There is a lot of talk about the Iraqi war being illegitimate and illegal.

I will venture a guess and say that not many of us have degrees in international law, so none of us can really argue beyond shallow arguments. Reading a few "real" international law arguments as well as talking to a few law students studying international law, there is enough ammunition for both sides of the argument. So we can quickly discount that argument.

Now, as for the argument that the war is "illegitimate," I would really like to know what that means. The war is not a unilateral engagement; 30 countries have joined the coalition and have risked political power. So among the 30 nations, we have a consensus. Furthermore, the Iraqi people have welcomed the removal of Saddam Hussein (although I will admit they have not been so keen on US forces on their soil)... this means in the Iraqi peoples' eyes it's legtimate.

So now again I ask, why is it not illegitimate? Most people will answer: "Because the UN never granted its blessing."

Let us get one thing straight: The UN has _nothing_ to do with legitimacy. The UN has only "officially" sanctioned 3 wars; every other military operation has been "illegitimate." Where were the critics then? This again ties in with my argument that the anti-war crowd is actually anti-Bush. Their idiocy and inability to separate the two basically put them into one camp.

Furthermore, the UN only sactions wars on two grounds:
1.) Pure self-defense
2.) Wars "sanctioned" by the Security Council

Does anyone see the obvious hypocrisy here? Somehow a country that manages to get a coalition of 30 countries is illegitimate, but if you get the backing of a 15-member "council," the war becomes legitimate? All the 15-member council does is give a UN "ok" to the war. Now you wonder, what does that mean?

Not a damn thing.

So the next time you find someone arguing the war in Iraq is illegitimate, ask them why. You'll quickly find they'll be for a loss of words if you debate them using the template I just gave you.

By the way, the war is legitimate for the following reasons:
1.) It is not a unilateral engagement. 30 countries have joined a coalition to remove Saddam from power.
2.) The Iraqi people have welcomed this war as a liberation from Saddam. This is indicative that the Iraqi people view this war as being justified, and thus legitimate.