support the accusation.
Kellog-Briand Pact of 1928.
Summary of Article 51. The Kellog-Briand treaty, ratified by the United States in 1929, requires that all disputes be resolved peacefully. It
prohibits war as an instrument of foreign policy. As a testament to this fact, in 1932, the secretary of state, Henry L. Stimson stated, �War between
nations was renounced by the signatories (including the US and Britain) of that Treaty. This means that it has become throughout practically the
entire world... an illegal thing. Hereafter when nations engage in armed conflict... we denounce them as law breakers.�
Violation. The US used force to settle its dispute with Iraq, ignoring calls from UN Security Council members for a peaceful resolution.
US laws violated.
Article VI, Clause 2 of the US Constitution.
Summary of Article VI. The article states that international treaties such as the U.N. Charter, which was ratified by the US in 1945, are the �supreme
law of the land.� The article reads:�This Constitution, and the Laws of the United States which shall be made in Pursuance thereof; and all Treaties
made, or which shall be made, under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land; and the Judges in every State shall be
bound thereby, any Thing in the Constitution or Laws of any State to the Contrary notwithstanding.�
Violation. The United States Congress violated Article VI of the Constitution when it passed Joint Congressional Joint Resolution 46 [S.J. Res 46]
'authorizing' the President to order "the use of United States Armed Forces against Iraq." The President then violated this article when he
ordered the commencement of the official invasion of Iraq.
The War Powers Resolution passed by Congress in the immediate aftermath of the September 11 attacks.
Summary. The resolution authorized the President to use military force only against those countries and groups responsible for the September 11
attacks. The resolution stated: �The president is authorized to use all necessary and appropriate force against those nations, organizations or
persons he determines planned, authorized, committed or aided the terrorist attacks that occurred on Sept. 11, 2001, or harbored such organizations or
persons.� [Joint Congressional Resolution 23, 9/18/01]
Evidence that President Bush did not have legal authority to send US troops to invade Iraq under the provisions of the War Powers Resolution. The Bush
administration failed to make any connection between Saddam Hussein's regime and the September 11 attacks.
Public admissions by Bush administration officials that there was no evidence that Iraq played a part in the September 11 attacks.
President George W. Bush. He admitted there was no such evidence. During a January 31, 2003 joint press conference with British Prime Minister Blair
at the White House, the two leaders were asked by a reporter, �One question for you both. Do you believe that there is a link between Saddam Hussein,
a direct link, and the men who attacked on September the 11th?� Bush answered succinctly, �I can't make that claim.� [US President, 1/31/2003]
White House Press Secretary Ari Fleischer. On September 26, 2002, Ari Fleischer confirmed that there was no evidence that Iraq had been involved in
the 9/11 attacks. [White House, 9/26/03]
Statements made by influential people, experts, officials.
Brent Scowcroft, one of the Republican Party�s most respected foreign policy advisors. He downplayed Iraq's alleged link to terrorism. In an op-ed
piece published by the Wall Street Journal he stated, �[T]here is scant evidence to tie Saddam to terrorist organizations, and even less to the Sept.
11 attacks. Indeed Saddam's goals have little in common with the terrorists who threaten us, and there is little incentive for him to make common
cause with them. He is unlikely to risk his investment in weapons of mass destruction, much less his country, by handing such weapons to terrorists
who would use them for their own purposes and leave Baghdad as the return address.� [Wall Street Journal 8/15/02]
Unnamed administration official. On January 28, 2003, immediately after President George Bush delivered his 2003 State of the Union Address, Knight
Ridder Newspapers published a report quoting an unnamed US official who said that �there was no evidence that Iraq and al Qaeda had cooperated on
terrorist operations and no evidence of any Iraqi role in the Sept. 11 attacks.� [Knight Ridder, 1/28/03]
Unnamed US Government official. Referring to the alleged link between Saddam Hussein and al Qaeda, one US Government official told the New York Times,
�We�ve been looking at this hard for more than a year, and you know what, we just don�t think it�s there.�� [New York Times 2/3/03]
Read More . . .
No Legal Justification.
The United States and its 'coalition of the willing' attempted to justify their invasion on grounds that previous UN resolutions allowed for the use
of force in the event of Iraq's failure to comply with those resolutions. Legal experts disagree.
UN Security Resolution 687
Legal apologetics for the US invasion of Iraq have alleged that UN Security Council Resolution 687, which declared a cease fire at the end of the Gulf
War on the condition that Iraq accept the resolution's terms, authorized the continued use of force in the event of Iraqi noncompliance. But legal
experts disagree insisting that only the UN Security Council has the legal authority to mandate the additional use of force against Iraq. Stephen
Zunes, [8/20/02] an advisor to Foreign Policy in Focus, explained:�As is normally the case when it is determined that governments violate all or part
of UN resolutions, any decision about the enforcement of its resolutions is a matter for the UN Security Council as a whole�not for any one member of
the council.� Professor Colin Warbrick [Reuters 3/28/02] of Durham University agreed: �There is no provision for enforcement in the resolution which
authorizes states to carry out military action. It's for the Security Council to decide what action to take.� Legal experts reiterated this
assessment after the start of the war. "No state or coalition of states acting outside the authorization of the council retains the right to use
force, even to punish Iraq for breaches of the resolution or to compel its compliance," wrote Devika Hovell and Professor George Williams of the
Gilbert and Tobin Centre of Public Law at the University of NSW in Australia. [Sydney Morning Herald, 3/19/03]
UN Security Council Resolution 1154
Even though UN Security Council Resolution 1154 warned Iraq that its continued refusal to abide by Res. 687 would result in the �severest
consequences,� the UN Security Council clearly stated that it alone was authorized to �ensure implementation of this resolution and peace and security
in the area.� [Zunes 8/20/02]
UN Security Council Resolution 1441
The resolution states �that false statements or omissions in the declarations submitted by Iraq pursuant to this resolution and failure by Iraq at any
time to comply with, and cooperate fully in the implementation of, this resolution shall constitute a further material breach of Iraq's obligations
and will be reported to the Council� which will �convene immediately � in order to consider the situation and the need for full compliance with all of
the relevant Council resolutions in order to secure international peace and security.� Only the UN Security Council had the authority to take punitive
action against Iraq. [UN Security Council 11/08/02]