The Guardian
Richard Perle..."the invasion of Iraq had been illegal."
Thu Nov 20 16:24:59 2003
64.140.158.19

Richard Perle conceded that the invasion of Iraq had been illegal.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5259.htm

War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal

Oliver Burkeman and Julian Borger in Washington

Thursday November 20, 2003: (The Guardian) International lawyers and anti-war campaigners reacted with astonishment yesterday after the influential Pentagon hawk Richard Perle conceded that the invasion of Iraq had been illegal.

In a startling break with the official White House and Downing Street lines, Mr Perle told an audience in London: "I think in this case international law stood in the way of doing the right thing."

President George Bush has consistently argued that the war was legal either because of existing UN security council resolutions on Iraq - also the British government's publicly stated view - or as an act of self-defence permitted by international law.

But Mr Perle, a key member of the defence policy board, which advises the US defence secretary, Donald Rumsfeld, said that "international law ... would have required us to leave Saddam Hussein alone", and this would have been morally unacceptable.

French intransigence, he added, meant there had been "no practical mechanism consistent with the rules of the UN for dealing with Saddam Hussein".

Mr Perle, who was speaking at an event organised by the Institute of Contemporary Arts in London, had argued loudly for the toppling of the Iraqi dictator since the end of the 1991 Gulf war.

"They're just not interested in international law, are they?" said Linda Hugl, a spokeswoman for the Campaign for Nuclear Disarmament, which launched a high court challenge to the war's legality last year. "It's only when the law suits them that they want to use it."

Mr Perle's remarks bear little resemblance to official justifications for war, according to Rabinder Singh QC, who represented CND and also participated in Tuesday's event.

Certainly the British government, he said, "has never advanced the suggestion that it is entitled to act, or right to act, contrary to international law in relation to Iraq".

The Pentagon adviser's views, he added, underlined "a divergence of view between the British govern ment and some senior voices in American public life [who] have expressed the view that, well, if it's the case that international law doesn't permit unilateral pre-emptive action without the authority of the UN, then the defect is in international law".

Mr Perle's view is not the official one put forward by the White House. Its main argument has been that the invasion was justified under the UN charter, which guarantees the right of each state to self-defence, including pre-emptive self-defence. On the night bombing began, in March, Mr Bush reiterated America's "sovereign authority to use force" to defeat the threat from Baghdad.

The UN secretary general, Kofi Annan, has questioned that justification, arguing that the security council would have to rule on whether the US and its allies were under imminent threat.

Coalition officials countered that the security council had already approved the use of force in resolution 1441, passed a year ago, warning of "serious consequences" if Iraq failed to give a complete ac counting of its weapons programmes.

Other council members disagreed, but American and British lawyers argued that the threat of force had been implicit since the first Gulf war, which was ended only by a ceasefire.

"I think Perle's statement has the virtue of honesty," said Michael Dorf, a law professor at Columbia University who opposed the war, arguing that it was illegal.

"And, interestingly, I suspect a majority of the American public would have supported the invasion almost exactly to the same degree that they in fact did, had the administration said that all along."

The controversy-prone Mr Perle resigned his chairmanship of the defence policy board earlier this year but remained a member of the advisory board.

Meanwhile, there was a hint that the US was trying to find a way to release the Britons held at Guantanamo Bay.

The US secretary of state, Colin Powell, said Mr Bush was "very sensitive" to British sentiment. "We also expect to be resolving this in the near future," he told the BBC.

Copyright: The Guardian.
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25 dead as bombers hit UK targets:

Suicide bombers have attacked British interests in Istanbul, killing at least 25 people and wounding more than 400.
http://icbirmingham.icnetwork.co.uk/0100news/0200nationalnews/content_objectid=13643818_method=full_siteid=50002_headline=-25-dead-as-bombers-hit-UK-targets-name_page.html

http://tinyurl.com/vvh6

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Car Bombs Hit Iraq, Bush Says U.S. to Stay:

A suicide car bomber killed at least four people in an attack near the offices of a leading Kurdish party in northern Iraq on Thursday, hours after two others were killed in a car bombing west of Baghdad.
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/nm/20031120/wl_nm/iraq_dc

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One US soldier killed, two wounded in Iraq roadside bombing :

One US soldier was killed and two wounded Thursday when a military convoy was hit by a roadside bomb near the western Iraqi town of Ramadi, a US military spokesman said.
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Iraqi policeman killed in shooting outside Jordanian mission:

He was killed by unknown attackers at 5:30 am (0230 GMT) who fired from a vacant lot across the street,"
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Dollar Falls After White House Evacuated:

The already weakened dollar fell further on Thursday after the White House was evacuated due to an emergency, the U.S. Secret Service said.
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War critics astonished as US hawk admits invasion was illegal :

International lawyers and anti-war campaigners reacted with astonishment yesterday after the influential Pentagon hawk Richard Perle conceded that the invasion of Iraq had been illegal.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5259.htm

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Destruction of Iraqi homes within ' rules of war,' spokesman :

Some military officers acknowledged that the tactic had caused debate over whether it would inflame opposition rather than tamp it down. One officer referred to the demolitions as "unprecedented."
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John Pilger on Bush’s occupation of Iraq:

"They put the lie to their own propaganda"
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5260.htm

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Grim forecast challenges Bush :

American policymakers are studying an unprecedented and bleak assessment of the deteriorating military situation in Iraq which contradicts many claims made by the Bush Administration.
http://www.nzherald.co.nz/storydisplay.cfm?storyID=3535128&msg=emaillink

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The truth leaks out:

This week's blockbuster leak of a secret memorandum from a senior Pentagon official to the US Senate Intelligence Committee has spurred speculation that neo- conservative hawks in the Bush administration are on the defensive and growing more desperate.
http://www.atimes.com/atimes/Middle_East/EK21Ak01.html

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In case you missed it:

Yes, Bush lied.

On Oct. 1, one of the most important documents in U.S. history was published and couriered over to the White House. Page 4 of the report, called the National Intelligence Estimate, deals with terrorism, and draws conclusions that would come as a shock to most Americans.
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The dubious link between Iraq and al Qaeda:

When the whole manipulated intelligence story started to blow up this summer, Feith coyly told a gaggle of reporters at the Pentagon that his group had come up “some interesting observations about the linkages between Iraq and al Qaeda.”
http://www.thehill.com/marshall/111903.aspx

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Iraqi Shi'ites talk of holy war, not self-rule:

American plans for a faster handover of power to Iraqis are generating talk of holy war, not self-rule, in the country's majority Shi'ite heartland.
http://www.alertnet.org/thenews/newsdesk/GEO045830.htm

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Cartoon:

New Iraqi Constitution Along American Values
http://www.smh.com.au/ffxImage/urlpicture_id_1069027186979_2003/11/19/20cartoon.gif

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Worse Than Crimes:

It is increasingly evident that U.S. Army commanders in Iraq know nothing about guerilla warfare. Over and over, they are ordering actions that are counterproductive.
http://www.washingtondispatch.com/article_7173.shtml

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Explosions, shortages, instability:

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http://news.independent.co.uk/world/middle_east/story.jsp?story=465081

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French Diplomat Criticizes 'Brutal' U.S. Army In Iraq:

"These are just the type of operations which encourage people to think they are dealing with a brutal army of occupation," Francois Gere, director of France's Institute for Diplomacy and Defense, told the BBC News Online.
http://www.palestinechronicle.com/story.php?sid=20031119163711880

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UN to hand over oil-for-food control:

"We think it is outrageous", says Richard Becker, Regional Director of the International Action Centre (IAC), based in San Francisco. "This move, is in fact, delivering all resources into the hands of those illegally occupying Iraq."
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/A5523020-2AAD-4A6C-A049-E1E5826C704D.htm

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Bush says US troop levels in Iraq could rise :

US President George W. Bush on Thursday held out the possibility that US troop levels in Iraq could rise despite his intention to begin drawing down their numbers next year.
http://www.prolog.net/webnews/wed/du/Qbritain-us-bush-iraq.R4tf_DNK.html

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Iraq: Who are the terrorists?:

The occupying power is terming the Iraqi resistance forces as terrorists, but these resistance forces obviously see the American forces as terrorists on their soil.
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Reserve and Guard Ordered to Alert More Troops for Iraq:

Defense Secretary Donald H. Rumsfeld ordered an additional 15,000 Reserve and National Guard troops on Wednesday to prepare for the possibility of yearlong duty in Iraq or Kuwait
http://www.nytimes.com/2003/11/20/politics/20MILI.html?ex=1070350125&ei=1&en=539c61e734dbea84

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Manila Considers Pullout of Troops in Iraq:

President Gloria Arroyo said yesterday that Philippine troops stationed in Iraq would be pulled out if the security situation threatened their safety.
http://www.aljazeerah.info/News%20archives/2003%20News%20archives/November/19%20n/Manila%20Considers%20Pullout%20of%20Troops%20in%20Iraq.htm

http://tinyurl.com/vpwa

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Funeral snubs dodge reality of Iraq policy:

"I feel my son died for his country," she said of Spec. Darius Jennings, who was killed in Iraq. "A representative from his country should have been here to honor him."
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Democracy Now!: War Resistance:

A Growing Number of Soldiers Speak Out Against War: A growing number of voices are coming out against the invasion and increasingly bloody occupation of Iraq. They are the voices of U.S. soldiers at home and abroad who are speaking out against war. We speak with one of those war resisters .
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5262.htm

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US forces begin media offensive to counter reports on Iraqi resistance:

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Robert Fisk: Under U.S. control, press freedom falls short in Iraq :

Needless to say, the television "news" is a miserable affair that often fails to make any mention of the growing violence and anti-American attacks in Iraq that every foreign journalist - and most Iraqi newspapers - report.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5261.htm

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Support Information Clearing House:

Information Clearing House is funded solely by donations from readers.
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/support.htm

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200,000 March Against Bush in London:

Organisers of the march, ending in a rally at Trafalgar Square, said the number was a record for any weekday protest in Britain.
http://www.mirror.co.uk/news/allnews/content_objectid=13645118_method=full_siteid=50143_headline=-200-000-MARCH-AGAINST-BUSH-IN-LONDON-name_page.html

http://tinyurl.com/vux5

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It is a sad day in our nation's history when an American president can't walk freely among a friendly throng in Piccadilly Circus.
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Insurers check clients against terror list :

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http://www.upi.com/view.cfm?StoryID=20031118-045406-2070r

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Ex-Halliburton employee:

I felt sale of missiles was illegal: A former Halliburton Company employee says even though he thought it was illegal—he helped complete the sale of mini-warheads to a Canadian explosives expert.
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In case you missed it:

Arms maker under fire:

As David Hudak sits in a New Mexico jail accused of illegally purchasing and stockpiling warheads, his defense attorney takes aim at Halliburton Corp., which he said induced his client to buy the devices.
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Israel to accept only U.S. involvement in road map :

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http://www.haaretz.com/hasen/spages/362604.html

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Tom Delay At Zionist Organization of America Dinner:

It's Not "Occupied Territory," It's Israel
http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article5263.htm

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Israeli army admits lying over air raid :

The Israeli army has acknowledged in a rare admission of guilt that it lied over an air raid that left 12 Palestinians dead.
http://english.aljazeera.net/NR/exeres/73BABE6F-D3F8-4E5A-809F-0DD1786C534A.htm

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Israel's weapons exports skyrocket:

With an arsenal ranging from the Uzi to attack drones and airborne early warning systems, Israel has quietly transformed itself into one of the world's top defense exporters.
http://www.sfgate.com/cgi-bin/article.cgi?f=/news/archive/2003/11/18/international0156EST0428.DTL

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U.S. Drops One-Ton Bombs on Iraq Targets
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq&cid=540&ncid=1480

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Iraq: Bomb Said to Cause Casualties :

A car bomb exploded late Wednesday outside the home of a pro-American tribal leader in Ramadi, damaging the building and causing an undetermined number of casualties, a resident of the city said.
http://www.guardian.co.uk/worldlatest/story/0,1280,-3407783,00.html

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Iraqis Say Saddam Not Leading Attacks :

A former Iraqi general who claims to be part of the insurgency against U.S. troops says the guerrilla war around this "Sunni Triangle" city is being waged by small groups fighting on their own without direction from Saddam Hussein
http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&u=/ap/20031119/ap_on_re_mi_ea/iraq_insurgents_2

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Sri Lanka ' plunging into chaos' :

The Sri Lankan PM lashes out after the president suspends parliament and sacks key ministers in a row over the peace process.
http://news.bbc.co.uk/go/em/fr/-/2/hi/s