THE HAGUE, Netherlands - An independent commission reported Tuesday the Dutch government let politics override law when it supported the 2003 U.S. invasion of Iraq and ignored intelligence that downplayed the threat of Saddam Hussein's weapons program.
The 551-page report said UN resolutions in the 1990s prior to the outbreak of war gave no authority to the United States and Britain to invade Iraq.
"The military action had no sound mandate under international law," the report said.
Prime Minister Jan Peter Balkenende said he disagreed with that assessment.
"The Cabinet's view has always been that a new Security Council resolution (authorizing the invasion) was desirable, but not necessary," he said.
He insisted his government acted "honourably" and its stance was supported by a majority in Parliament.
The commission found that when the government decided in August 2002 to support the attack it treated intelligence about weapons of mass destruction and the legality of an invasion as "subservient." The Cabinet's policy was laid out in a 45-minute meeting, and came at a time when the newly elected prime minister, Jan Peter Balkenende, was preoccupied with serious domestic concerns, it said.
The report's findings regarding the war's illegality could be damaging to Balkenende. But it said persistent rumours that the Dutch were militarily involvement in the operation were untrue.
The long-awaited report said Dutch intelligence agencies were "more reserved" in their assessments than the government when discussing the program in parliament.
Balkenende said he would further study the report's 49 conclusions before debating them with lawmakers in Parliament.
In 2003, in the buildup to the Iraq War, the United States dropped an attempt to get a Security Council resolution approving the invasion when it became apparent that it would not pass. Then-UN Secretary General Kofi Annan in 2004 called the invasion "illegal."
