People's Daily

The worst outcome of the Iraq war is its negative impact on the principle of sovereignty - the solid cornerstone of international order and one of the main props of the current international law. The principle has worked as the foundation of stable international relations, and the international security system.

The war is the first test of the US pre-emptive military strategy. The only excuse for the United States to launch a war in Iraq was that the Arab country posed a serious threat to US security by its alleged possession of weapons of mass destruction. But none of these weapons have been found in Iraq yet.

The application of the pre-emptive strategy explicitly demonstrates the attempt by the United States - based on its subjective judgment about threats to its national security - to change a sovereign country's political systems by military means. The war has set a dangerous precedent for the international community, and, if followed by other countries, will unavoidably exacerbate turbulence and instability in the world.

The war without United Nations backing has seriously undermined the authority of the world's largest multilateral body, whose main aim is to maintain world peace and settle international disputes through an effective multilateral mechanism.