The Gulf War: 1990-2004 (And Still Counting)

• Author: Yoram Dinstein
• Position: Professor of Human Rights and Pro-President, Tel Aviv University, Israel
• Pages: 337-350

XV

The Gulf War: 1990-2004

(And Still Counting)

Yoram Dinstein*

There is apopular notion (based on some loose language used by the Bush

Administration) that the hostilities conducted by the American-led Coali-

tion ofthe willing against Iraq in 2003 were based on alegal doctrine of preemptive

forcible action against apotential threat. From the standpoint of international law,

this popular notion is as untenable as it is unnecessary. The present article will first

set the proper predicate for the legality of the action taken against Iraq. Then, the

article will turn to the spurious contention of preemptive action.

ALegal Analysis of the Various Phases of the Gulf War

It is common practice to refer to the hostilities in Iraq in 2003 in amanner discon-

nected from the hostilities of the early 1990s: some media stories have even used

the expressions "GulfWar I" and "GulfWar II." However, in reality there has been

only asingle Gulf War which started in 1990 and is still not over in 2004. Admit-

tedly, that war has consisted of anumber of phases, yet each phase must be viewed

as apart of the whole. The three main phases of the Gulf War are:

*Yanowicz Professor of Human Rights and Pro-President, Tel Aviv University, Israel.