[PEN-L:30202] a thorny little matter of law...

["Ian Murray" <seamus2001@xxxxxxxxx>]

Reasons to be fearful
Thursday September 12, 2002
simon.tisdall@xxxxxxxxxxxxxx


[snip]

In terms of international law, an attack on Iraq would be illegal unless the US
could convincingly show that it acted in self-defence or unless a new UN
resolution were passed authorising specific action. Despite what US officials
say, there is no authority for the overthrow of the Iraqi government contained
in existing UN resolutions.

Legally, and morally, an attack that lacked such authority by one sovereign
state against another would set an alarming, potentially disastrous precedent.
It would in fact inevitably be compared to another notorious act of unprovoked
aggression - the Iraqi invasion of Kuwait that set in train all the problems
described above.

full at:

http://www.guardian.co.uk/elsewhere/journalist/story/0,7792,790931,00.html