24 March 2005
Courageous and principled civil servants
It was astounding to read a BBC report about a former senior law officer in the UK's Foreign Office expressing the firm view that the invasion of Iraq was a "crime of aggression." Elizabeth Wilmshurst, Deputy Legal Adviser to the Foreign Office, made the claim in her resignation letter on the eve of the war.
In her strongly worded letter, she was unequivocal about the extremely dangerous precedent such an invasion would set for future actions by other countries; not to mention the complete illegality of the immediate invasion.
"I regret that I cannot agree that it is lawful to use force against Iraq without a second Security Council resolution to revive the authorisation given in SCR 678. I do not need to set out my reasoning; you are aware of it.
{Section is censored by the UK government at this point}
I cannot in conscience go along with advice - within the Office or to the public or Parliament - which asserts the legitimacy of military action without such a resolution, particularly since an unlawful use of force on such a scale amounts to the crime of aggression; nor can I agree with such action in circumstances which are so detrimental to the international order and the rule of law."
You have to applaud the high principle that this British civil servant upholds. For it is upon this standard of integrity and honour that modern liberal democracies become beacons of high morality to others.
In contrast, we must fervently hope that the deceit, dishonour and disingenuity with which Tony Blair led Britain to prosecute the illegal war, will be soundly punished at the forthcoming UK general elections.
I hope that British voters show that they will not tolerate immoral and unprincipled "leadership" even as US and Australian voters did the exact opposite by re-electing Bush and Howard.
In her strongly worded letter, she was unequivocal about the extremely dangerous precedent such an invasion would set for future actions by other countries; not to mention the complete illegality of the immediate invasion.
"I regret that I cannot agree that it is lawful to use force against Iraq without a second Security Council resolution to revive the authorisation given in SCR 678. I do not need to set out my reasoning; you are aware of it.
{Section is censored by the UK government at this point}
I cannot in conscience go along with advice - within the Office or to the public or Parliament - which asserts the legitimacy of military action without such a resolution, particularly since an unlawful use of force on such a scale amounts to the crime of aggression; nor can I agree with such action in circumstances which are so detrimental to the international order and the rule of law."
You have to applaud the high principle that this British civil servant upholds. For it is upon this standard of integrity and honour that modern liberal democracies become beacons of high morality to others.
In contrast, we must fervently hope that the deceit, dishonour and disingenuity with which Tony Blair led Britain to prosecute the illegal war, will be soundly punished at the forthcoming UK general elections.
I hope that British voters show that they will not tolerate immoral and unprincipled "leadership" even as US and Australian voters did the exact opposite by re-electing Bush and Howard.
