U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan told the BBC World Service on Wednesday that the invasion of Iraq was illegal.

Annan’s credibility is seriously strained on matters of intervention. While we have serious reservations about the war in Iraq, President Bush’s ever-changing rationale and the way the invasion and occupation have been handled, Annan has been at helm of the United Nations and watched as 800,000 people were slaughtered in Rwanda. He sat on the sidelines as the United States and NATO battled ethnic cleansing in the Balkans. And he has watched as the genocide in Sudan has claimed 50,000 lives and created 1.5 million refugees, unable to move the U.N. to action.

Until now, Annan has remained quiet on the legality of the invasion. It appears that his remark is timed to influence the domestic elections scheduled here and in Great Britain.

Each day, the war in Iraq seems more misguided. But the United Nations’ impotence to act in the face of slaughter causes even internationalists to question Annan’s leadership.