Resolution 1441 passed by the Security Council in November 2002 does NOT sanction an invasion and occupation of Iraq. This point needs to be repeated and amplified throughout the mass media: an Anglo-American invasion will be an insult to the authority of the United Nations, as well as being an act of pre-meditated mass murder, since as we now know an invasion and occupation of Iraq was planned by Wolfowitz and his circle long before Bush had stolen the election in Florida.

Resolution 1441 was a measured document, specifically drafted so that it would not give the Americans/British a trigger on the basis of which to make an invasion. The American and British diplomats wanted a text with automatic consequences, but they could not persuade the Security Council to give them such a document.

The clauses of Resolution 1441 which establish the mechanism through which Iraqi delinquincies may be addressed are items 11, 12, and 12. They read:

"11. Directs the Executive Chairman of UNMOVIC and the Director-General of the IAEA to report immediately to the Council any interference by Iraq with inspection activities, as well as any failure by Iraq to comply with its disarmament obligations, including its obligations regarding inspections under this resolution;

12. Decides to convene immediately upon receipt of a report in accordance with paragraphs 4 or 11 above, in order to consider the situation and the need for full compliance with all of the relevant Council resolutions in order to secure international peace and security;

13. Recalls, in that context, that the Council has repeatedly warned Iraq that it will face serious consequences as a result of its continued violations of its obligations"

The key facts which these clauses establish are:

(11) the bodies competent to report Iraqi breaches are UMOVIC and the IAEA, and the body competent of receiving and evaluating such reports is the Security Council

(12) The Security Council is the sole body licenced to decide whether Iraq is in breach of its obligations, and if so what action the international community should take.

(13) The penalties thus far authorized against Iraq amount to "serious consequences", which are not defined. They certainly do not include the aerial bombardment of a city with several million inhabitants, and a war which will leave hundreds of thousands dead.

For the full text of Resolution 1441 go to  http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,863569,00.html