Would A First Strike Against Iran Be Lawful?

Photo from Reuters

Israel Versus Iran -- Robert Barnidge, Washington Times

Would a first strike be lawful?

With CIA Director Leon Panetta's June 27 conclusion that sanctions will "probably not" dent Iran's drive for a "nuclear option" and former CIA Director Michael Hayden's recent statement on CNN that a strike on Iran now "seems inexorable," the storm clouds of war seem to be circling in the Middle East once again. An Israeli strike may or may not be in the cards, with the acquiescence, if only privately, of some Arab states and others, but the question nevertheless arises: Would an Israeli strike on Iran necessarily be unlawful?

According to international law, armed force can be used only in two exceptional situations. These are when the U.N. Security Council has authorized it and when a state acts in self-defense, to quote Article 51 of the U.N. Charter, "if an armed attack occurs."

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My Comment: I look at this argument from a different perspective. (1) A state of war has always percolating below the surface between Iran and Israel .... and for that matter, between Iran and the West. In short .... an Israeli strike will only be an escalation on what has been a state of war between Israel and Iran/Hezbollah/Hamas .... and on the issue of a first strike being lawful .... you will have to go back into history and the Old Testament to find out who gave the first blow.

(2) The (long term) political and diplomatic blow back from such an attack will pale to what Iran and its proxies will be doing in retaliation .... and what we in the West must do in turn when we find ourselves in the cross hairs of their terror teams. Issues such as first strike, retaliation .... this is all going to be moot when what has been a low intensity conflict becomes a real conflict involving most (if not all) of the Middle East, and arguments such as international law and lawful conduct gets swept aside by Islamic radicalism, Arab/Persian hatred towards the Jews, and the rest of the world positioning themselves to make sure that their oil supplies are not cut off.