Illegal war

"What is important is that whatever action we take is done in accordance with international law" – Tony Blair

The case that the 2003 invasion of Iraq was illegal (and that the UK government knew it was) can be summarised by the following items of evidence. It wouldn't be difficult for the media (eg BBC) to forcefully present this case (if it were so inclined)...

• The Attorney-General's (7/3/03) legal advice to Tony Blair says: "regime change cannot be the objective of military action". (From section 36 of the advice – http://tinyurl.com/9mrmx [693KB pdf])

• This is confirmed in a high-level leaked memo published by the Sunday Times: "The Attorney-General said that the desire for regime change was not a legal base for military action." http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1593607,00.html

• And it's confirmed in a civil service briefing paper: "Regime change per se is not a proper basis for military action under international law."
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/article/0,,2087-1592724,00.html

• The same briefing paper reveals that Blair had decided on regime change by April 2002: "When the prime minister discussed Iraq with President Bush at Crawford in April, he said that the UK would support military action to bring about regime change."