On the 10th anniversary of the United States’ illegal invasion
of Iraq, we can expect the war’s supporters to argue that
military action seemed necessary at that moment, while critics
will remind us of the suffering that resulted from that tragic
miscalculation. But amid the rationalizations and critiques, we
should linger on this uncomfortable term: “illegal invasion”. No
matter how much we all ignore it, here is the reality: The U.S.
invasion of Iraq was unlawful. The leaders who planned and
executed the war are criminals. U.S. citizens bear some
responsibility for not holding those leaders accountable. The
charter of the United Nations is clear about when the use of
force in international relations is legal. War must be
authorized by the U.N. Security Council, and in this case the
council rejected a resolution authorizing war. The only other
condition under which a member state can go to war is in self-
defense when attacked, a principle that is extended to the right
to respond to an imminent attack, what i