Letter: Iraqi crisis

Your leading article ("When it comes to welfare, the special relationship offers a lesson in failure", 6 February) supports military action against Iraq "if it is justified in international law". International law says that no state has the right to alter the domestic political arrangement of other states through overt military means (UN Declaration, 1970).

Military action against Iraq would be justifiable if it had the full backing of the UN Security Council. But in the absence of a consensus on the Security Council favouring the use of force, the impending air strikes on Iraq would not only violate international law, but would also add substance to the oft- repeated accusation that the UN is merely an instrument of Anglo-American domination.

RANDHIR SINGH BAINS

Gants Hill, Essex