House of Eratosthenes

The Senior Senator from the state of Massachusetts has written a book arguing against the Invasion of Iraq, or for that matter any strike by any nation against any other nation on preemptive grounds.

Kennedy writes that preemptive war may be justified to prevent “an imminent attack on our country.” But he puts the Iraq war in a different category that he calls “preventive war,” which he condemns.

“The premeditated nature of preventive attacks and preventive wars makes them anathema to well-established international principles against aggression,” Kennedy writes in “America Back on Track,” which is scheduled to be released April 18.

Bush’s decision to invade Iraq, Kennedy says, was an example of “preventive war” — attacking a nation to prevent it from developing the ability to threaten the United States. A similar manner of thinking led the Japanese to attack Pearl Harbor in 1941, he writes, since Japan was seeking to block the US military buildup in the Pacific.

“Preventive war is consistent with neither our values nor our national security,” he writes. “It gives other nations an excuse to violate fundamental principles of civilized international behavior, and the downward spiral we initiate could well engulf the whole planet.”

Huh. So Ted Kennedy and I are in complete agreement about something. He says the invasion was the wrong thing to do, whether Saddam Hussein had these much-discussed “Weapons of Mass Destruction” or not. I think it was the right thing to do and came far too late, again, regardless of the WMD issue. So I have an extremely prestigious member of the United States Senate as my unlikely champion, helping me to assert that the whole WMD issue is a huge red herring. I’m pleased and proud to welcome the Senator into the fold.

Now, about this other matter, that by striking against the old regime of Saddam Hussein, we have somehow lowered ourselves to the moral equivalent of Axis-era Japan when the Empire struck Pearl Harbor. Another blogger has done a fantastic job of putting together a timeline that I think addresses this very well. It’s a list of the resolutions passed by the League of Na– I mean, the United Nations — against the United Sta– I mean, against the old government of Iraq, which were consistently ignored by Franklin D. Roose– I mean, Saddam Hussein, thereby necessitating the Axis pow– I mean, the coalition, to remove his regime. Here’s your link.

There were three very compelling and justifiable reasons for the Bush administration to gather a coalition and remove Saddam Hussein from power in Iraq.

On February 5, 2003, United States Secretary of State Colin Powell addressed the General Assembly of the United Nations in which he citied that the Iraqi government under Saddam Hussein was in violation of seventeen UN resolutions calling for the disarmament of that nation as a justification for action against Saddam Hussein and Iraq.

Outlined below are the seventeen resolutions with commentary on the breaches.

1441 Passed on November 8, 2002, UNSCR 1441 found that Iraq has been and remains in material breach of its disarmament obligations. The resolution gave Iraq a final opportunity to comply with those obligations. The resolution demanded that Iraq submit a currently accurate, full and complete declaration of its weapons of mass destruction and related programs within 30 days. Further demanded that Iraq cooperate immediately, unconditionally, and actively with the UN inspections. The resolution decided that false statements or omissions in Iraq’s declarations and failure by Iraq at any time to comply with and cooperate fully in the implementation of this resolution would constitute further material breach. Finally, the resolution recalled that the Security Council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations.

The important thing to take from this resolution is that it is the seventeenth of its kind regarding Iraq’s flagrant and obvious desire to not comply with the United Nations or with its obligations to disarm after the first Gulf War. It is important to note that Iraq was expected to accurately declare its programs and weapons within 30 days of November 8, 2002. Hans Blix, the UN head of UNMOVIC (the organization of inspectors sent by the UN to verify Iraq’s cooperation in disarmament), noted several issues with their declaration in his briefing to the Security Council. Specifically, he addressed inconsistencies in the biological, chemical and missile portions of the document.

1284 Passed on December 17, 1999, UNSCR 1284 created the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission (UNMOVIC) to replace the previous weapons inspection team known as UNSCOM. The resolution insisted that Iraq allow UNMOVIC “immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access” to Iraqi officials and facilities. The resolution insisted that Iraq fulfill its commitment to return Gulf War prisoners. And called on Iraq to distribute humanitarian goods and medical supplies to its people and address the needs of vulnerable Iraqis without discrimination.

The same briefing Blix delivered to the Security council in the commentary for 1441 included at least one anecdote regarding problems getting access to facilities during this time period (Blix and his team visited a site on a Friday, the Muslim day of rest, and a number of offices were locked with no key available. The team agreed to seal the rooms until the next day, but stated that the team had the right to inspect facilities whenever they wanted to do so.)

1205 Passed on November 5, 1998, UNSCR 1205 condemned the decision by Iraq to cease cooperation with UN inspectors as a “flagrant violation” of UNSCR 687 and other resolutions. 1205 insisted that Iraq provide “immediate, complete and unconditional cooperation” with UN and IAEA inspectors.

The inspection team returned to Baghdad on November 17, 1998 after a couple weeks of diplomacy with the government of Iraq. Immediate is defined as “occurring at once” or “near the present time.” One could make an argument that Iraq’s compliance within twelve days would constitute as “near the present time”, that wasn’t what the Security Council had in mind despite resolution of the problem by the Secretary General in a remarkable feat of diplomacy. (This last sentence is the author’s point of view and not necessarily the point of view of the UN officials.)

1194 Passed on September 9, 1998, UNSCR 1194 condemned the decision by Iraq to cease cooperation with UN and IAEA inspectors, which constituted “a totally unacceptable contravention” of its obligations under UNSCR 687, 707, 715, 1060, 1115, and 1154. The resolution further demanded that Iraq cooperate fully with the UN and IAEA weapons inspectors and allow immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access.

This is another instance of Iraq’s “delaying of the game” tactics. Again, Iraq failed to meet their obligations under this resolution when on October 21, 1998, Iraq announced that it was ceasing all cooperation with UNSCOM. President Clinton reported to Congress that: on October 31, he signed into law the Iraq Liberation Act of 1998, which provided new discretionary authorities to assist the opposition in their struggle against the regime. Furthermore, he reported that in response to a United States proposal, the United Nations Security Council agreed to on October 13 to seek clarification from Iraq of statements made by Iraqi officials on October 7 concerning the existence of additional information on biological weapons still in Iraq’s hands, and about Iraq’s refusal to turn over the Iraqi Air Force document on chemical weapons expended in the Iran-Iraq War. (Author’s Note: the Air Force document was later turned over to UNSCOM and was addressed in the report noted in the Resolution 1205 paragraph.)

1154 Passed on March 2, 1998, UNSCR 1154 insisted that Iraq cooperate fully with UN and IAEA weapons inspectors and allow immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access, and notes that any violation would have the “severest consequences for Iraq.”

This did not happen as outlined above. (Author’s Note: I’m not sure what happened to the severest consequences for Iraq, but whatever they were they obviously were insufficient to get the job done of convincing Saddam to comply.)

1137 Passed on November 12, 1997, UNSCR 1137 condemned the continued violations by Iraq of previous resolutions, including its “implicit threat to the safety of” aircraft operated by UN inspectors and its tampering with UN monitoring equipment. The resolution reaffirmed Iraq’s responsibility to ensure the safety of the UN inspectors and insisted that Iraq must cooperate fully with the UN weapons inspectors and allow immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access.

In a report to the Security Council in January 1998, Richard Butler indicated that there were problems with inspections in January 1998.

1134 Passed on October 23, 1997, UNSCR 1134 condemned repeated refusal of Iraqi authorities to allow access to UN inspectors, which constituted a “flagrant violation” of UNSCR 687, 707, 715, and 1060. The resolution further insisted that Iraq cooperate fully with the UN inspectors and allow immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access and that Iraq must give immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access to Iraqi officials whom UN inspectors wanted to interview.

1115 Passed on June 21, 1997, UNSCR 1115 condemned repeated refusal of Iraqi authorities to allow access to UN inspectors, which constituted a “clear and flagrant violation” of UNSCR 687, 707, 715, and 1060. The resolution further insisted that Iraq cooperate fully with the UN inspectors and allow immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access and that Iraq must give immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access to Iraqi officials whom UN inspectors wanted to interview.

The United Nations was so impressed by the Iraqi cooperation that the Security Council essentially re-wrote resolution 1115 when they penned resolution 1134.

1060 Passed on June 12, 1996, UNSCR 1060 deplored Iraq’s refusal to allow access to UN inspectors and Iraq’s “clear violations” of previous UN resolutions. Further, the resolution indicated that Iraq must cooperate fully with the UN weapons inspectors and allow immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access.

1051 Passed on March 27, 1996, UNSCR 1051 ordered Iraq to report shipments of dual-use items related to weapons of mass destruction to the UN and IAEA. Again, the resolution called on Iraq to cooperate fully with UN and IAEA inspectors and allow immediate, unconditional, and unrestricted access.

949 Passed on October 15, 1994, UNSCR 949 condemned Iraq’s military deployments toward Kuwait. The resolution ordered Iraq to not utilize military or other forces in a hostile manner to threaten its neighbors or UN operations in Iraq, nor enhance its military capability in southern Iraq and again demanded that Iraq cooperate fully with the UN inspectors.

715 Passed on October 11, 1991, UNSCR 715 insisted that Iraq must cooperate fully with UN and IAEA inspectors.

707 Passed on August 17, 1991, UNSCR 707 condemned Iraq’s “serious violation” of UNSCR 687 and further condemned Iraq’s noncompliance with IAEA and its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. The resolution insisted that Iraq halt nuclear activities of all kinds until the Security Council deemed Iraq in full compliance. Again, insisted that Iraq allow UN and IAEA inspectors immediate, unconditional and unrestricted access while demanding that Iraq make a full, final and complete disclosure of all aspects of its weapons of mass destruction and missile programs. Furthermore, the resolution demanded that Iraq cease attempts to conceal or move weapons of mass destruction, and related materials and facilities. Lastly the resolution outlined that Iraq must allow UN and IAEA inspectors to conduct flights throughout Iraq and that Iraq must provide transportation, medical, and logistical support for UN and IAEA inspectors.

688 Passed on April 5, 1991, UNSCR 688 condemned the repression of Iraqi civilian population, “the consequences of which threaten international peace and security.” The resolution demanded that Iraq immediately end repression of its civilian population and that Iraq must allow immediate access to international humanitarian organizations to those in need of assistance.

687 Passed on April 3, 1991, UNSCR 687 demanded that Iraq “unconditionally accept” the destruction, removal, or rendering harmless “under international supervision” of all “chemical and biological weapons and all stocks of agents and all related subsystems and components and all research, development, support and manufacturing facilities.” Furthermore, Iraq must “unconditionally agree not to acquire or develop nuclear weapons or nuclear-weapons-usable-material” or any research, development or manufacturing facilities.” Also, Iraq must “unconditionally accept” the destruction, removal or rendering harmless “under international supervision” of all “ballistic missiles with a range greater than 150km and related major parts and repair and production facilities.” In general, Iraq must not “use, develop, construct or acquire” any weapons of mass destruction and again reaffirm its obligations under the Nuclear Non-Proliferation Treaty. This resolution created the United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) to verify the elimination of Iraq’s weapons programs and mandated that the International Atomic Energy Agency verify elimination of Iraq’s nuclear weapons program. The resolution demanded that Iraq declare fully its weapons of mass destruction programs. Furthermore, Iraq must not commit or support terrorism, or allow terrorist organizations to operate in Iraq.

686 Passed on March 2, 1991, UNSCR 686 reminded Iraq of its obligation to restore international peace and security in the region.

678 Passed on November 29,1990, UNSCR 678 demanded that Iraq comply fully with UNSCR 660 (regarding Iraq’s illegal invasion of Kuwait) “and all subsequent relevant resolutions.” The resolution also authorized UN Member States “to use all necessary means to uphold and implement resolution 660 and all subsequent relevant resolutions and to restore international peace and security in the area.”

Other than those, Sen. Kennedy, I guess your point stands. Brilliant.

Sheesh.

What the hell are you drinking, Senator?

Thanks for the link and the recognition of my work!
- Matt Hurley | 04/08/2006 @ 07:32

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Kennedy: Invasion of Iraq like Pearl HarborWednesday, April 5th, 2006

Kennedy: Invasion of Iraq like Pearl Harbor
Wednesday, April 5th, 2006