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Advice on the legal basis for military action, November 2002 to
March 2003
Security
Council resolutions in order to secure international peace and
security”; and
that the
resolution had to be read as a whole. In his view, that meant the
Council had
to
“consider what is needed in order to secure international peace and
security and,
in particular,
whether full compliance is necessary”. OP12 required “a
determination
by the
Security Council of what is now required”.
267.
Lord Goldsmith
also addressed Sir Jeremy’s argument that resolution 1205
(1998)
provided a
precedent. Lord Goldsmith wrote that the point was not that the
resolution
validated
the revival argument; he did not regard the fact that there was
“strong evidence
of
disagreement of other States with the proposition” as “a matter of
concern”. The
question
was “not whether such an argument exists but what are the
conditions which
attach to
its existence”.
268.
In an
interview on 26 January, Mr Blair stated explicitly that
failure to
co‑operate
with the inspectors would be a material breach of resolution
1441.
269.
In an extended
interview on BBC
TV ’s
Breakfast with
Frost on
26 January,
Mr Blair set
out in detail his position on Iraq.101
270.
Pressed as to
whether non-compliance rather than evidence of weapons of
mass
destruction
justified “a war”, Mr Blair replied that he “profoundly”
disagreed with the idea
that a
refusal to co-operate was of a “lesser order”:
“… if he
fails to co-operate in being honest and he is pursuing a programme
of
concealment,
that is every bit as much a breach as finding, for example, a
missile
or chemical
agent.”
271.
Asked whether
a second resolution was needed, required or preferred,
Mr Blair
replied:
“Of course
we want a second resolution and there is only one set of
circumstances
in which
I’ve said that we would move without one … all this stuff that …
we’re
indifferent
… is nonsense. We’re very focused on getting a UN
resolution.
“… [Y]ou
damage the UN if the UN inspectors say he’s not co-operating, he’s
in
breach, and
the world does nothing about it. But I don’t believe that will
happen …”
272.
Intensive
discussions on a second resolution took place at the end
of
January.
273.
Ms Wilmshurst
wrote to Ms Adams on 27 January with draft texts for two
options
for a
second resolution, one expressly authorising the use of force, the
other containing
101
BBC
News, 26
January 2003, Prime
Minister prepares for war.
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