US strike against Syria war crime under UN Charter Legal expert

Any US strike against Syria is considered a war crime under the UN Charter against aggressive war, an international lawyer tells Press TV. "Any attack by the United States upon Syria would be a violation of the UN Charter prohibition against aggressive war, which is the more serious [form] of war crimes," said Alfred Lambremont Webre in a Tuesday interview. He argued that according to the Nuremberg principles, which set the guideline for the definition of war crimes, the US "is starting an aggressive war against another nation." Webre described US President Barack Obama's decision to seek a congressional authorization for an attack against Syria as an attempt to "get some political cover and some legal cover behind him." "Under international law, the US Congress cannot sanction or provide legal cover to any attack by the US," the legal expert noted. The call for military action against Syria intensified after foreign-backed opposition forces accused the government of President Bashar al-Assad of launching a chemical attack on militant strongholds in the suburbs of Damascus on August 21. On Saturday, Obama said he would seek a congressional authorization for an attack against Syria as Washington "cannot and will not turn a blind eye" to an alleged chemical attack in the Arab state. The Obama administration has, however, said it "has the right" to attack Syria even if the Congress does not approve the measure. Syria has been gripped by deadly unrest since 2011. According to reports, the Western powers and their regional allies -- especially Qatar, Saudi Arabia, and Turkey -- are supporting the militants operating inside Syria.