British MPs call for World Court ruling on Iraq war

[floda]

At least 40 British parliamentarians have asked Kofi Annan, the UN Secretary-General, to seek the opinion of the UN's International Court of Justice on the legality of the Iraq war, the Daily Mirror newspaper reported today.

It said that the cross-party group, which had written a letter to Annan dated July 20, believes Prime Minister Tony Blair's government breached the UN's charter when it joined the US-led invasion of Iraq. The letter asked for an "advisory opinion" from the court in the Hague. "Lots of people have concerns about the legitimacy of the war and it seems we do need to have clarification on this," said Alan Simpson, an MP from Blair's own ruling Labour party, who is leading the group.

The British public has long been suspicious of the motives behind the invasion of Iraq and a report earlier this month by former civil servant Lord Butler has given Blair's critics fresh ammunition to question his credibility. Butler cleared Blair of distorting spies' assessments on Iraq but exposed faulty intelligence. He criticised Blair's informal style of government and its closeness to secret agents.

The parliamentarians' letter to Annan said: "It is clear that, in Britain and the United States, war was justified on the basis of intelligence reports of current and serious threats from weapons of mass destruction, purportedly held by Iraq, all of which turned out to be without foundation." "We look to the court for an advisory opinion on this war, not only to address the casualties and damage done to the people and country of Iraq, but also to offer clear guidelines for the future about the legality of pre-emptive wars."


http://www.sabcnews.com/world/europe/0,2172,84398,00.html

[mom cat]

1. This is wonderful! The mere fact that this letter was written speaks

volumes. Yes it is belated, but it shows that some are willing to take a stand against this illegal war and put forth the issue of all of the damage that was done and is still being done in the name of the flimsy excuse of the day.

[sheelz]

2. kick

for justice! :bounce:

[REVOLT823]

3. Wow, this is huge

I hope the Court picks up this ball and runs with it. You know they are going to rule against the war, and this is going to be another hit to Bushco. Furthermore, the minute this hits the news cycle here in the U.S. the RW media is going to begin shitting all over the UN and that is just going to make them look worst since I think a lot of people in this country would like to see us resume our formal role in the UN and world community. This already looks bad for Bushco because our staunchest ally, Britain, with PMs from Blair's own party, have initiated this request. Would not have had as much impact if from France or Germany. We need to keep on top of this.

[BadGimp]

4. UN Lap Dogs will never go after GW and his crew

[struggle4progress]

5. kick

:kick: