‘No country can legally invade another country without the UN approval’

The US can't lead a coalition against ISIS in Syria as attacking a sovereign state without the cooperation of its government and UN approval is a violation of international law, Professor Daoud Khairallah from Georgetown University told RT.

RT:The US State Department claims that the US President as the Commander-in-Chief is the guardian of the US constitution, and therefore, has the right to protect the American people, even if it involves directly striking on Syria without permission. What do you think about that?

Daoud Khairallah: What he tells the American people and what the American people and the Congress agree or not agree to is one thing, and what he can do internationally, according to international law is something else. According to international law, the US cannot intervene in another country militarily or otherwise without the approval, without the cooperation and coordination of that country. The UN Security Council has issued a resolution calling on all nations to cooperate in dealing with ISIS, Al-Nusra and all the derivatives of Al-Qaeda, whether individually or with other states. No country can invade another country without approval and Security Council calls for this coordination.

RT:Can Obama go ahead without permission, without any legal backing?

DK: The US has done it before; it has done it in Iraq in 2003. It has done it without the approval of the Security Council and in clear violation of the charter of the UN. And the Secretary-General at that time of the UN had declared this. So if the US does it conveniently, that is a different matter, but whether it is legal or not – the legal lines are very clear.

RT:Legality aside, what do you think it’s going to do on the ground for the regional stability?

DK: What I find very strange is that this alliance between the US and the countries that have helped arming, funding, training and facilitating the work of ISIS and the other derivatives of Al-Qaeda are now the allies that would deal with this problem called ISIS, and without the approval of the government and the forces who have been fighting for 3 years these same groups and telling the whole world “I'm fighting terrorism.” That is something very odd, and where will they get the forces on the ground if they are not going to deal with the Syrian government? That is something that is a huge question mark.

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