Today is Jan 31, 2005.  It seems to be an auspicous day to start writing this essay:  Was the attack, Gulf War II (GW2), on Iraq legal or illegal?  More importantly, why or why not.

I will start at the end: I think that GW2 was legal.  And I believe that international and domestic US laws support that position.  But first, let's go back to 1990 and 1991 and start by stating what we know.  Not what we think we know, but what we can actually prove.

First: The Iraqi government used chemical weapons, in three different theatres: Against the Kurds, against Iran, and against the Marsh Arabs.

Second: The first Gulf War (GW1) ended in a cease fire, not a truce, peace treaty, or armistice.

Third: Provisions in the truce required the Iraqi Government to verifiably account for and destroy all ABC weapons and their means of production.

Fourth: Iraq did not account for and destroy its ABC weapons and means of production.  In fact, Iraq went to great lengths not to co-operate with the UN verification teams, but rather to obfusticate and stall and lie.

Fifth:  The cease fire required Iraq to not fly certain types of aircraft into certain zones, and required that Iraq's anti-air system not target UN authorized aircraft.   Iraq violated both requirements numerous times.  In point of fact, UN authorized aircraft were targetting and destroying Iraqi anti-air facilities until shortly before the start of GW2.

Sixth: The UN never cancelled the right of the US to act in its stead against Iraq.   In fact, the UN did not deny the US anything until after Sept. 11, 2001.

Now, let's fast forward to Sept. 12, 2001.  The Twin Towers are gone.   Flattened.  3000 plus dead.  There is a huge hole in one side of the Pentagon, with several hundred more dead.  And a smoking hole in Pennsylvania where another plane crashed.  So the US government figures out that Al-Qaida is responsible for this travesty against humanity.  And the US realizes that at least one Al-Qaida figure has been into Iraq and met with the Iraqi government.  (According to the official US government report, a meeting did take place but probably had nothing to do with 9/11/2001)