Britain could take lawful military action against Iraq without a second U.N. resolution, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Saturday as other British officials warned a military strike could be just days away.
Like Tuesday...
On the eve of a summit between the leaders of Britain, the United States and Spain, Straw said resolution 1441, passed unanimously by the U.N. Security Council in November, provided the legal authority for war. Asked on British Broadcasting Corp. radio if there would be a second resolution before war, Straw said: "I cannot say that for certain. Plainly, if military action has to be taken, it is preferable, to put it at its lightest, that we could have the whole of the international community behind us. But that may not be possible. Any action we are involved in, or in the future are involved in, will be fully consistent with our obligations in international law. We are satisfied, as are many other countries, that we ... would have full legal authority" under 1441.
Yep. Tony's bitten the bullet, and we're going to go ahead anyway. The UN is dead, if Bush and Blair want it to be. So what's all this yapping and finagling accomplished? A year ago, the U.S. withdrawing from the UN was a fringe position. If it happened today, most of the American public would approve, I think. A year ago, NATO was still a viable entity in theory. Today it's as dead as the UN — if Bush and Blair want it to be.
British ambassador to the United Nations Jeremy Greenstock said Friday that war could be just days away. In Greece, British Armed Forces Minister Adam Ingram agreed. "I think that language which has been used over recent days in London would lead us to that conclusion as well," Ingram said. |