Leaked memo suggests US, UK pre-war air strikes on Iraq illegal News
Leaked memo suggests US, UK pre-war air strikes on Iraq illegal

[JURIST] A leaked British Foreign and Commonwealth Office [official website] memorandum [text] published by the London Sunday Times indicates that British government ministers were forewarned by senior officials that the 2002 US and UK pre-war air strikes against Iraq were illegal under international law. According to the infamous Downing Street Memo [text] published by the Sunday Times in May, the air strikes were designed to provoke Saddam Hussein to retaliate in order to provide a justification for war. In 2002, the air space over Iraq was designated as a no-fly zone, with both the US and Britain authorized to patrol the area to enforce UN Security Resolution 688, however bombing began six months before the UN Security Council authorized the use of force under Resolution 1441 [text]. The Sunday Times has more.