International Law and the War in Iraq

19 Pages Posted: 20 Feb 2004

See all articles by John Yoo

John Yoo

University of California at Berkeley School of Law; The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA; American Enterprise Institute

Abstract

Many international legal scholars and foreign governments have argued that the recent war in Iraq violated international law. This paper, published as part of an Agora in the American Journal of International Law, criticizes this view on two grounds. It explains that these scholars have failed to properly read existing United Nations Security Council resolutions that authorized the use of force against Iraq. Even putting the United Nations to one side, this paper explains that the use of force could have been justified, at the time of the invasion of Iraq in the spring of 2003, as an exercise of self-defense. It argues that traditional notions of self-defense, which permit the anticipatory use of force before an offensive attack occurs, have changed to take into account the greater magnitude of destruction of weapons of mass destruction and the behavior of rogue states.

Keywords: international law, use of force, Iraq war, self-defense

Suggested Citation

Yoo, John, International Law and the War in Iraq. UC Berkeley Public Law Research Paper No. 145, Available at SSRN: https://ssrn.com/abstract=492002

John Yoo (Contact Author)

University of California at Berkeley School of Law ( email )

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The University of Texas at Austin, TX, USA ( email )

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American Enterprise Institute ( email )

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Washington, DC 20036
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