JURIST - Paper Chase: Annan: Iraq war has not made world safer

UN Secretary General Kofi Annan reiterated his criticism of the decision to invade Iraq in an interview with British TV network ITV Sunday, saying that it had done nothing to make the world safer. While acknowledging that the country is currently "on track" to hold elections early next year, he warned that he would be "duty bound" to speak out "[i]f ... any decision which is made which we think detracts from the credibility and viability of the elections." UN efforts to smooth Iraq's transition to democracy are detailed here. In the same interview Annan also warned that any US military action against Iran to halt its nuclear program could be illegal under the UN charter: "To undertake an operation of that kind would not be helpful at all. I don't even want to contemplate it because I think it would be very unwise." The full text of the interview is not yet available online, but ITV has a story on it here.

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