Illegal Iraq War, War Criminals

Republished from the original at pebkac.homelinux.net.

I already tagged a link to an educational short on why the Iraq War is illegal, but I'm afraid I didn't do it justice with just a simple link. I'm not sure if there was a straw that broke the camel's back, but I feel I have to make a clear public statement and call to action here.

First let us start with Two theses:

Thesis 1
If the invasion of Iraq by the US was a violation of the UN Charter
AND the UN Charter is a legally binding document
(under both US and International law)
Then the current US military involvement in Iraq is an Illegal War.

Thesis 2
If the US invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq is an Illegal War,
Then the architects of that invasion
(including but not limited to President Bush and Vice President Cheney)
are War Criminals. Furthermore, US troops actively participating in the occupation of Iraq are (perhaps unwitting) War Criminals.

If you accept that the above Theses are true and correct, then you need to jump directly to my call to action: Impeachment of President Bush and Vice President Cheney for War Crimes. Fortunately that's not pie-in-the-sky. Here's a local group that's actively working to bring that about. Please do sign up. If you're interested in taking action at UNC, talk to me and we can get something else going. If you have doubts about the wisdom of pursuing Impeachment, please read this article before expressing your doubts to me, and I do encourage you to talk to me.

Please note that I am not trying to be insulting or disparaging of anyone. I particularly wish to express my respect and admiration for individuals serving in our armed forces.

If you're not convinced that the Theses are valid, read on. Let's look at Thesis 1 first.

1. Article VI of of our constitution states in part: "This Constitution [...] and all treaties made, or which shall be made, under the authority of the United States, shall be the supreme law of the land."
2. The US is one of the original signatories to the UN charter, which is a document that is clearly a treaty as per Article VI above. Furthermore, participation in and support of the UN by the US is ongoing.
3. intermediate conclusion A: The US is bound by law to uphold the UN Charter. Stated another way, the UN Charter is part of the "supreme law of the land" of the US.
4. Article 2 of the UN Charter, specifically through the third and fourth principles therein, demands that member states resolve conflicts peacefully and without the threat or use of force. There are two exceptions to this rule.
5. The second but more obvious exception is in Article 51 of the UN Charter, which states in part, "Nothing in the present Charter shall impair the inherent right of individual or collective self-defence if an armed attack occurs against a Member of the United Nations."
6. The second exception is spread across various Articles in Chapter 7 of the Charter, notably 43-45, and it is essentially that member states may use force if authorized to do so by the UN Security Council.
7. intermediate conclusion B: Member states using force without Security Council authorization and while not acting in self defense are acting in violation of the UN Charter.
8. There was never a Security Council resolution authorizing the use of force in Iraq.
9. At no point between 2001 and the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 by the US did Iraq or anyone acting on orders from the Iraqi government attack the US in such a manner as to warrant use of force for self defense.
10. At no point between 2001 and the invasion and occupation of Iraq in 2003 by the US did President Bush or Vice President Cheney legitimately believe that the sovereign nation of Iraq posed an imminent, serious threat to the US, and furthermore, even if they had held such beliefs, it would not have been sufficient to warrant use of force for self defense under the UN Charter
11. Then Secretary General of the UN Kofi Annan clearly expressed his belief that the US invasion and occupation of Iraq was in violation of the UN Charter.
12. intermediate conclusion C: The US invasion and ongoing occupation of Iraq is in violation of the UN Charter.
13. conclusion: The ongoing occupation of Iraq by the US is an Illegal War.

Now Thesis 2 is rather Trivial:

1. Thesis 1 above has been demonstrated to be true.
2. conclusion: Bush and Cheney are War Criminals