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Kofi Annan insists attack on Iraq is illegal, U.S. allies disagree
IN what may throw up a diplomatic row between the United States (U.S.) and the United Nations (UN), the organisation's Secretary-General Kofi Annan yesterday described U.S. invasion of Iraq as illegal.
However, Annan's comment has drawn the ire of U.S. allies who condemned his utterances insisting that the war remains legal and justified.
Annan said in an interview with the British Broadcasting Corporation (BBC) World Service he believed there should have been a second UN resolution following Iraq's failure to comply over weapons inspections.
And it should have been up to the Security Council to approve or determine the consequences, he added. Hence, the decision to take action in Iraq should have been made by the Security Council, not unilaterally.
On whether he viewed the invasion of Iraq as illegal, he said: "Yes, if you wish. I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter from our-point of view, from the charter point of view, it was illegal."
Annan said that "painful lessons" had been learnt since the war in Iraq.
"Lessons for the U.S., the UN and other member states. I think in the end everybody concluded that it's best to work together with our allies and through the UN," he said.
The UN scribe said: "I hope we do not see another Iraq-type operation for a long time - without UN approval and much broader support from the International Community."
He said it was unlikely that Iraq would be able to hold "credible elections" as planned in January 2005 "if the security conditions continue as they are now."
U.S. President George W. Bush , in the midst of a re-election campaign dominated by a debate on the war in Iraq, did not immediately react to the UN chief's comments. He is due to speak at the UN General Assembly next week.
However, Australian Prime Minister John Howard, fighting a cliffhanger re-election battle, hits back at Annan, accusing him of heading a "paralysed" body and insisting the war was legitimate.
He said that the UN was incapable of dealing with International crises.
"The legal advice we had - and I tabled it at the time - was that the action was entirely valid in International law terms," he said.
And a former Bush administration aide, Randy Scheunemann, branded Annan's comments "outrageous".
Scheunemann, a former adviser to the U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld, accused Mr Annan of trying to influence the outcome of the forthcoming U.S. Presidential Election.
"I think it is outrageous for the Secretary-General, who ultimately works for the member states, to try and supplant his judgement for the judgment of the member states," he said.
"To do this 51 days before an American election reeks of political interference," Randy Scheunemann said.
He said the UN's failure to act in Sudan, and in other areas around the world, was proving that effective multi-lateralism may be a contradiction.
The UK and Japanese governments also responded sharply.
The British government, which has argued that UN resolutions provided a legal basis for intervening to topple Saddam Hussein, said the 2003 invasion was "not only lawful but necessary".
"We spelt out at the time our reasons for believing the conflict in Iraq was indeed lawful and why we believed it was necessary to uphold those UN resolutions," Trade and Industry Secretary Patricia Hewitt added.
Japan's top government Spokesperson told a news conference that he would be seeking clarification about the exact significance of Annan's words.
"We wish to verify the real meaning by making various inquiries," Hiroyuki Hosoda told a news conference.
Annan is said to have made similar comments before.
Annan has always said the invasion did not conform with the UN charter - phrase that was seen as a diplomatic way of saying the war was illegal.
Our correspondent says Mr Annan's relationship with the U.S. might be made a little uncomfortable for a while following his comments, but both sides are likely to want to play it down.
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