In early 2003, the threat of Saddam Hussein and the possibility of weapons of mass destruction in Iraq captured the world's attention and concern . A nation decided to act illegally based on these unfounded claims, invading the country, violating the United Nations Charter and breaking several international laws in the process. The penalties foreseen against the invading country, the United States, were never carried out. The United States' role and influence on the United Nations and the Security Council, along with the unenforceable nature of international laws based on politics and power, allowed it to escape sanctions after the invasion of Iraq. The United States had no legitimate reason to invade, and its ability to repudiate international law would be unacceptable to any other country. Their decision to invade Iraq was based on money and politics, and the United States should have been subject to sanctions just as any other nation would have faced after needlessly declaring war on a nation. March 19, 2003 marked the official start of the US invasion. of Iraq. Before this, many tensions and conflicts had built up in the Middle East. Only a few months earlier, President George W. Bush, in his State of the Union address, had coined a term for three countries considered potentially dangerous and threatening world peace. He called them the Axis of Evil, and they consisted of Iraq, Iran, and North Korea, with Iraq as the main topic of discussion. He said Saddam Hussein carried weapons of mass destruction and further developed chemical and nuclear weapons. He claimed they had already used it on civilians, "leaving the bodies of mothers huddled over their dead children." He painted a grues......in the center of the card......ed-interational-law-dutch-inquiry-finds>."Invasion of Iraq." Global Politics Forum. Np, nd Web. October 15, 2013.."Iraq war illegal, says Annan." BBC News. British Broadcasting Corporation, 16 September 2004. Web. 15Oct. 2013. .Scherrer, Christian P. Invasion of Iraq, UN, US Unilateralism, and Crimes Against Humanity.Hamburg: np, 2003. World Conf. on Uranium Weapons. Network. October 15, 2013. Wingfield, David R. “Why International Law Supports the Invasion of Iraq: A Brief History of United Nations Declarations of War.” Policy Options May 2003: 37-40. Institute for Public Policy Research.Web. October 15th. 2013. .