The Hollywood Liberal

British Government Warned That Iraq War Would Be Illegal
Before the invasion of Iraq, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw’s top legal adviser warned that the use of force was “contrary to international law” and “would amount to the crime of aggression.” According to testimony in the U.K.‘s Iraq inquiry, Straw allegedly rejected the advice as “dogmatic,” saying “international law was pretty vague.” The secretary would go on to seek and win a more favorable second opinion from the country’s attorney general just days before invasion.  —PZS BBC: Asked by the inquiry about Mr Straw’s analysis of the legal position regarding the invasion of Iraq, Sir Michael told the inquiry: “Obviously there are some areas of international law that can be quite uncertain. This, however, turned exclusively on the interpretation of a specific text and it is one on which I think that international law was pretty clear.” He told the inquiry his advice had never been rejected by a minister before or since. Read more

Before the invasion of Iraq, British Foreign Secretary Jack Straw’s top legal adviser warned that the use of force was “contrary to international law” and “would amount to the crime of aggression.”

According to testimony in the U.K.‘s Iraq inquiry, Straw allegedly rejected the advice as “dogmatic,” saying “international law was pretty vague.”

The secretary would go on to seek and win a more favorable second opinion from the country’s attorney general just days before invasion.? —PZS

BBC:

Asked by the inquiry about Mr Straw’s analysis of the legal position regarding the invasion of Iraq, Sir Michael told the inquiry: “Obviously there are some areas of international law that can be quite uncertain. This, however, turned exclusively on the interpretation of a specific text and it is one on which I think that international law was pretty clear.”

He told the inquiry his advice had never been rejected by a minister before or since.

Read more

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Whose side is the Justice Department on: America’s — or the terrorists’?

It’s just insane that a lawyer who defended Osama bin Laden’s driver and bodyguard — and who sought constitutional rights for terrorists — could be one of the Obama administration’s top legal officials.

[…]

Lawmakers on Capitol Hill are hopping mad about the situation — and rightly so. Months ago, Senate Judiciary Committee member Charles Grassley asked Attorney General Eric Holder to disclose who in the administration had previously represented or agitated for alleged terrorists.

The AG’s reply?

“I will consider that request.”

Holder must be thinking long and hard — because committee members have yet to receive a response.

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With high-profile terror cases coming up — like Abdulmutallab’s, and the outrageous Khalid Sheik Mohammed trial in New York — Americans need to know: Is our government putting in a good-faith effort when it comes to punishing the men who want to blow up our people?

The call to treat terrorists like civilians in court has been all Team Obama.

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Will it be soon enough?

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