Gorbachev Says Iraq War ''Undermined'' Law

Former Soviet leader Mikhail Gorbachev on Thursday condemned the U.S.-led campaign toward war in Iraq as an affront to democracy, saying it undermined international law.
"I regard the invasion of Iraq as undermining international law and undermining democracy because millions of people spoke out against it," said the Nobel Peace Prize laureate during a visit to London. He added the war "was done without the mandate of the U.N. Security Council."

Gorbachev said in the age of international terrorism it was necessary to destroy nuclear weapons, not just control them.

He acknowledged that military intervention, with U.N. approval, was necessary where terrorist infrastructures exist, but argued terrorism should be fought by stopping its financial backers and alleviating world poverty.

Gorbachev visited Britain in support of the WMD Awareness Program a network of non-governmental organizations which aims to fight against the proliferation of weapons of mass destruction.

Gorbachev was awarded the Nobel Peace Prize in 1990 for helping bring an end to the Cold War.