UK Election: 1

Our quick summary of where stands the controversy over the legality of the Iraq war as far as Britain was concerned: Blair's position is that the 2003 invasion was covered by the UN resolution authorising the eviction of Iraq from Kuwait in 1991.

Here is the legal advice of 17 March 2003 given to Blair. Note the card-trick shuffling of 3 different resolutions -- (i) the Kuwait resolution, (ii) the ceasefire resolution, and (iii) the WMD resolution. The advice says that (ii) caused the authority for force under (i) to lapse, unless (ii) was breached by Iraq, and that (iii) declared that (ii) was breached, therefore (i) was reactivated. Got it?

Note, by the way, the complete absence of any goal of bringing democracy to the Middle East in this rationale.