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Britain could take lawful military action against Iraq (news - web sites) without a second U.N. resolution, Foreign Secretary Jack Straw said Saturday as other British officials warned a military strike could be just days away. On the eve of a summit between the leaders of Britain, the United States and Spain, Straw said resolution 1441, passed unanimously by the U.N. Security Council in November, provided the legal authority for war. Asked on British Broadcasting Corp. radio if there would be a second resolution before war, Straw said: "I cannot say that for certain." "Plainly, if military action has to...

Secretary general warns against disregarding Security Council United Nations chief Kofi Annan warned yesterday that the U.S. would be flouting international law if it engaged in military action against Iraq without a Security Council mandate. "If the U.S. goes outside the Security Council, it will not be in conformity with the U.N. charter," he said, according to the Australian Associated Press. Annan said that if the U.S. acts without U.N. sanction, "the legitimacy of such military action will be seriously impaired." "War must always be the last resort," he said. "The United Nations has a duty to search to the...