荷兰调查团称伊拉克战争未经授权

An inquiry¹ into the Netherlands' support for the invasion of Iraq says it was not justified² by UN resolutions.

一个调查荷兰对入侵伊拉克支持情况的调查团称，根据联合国决议，这是不公平的。

Jan-Peter Balkenende lent political support to the Iraq war

The Dutch Committee of Inquiry on Iraq said UN Security Council resolutions did not "constitute组成，构成 a mandate命令，授权 for... intervention⁴ in 2003".

The inquiry was launched after foreign ministry⁵ memos⁷ were leaked that cast doubt on the legal basis for the war.

The Netherlands gave political support to the 2003 invasion of Iraq, but had no military role.

The report demolishes推翻，破坏 the Dutch case for supporting the invasion, says the BBC's Europe correspondent Jonny Dymond.

It could also be taken to reinforce the international case against the Iraq war, he says.

The report accuses ministers of a selective use of intelligence reports, and says Prime Minister Jan-Peter Balkenende "gave little or no leadership to debates over the Iraq question", which was steered绕过，躲过 by the foreign minister at the time, Jaap de Hoop¹⁰ Scheffer.

Mr Balkenende formally thanked the committee for its report, but said he needed time to study it before responding.

Political loyalty¹¹

Mr Balkenende decided¹² to join the "coalition¹³ of the willing" assembled by US President George W Bush because, he said, Saddam Hussein had consistently坚实地，一致地 flouted¹⁴嘲笑，蔑视 UN resolutions and possessed¹⁵ weapons of mass destruction大规模杀伤性武器.

The Dutch parliament opposed the decision to back the invasion.

Committee chairman, Willibrord Davids, said the Netherlands' loyalty to its alliance with the US and UK had taken precedence over优先于，地位高于 the need to ensure the legality of the invasion.

The committee said there had been no UN mandate³ for the attack, putting the decision to join at odds¹⁶ with争执，不和 international law.

It said "the wording of [UN Security Council] Resolution 1441 cannot reasonably be interpreted as authorising individual member states to use military force".

Iraq's alleged¹⁷ breach¹⁸ of Resolution 1441, which gave Iraq "a final opportunity to comply with its disarmament裁军 obligations", was used by the coalition, and the Netherlands, to justify¹⁹ its invasion.

However, a memo⁶ from the time by Dutch foreign ministry lawyers, subsequently leaked, suggested the war was in fact illegal under international law.

The inquiry said there was no evidence to support rumours²⁰ that the Dutch military took part in the invasion.

While the government has always said its military was not involved, questions had been raised because Dutch troops were taking part in exercises nearby at the time.

Dutch forces became part of the stabilisation稳定 force that was deployed²¹ to Iraq in the years after the war.

The Dutch parliament is likely now to consider whether the prime minister misled误导 parliament, and whether to launch a formal parliamentary inquiry.