From a technical standpoint, how is this war illegal?

[Rex_Goodheart]

What articles of the Constitution or acts of Congress has Bush broken?

I need a LEGAL argument at the moment... thanks.

[Lydia Leftcoast]

1. It's against international law: aggressive war, attacking

a country that didn't attack America first.

That's just for starters.

[whatgives]

2. He's looking for a US

Law, and not international law. IMO.

[IndianaGreen]

8. The treaties we are signatories to are also the Law of the Land

Wars of aggression are against the UN Charter and international law. Why do you think Bush and Blair went to such extremes to make intelligence fit their war plans.

BTW, the standard we used for the Nuremberg Trials of former Nazis, calls for the death penalty for crimes against humanity, crimes against peace, etc.

[wtmusic]

11. Article IV of the Constitution

"all Treaties made...under the Authority of the United States, shall be the supreme Law of the Land..."

In the UN Charter member nations pledge "to reaffirm faith in the equal rights of nations large and small" (Preamble), "that armed force shall not be used, save in the common interest" (Preamble), "the suppression of acts of aggression or other breaches of the peace" (Chapter I), "To develop friendly relations among nations based on respect for the self-determination of peoples" (Chapter I), that the organization would be "based on the principle of the sovereign equality of all its Members" (Chapter 2), and that "All Members shall refrain in their international relations from the threat or use of force against the territorial integrity or political independence of any state."

His goose should be cooked.

[mike_c]

3. start here-- but remember that Google is your friend....

Here are some starting points. Really, use your search engine-- this ground has been VERY thoroughly covered.

http://www.lcnp.org/global/UNCharterIraqWar.htm

http://www.truthout.org/docs_04/110904A.shtml

fficial&q=iraq+war+illegal&spell=1" target="_blank">http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls...

fficial&q=iraq+war+illegal&spell=1" target="_blank">http://www.google.com/search?hl=en&client=firefox-a&rls...

on edit: with regard to U.S. law, the U.N. Charter's clauses about wars of aggression were written largely in response to the findings at Nuremburg, and are U.S. law by treaty. Again, use your search engine. Also, look for laws against conspiracy, lying to Congress, etc.

[chknltl]

4. Not exactly what you are looking for but:

Our treatment of our prisoners does not fit in with the articles of the Geneva conventions.
Our use of Depleted Uranium Munitions has been qualified as a weapon of mass destruction and further qualifies as a Crime Against Humanity,
Here is a link for that last one: http://www.mindfully.org/Reform/2004/Afghanistan-Crimin...
I have heard that the potus requires certain procedures by congress be done prior to formally taking us to war but these things have not done since the Korean war half a decade ago. Sorry none of this is the legel description which you are looking for but perhaps this may bolster future debates for you.

[Zen Democrat]

5. It's worse than illegal. It's immoral & indecent. But it was also ILLEGAL.

The fact that we invaded a weak country that offered virtually no military resistance for the purpose of REGIME CHANGE -- in other words, for the purpose of overthrowing a government to install one more to our liking -- while proferring deliberately faked intelligence in order to sell this as an imperative action for the security of the nation -- is illegal because the administration LIED TO CONGRESS in order to receive the authorization to wage war on behalf of the country.

Lying to Congress is a crime. Lying to Congress in order to perpetrate a preemptive war against a perceived enemy under false pretenses that has cost thousands of innocent lives is a HIGH CRIME.

George W. Bush and Dick Cheney both should be impeached and convicted for crimes against the people of the United States of America and the people of Iraq.

[Spazito]

6. Here are the laws that govern the actions of the US under Title

18, Section 2441:

a) Offense.— Whoever, whether inside or outside the United States, commits a war crime, in any of the circumstances described in subsection (b), shall be fined under this title or imprisoned for life or any term of years, or both, and if death results to the victim, shall also be subject to the penalty of death.
(b) Circumstances.— The circumstances referred to in subsection (a) are that the person committing such war crime or the victim of such war crime is a member of the Armed Forces of the United States or a national of the United States (as defined in section 101 of the Immigration and Nationality Act).
(c) Definition.— As used in this section the term “war crime” means any conduct—
(1) defined as a grave breach in any of the international conventions signed at Geneva 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party;
(2) prohibited by Article 23, 25, 27, or 28 of the Annex to the Hague Convention IV, Respecting the Laws and Customs of War on Land, signed 18 October 1907;
(3) which constitutes a violation of common Article 3 of the international conventions signed at Geneva, 12 August 1949, or any protocol to such convention to which the United States is a party and which deals with non-international armed conflict; or
(4) of a person who, in relation to an armed conflict and contrary to the provisions of the Protocol on Prohibitions or Restrictions on the Use of Mines, Booby-Traps and Other Devices as amended at Geneva on 3 May 1996 (Protocol II as amended on 3 May 1996), when the United States is a party to such Protocol, willfully kills or causes serious injury to civilians.

http://straylight.law.cornell.edu/uscode/html/uscode18/...

Because the US is a member of the UN, it must adhere to the Principles of International Law Recognized in the Charter of the Nürnberg Tribunal and in the Judgment of the Tribunal.

Principle VI

The crimes hereinafter set out are punishable as crimes under international law:

(a) Crimes against peace:

(i) Planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances;
(ii) Participation in a common plan or conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the acts mentioned under (i).
(b) War crimes:
Violations of the laws or customs of war which include, but are not limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave-labour or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory; murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war, of persons on the Seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity.

(c) Crimes against humanity:

Murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation and other inhuman acts done against any civilian population, or persecutions on political, racial or religious grounds, when such acts are done or such persecutions are carried on in execution of or in connection with any crime against peace or any war crime.


http://www.un.org/law/ilc/texts/nurnfra.htm

[seafan]

7. Congress never declared "war", and * circumvented UN Sec. Council.

Only Congress can declare war. It did not. Congress only agreed to an authorization for * to use military force ONLY if Saddam did not comply with 1. giving up WMD's (that he didn't have) and 2. allowing inspectors in (which he did, to * and Blair's chagrin). Congress' resolution also required * to go back to the UN Security Council for authorization to commit force on Iraq. Remember the "second vote" that was needed at the UN Security Council that * never went back and obtained, because he knew he didn't have the votes.

The former chief UN weapons inspector Hans Blix has declared that the war in Iraq was illegal, dealing another devastating blow to Tony Blair.

Mr Blix, speaking to The Independent, said the Attorney General's legal advice to the Government on the eve of war, giving cover for military action by the US and Britain, had no lawful justification. He said it would have required a second United Nations resolution explicitly authorising the use of force for the invasion of Iraq last March to have been legal...

http://www.globalpolicy.org/security/issues/iraq/justif...


The United Nations Secretary-General Kofi Annan has told the BBC the US-led invasion of Iraq was an illegal act that contravened the UN charter.
He said the decision to take action in Iraq should have been made by the Security Council, not unilaterally....

http://newsvote.bbc.co.uk/mpapps/pagetools/print/news.b...

[berni_mccoy]

9. He's broken several laws

Constitutional Lawyer John Bonifaz has summed them up in his letter to John Conyers. You can read about the implications of the legalities of the Downing Street Minutes (and other leaked documents) here:

http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.ph...

[IndianaGreen]

10. Legal basis for prosecuting Bush & Co for crimes against humanity

I posted this back in August 16, 2002:

Legal basis for prosecuting Bush & Co for crimes against humanity

I think that we should have Nuremberg-style trials in the US for all war criminals, from Bush down to the lowest private. We can certainly execute those convicted of crimes against humanity!

Charter of the International Military Tribunal

August 8, 1945 (Selected Articles)

ARTICLE 6

The Tribunal established by the Agreement referred to in Article 1 hereof for the trial and punishment of the major war criminals of the European Axis countries shall have the power to try and punish persons who, acting in the interests of the European Axis countries, whether as individuals or as members of organizations, committed any of the following crimes. The following acts, or any of them, are crimes coming within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal for which there shall be individual responsibility:

(a) Crimes against Peace: namely, planning, preparation, initiation or waging of a war of aggression, or a war in violation of international treaties, agreements or assurances, or participation in a Common Plan or Conspiracy for the accomplishment of any of the foregoing;

(b) War Crimes: namely, violations of the laws or customs of war. Such violations shall include, but not be limited to, murder, ill-treatment or deportation to slave labor or for any other purpose of civilian population of or in occupied territory, murder or ill-treatment of prisoners of war or persons on the seas, killing of hostages, plunder of public or private property, wanton destruction of cities, towns, or villages, or devastation not justified by military necessity;

(c) Crimes against Humanity: namely, murder, extermination, enslavement, deportation, and other inhumane acts committed against any civilian population, before or during the war,14 or persecutions on political, racial, or religious grounds in execution of or in connection with any crime within the jurisdiction of the Tribunal, whether or not in violation of domestic law of the country where perpetrated. Leaders, organizers, instigators, and accomplices participating in the formulation or execution of a Common Plan or Conspiracy to commit any of the foregoing crimes are responsible for all acts performed by any persons in execution of such plan.

ARTICLE 7

The official position of defendants, whether as Heads of State or responsible officials in Government departments, shall not be considered as freeing them from responsibility or mitigating punishment.

ARTICLE 8 The fact that the defendant acted pursuant to order of his Government or of a superior shall not free him from responsibility, but may be considered in mitigation of punishment if the Tribunal determine that justice so requires.

http://www.law.umkc.edu/faculty/projects/ftrials/nuremb...


http://www.democraticunderground.com/cgi-bin/duforum/du...

[cestpaspossible]

12. Bush violated the Iraq War Resolution

when he submitted a false Presidential Determination to Congress under Section 3 subsection b

[NAO]

13. Wars are always deemed legal by the aggressors; only International Orgs

are qualified to determine the legality of wars.

Of course every country is going to say the war it started was legal. Hitler thought his invasion of Poland was legal. Israel thinks all of it's wars against it's neighbors are legal and it's wars of conquest are just running squatters out of "Greater Israel".

International law has set standards for a "just war". It is a nebulous area, but "preventative" wars of aggression - which is what Iraq War II was - are definitely illegal.

[NeoTraitors]

14. Well the first time we invaded Iraq it was on

the premise that Iraq had illegally invaded Kuwait. What does that make this invasion of Iraq?

[Karenina]

15. Illegal, immoral

and based on DESPICABLE