Law not War.

• Author: Greenbaum, John
• Position: US policy toward Iraq

As the cracks in the Bush administration consensus continue to widen it is important to make our voices heard to resist an invasion of Iraq. Let's call on our legislators to:

* Maintain US compliance with the UN Charter which outlaws George Bush's Policy of Preemptive Attack;

* Enforce the War Powers Act;

* End US obstruction of international calls to lift UN sanctions that target civilians in Iraq;

* Ratify the International Criminal Court (ICC) Treaty;

* Use the ICC and other existing international institutions to resolve conflicts involving Iraq;

* Provide a consistent foreign policy based on equal enforcement of UN resolutions.

During a June 1 commencement speech at West Point, President Bush rolled out his Doctrine of Preemptive Attack which states that the US can strike first or invade another nation if the administration merely asserts that a country poses a threat--even if that country has not presented a threat. (Bush: "If we wait for threats to fully materialize, we will have waited too long. We must take the battle to the enemy, disrupt his plans and confront the worst threats before they emerge." Cheney: "Wars are not won on the defensive. We must take the battle to the enemy and, where necessary, preempt grave threats to our country before they materialize.") (Time, 6/24/02, MSNBC, 6/26/02). Such a policy is a radical departure from the policy of deterrence in which security was sought through the threat of overwhelming retaliation. This Doctrine of Preemptive Attack is in direct violation of the United Nations Charter which accepts the legitimacy of "self defense" and "collective self defense." Bush's policy of preemption legitimizes the principle of international lawlessness, undermines diplomacy, encourages global instability and gives ultimate power and authority to the President.

Weapons of Mass Destruction and UNSCOM Inspections

Of course, President Bush needs the Doctrine of Preemptive Attack to justify his aggression towards Iraq because there is no evidence that Iraq presents a threat to the United States. According to former United Nations Special Commission (UNSCOM) chief inspector Scott Ritter, "Iraq has, in fact, been disarmed. The chemical, biological, nuclear and long-range ballistic missile programs that were a real threat in 1991 had, by 1998, been destroyed or rendered harmless." (Boston Globe 3/9/00) Ritter resigned in protest over US politicization of the weapons inspections. In its most recent report, the...