Monday, September 20, 2004
This story has been swishing around the back of my brain the past few days. I know most have seen it by now.
BBC NEWS: Iraq war illegal, says Annan:
He said the decision to take action in Iraq should have been made by the Security Council, not unilaterally.
The UK government responded by saying the attorney-general made the "legal basis... clear at the time".
Mr Annan also warned security in Iraq must considerably improve if credible elections are to be held in January.
The UN chief said in an interview with the BBC World Service that "painful lessons" had been learnt since the war in Iraq.
"Lessons for the US, the UN and other member states. I think in the end everybody's concluded it's best to work together with our allies and through the UN," he said.
'Valid'
"I hope we do not see another Iraq-type operation for a long time - without UN approval and much broader support from the international community," he added.
He said he believed there should have been a second UN resolution following Iraq's failure to comply over weapons inspections.
And it should have been up to the Security Council to approve or determine the consequences, he added.
When pressed on whether he viewed the invasion of Iraq as illegal, he said: "Yes, if you wish. I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter from our point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal."[...]
As though we have to care what Kofi Annan thinks. Well, sadly, his words do have impact in some quarters. As if Mr. Annan is the final arbiter of legality and illegality. As if legality or illegality according to a UN bureaucrat is synonymous with right and wrong, or just and unjust, wise or unwise. I will not bother running down the list of sins of commission and omission and the systemic problems extant in that body right up to this very minute. This blog and many others run them down on a regular basis [For instance, see this post, currently at the top of Norm Geras's blog.].
I would, however, like to take a moment to graphically illustrate what the consequences on the ground would be of taking Mr. Annan's view of things. What, in practical terms, adopting Mr. Annan's view of things leads to.
A couple of notes: I am not the greatest image Googler. I had some images in mind that I wanted to post, but I couldn't really find them. I think you'll get the point, though.
Second, I know this is not an original idea. I'm sure I saw a very, very similar presentation on another blog. If someone knows where, please feel free to post the link. I felt the need to do this for myself, but I want to give credit where it's due. Someone planted the seed.
Click the extended entry to see the images. [Warning: Some readers may find some photos disturbing.]
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Update: OpinionJournal on Kofi: Kofi's Law - Why the U.N. has no moral standing.
