That an action was taken by "the duly-elected administration and the duly-elected legislature" doesn't necessarily make it legal, however, in domestic or foreign policy. If it did, we wouldn't need any independent judiciary that reviews actions taken by either.
The UN charter was ratified by the duly elected government of the United States in 1945. So, the United States is a signatory to it. The duly elected George W. Bush administration and Congress violated the UN charter.
<blockquote>Iraq war was illegal and breached UN charter, says Annan
Ewen MacAskill and Julian Borger in Washington Thursday September 16, 2004 The Guardian
The United Nations secretary general, Kofi Annan, declared explicitly for the first time last night that the US-led war on Iraq was illegal.
Mr Annan said that the invasion was not sanctioned by the UN security council or in accordance with the UN's founding charter. In an interview with the BBC World Service broadcast last night, he was asked outright if the war was illegal. He replied: "Yes, if you wish."
He then added unequivocally: "I have indicated it was not in conformity with the UN charter. From our point of view and from the charter point of view it was illegal."
<http://www.guardian.co.uk/Iraq/Story/0,2763,1305709,00.html></ blockquote>
Lawrence Mosqueda, "A Duty to Disobey All Unlawful Orders," <http:// electroniciraq.net/cgi-bin/artman/exec/view.cgi/6/265>.
Yoshie Furuhashi <http://montages.blogspot.com> <http://monthlyreview.org> <http://mrzine.org>