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Originally Posted by macallan25
As for the war being illegal.....I think that is highly debatable just from what I have read. I am not an expert on International Law , but if you consider all three bases for the use of force I'm not sure that it is illegal at all. I'm fairly sure that the UN charter guarantees the right of each members to self defense, including preemptive self defense....and I think the actions taken after Resolution 1441 are highly debatable as well pertaining to legality.
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International law does provide for a "pre-emptive defense" if a clear and present danger is readily apparent and unavoidable - which is where the problems arise as to the legality of the Iraq War, since different treaties and conventions differ as to what a clear and present danger is; however most of the laws post-WWII don't support the case that Iraq was a imminent danger to the US for two reasons: inability of the Iraqi military to attack the US conventional (Land, Sea, Air), and the lack of a military build-up directed towards the US (ironically it was the US that pushed for these 'conventions' during and following the Nuremburg Trials). Things also are complicated even further by Domestic Law as well for the various nations involved either directly or indirectly - for example the case of Irish citizens physically attacking/damaging a US airforce plane refueling had a lawful excuse/reason to sabotage the plane since they were acting to prevent the plane's deployment/use in an 'illegal war'.