US argues it has UN legal right to attack Iraq

In an interview with the Cairo Arabic Daily Al-Ahram, published on Friday, US Vice President Dick Cheney said he does not agree with UN Secretary General Kofi Annan's statement in which he said that a war without a UN Security Council resolution violates the UN Charter.

"We have a resolution that backs war. The use of force to dismantle weapons of mass destruction is authorized under UNSC resolutions 678 and 687 and the other resolutions issued in the post-Gulf war," argued Cheney.

"We don't think we need any authorization from the UN more than we have in hands," added the US vice-president.