In the case of the present War in Iraq and Afghanistan, the provocation came on 9/11/2001, a clear provocation to war: attack by an undisclosed power on another power's sovereign territory is provocation under the Geneva Accords (The Hague 2000). It then falls the victim's responsibility to discover the identity of the attacking power and prosecute war under existing international law and accords.

United Nations determined that Iraq and Afghanistan acted jointly in allowing the stateless terrorist organization, Al Qaeda, to conduct training on their territory, thereby involving them as belligerent powers under the Accords of War, signed jointly by the United States, Iraq, and Afghanistan -- among 103 other sovereign powers.

A state of war does not need to exist for us to prosecute this sort of police action, as a pacification of hostilities. However, should Congress declare war, which is very likely, then it will cease to be a limited police action and will be another Desert Storm, prosecuted to the limit of International Law.

The United Nations has, under treaty with all signatory powers, the sovereign right to direct signatories to mobilize troops and deploy without notice. Article 23 of the UN Accord contemplates the use of force and from which nations these forces may be called.