The mere fact that the UN does not authorize an activity does not mean that it is illegal.
The UN charter states that any use of force between member states not authorized by a UNSC resolution is illegal. I should also point out that congress ratified the UN charter and is obligated to honour its international agreements as per the constitution. Basically, the US took the UN charter into US law (under the constitution) when became a UN member state. Not all nations have explicit legislation that does so, but the US is one of the ones that does.
This is where the argument of international law comes from. I am not advocating that we obey the UN Charter to the letter and all the time for a variety of reasons, but from an academic point of view it does exist (for the signatory nations) and technically the no-fly zones were illegal. Then again, so was intervention in Kosovo.
In any case, the real question is whether or not Saddam's internal war against the rebels justified outside intervention. If such humanitarian concerns do justify outside intervention, then we can justify the no-fly zones. If such humanitarian concerns do not justify outside intervention, then we can not justify the no-fly zones. Since about every nation in the world has been on both sides of that issue in recent history, I'm not even going to dwell any further into it.
France, for example, sees fit to tromp all around its African colonies doing whatever it pleases.
If you are referring to the Ivory Coast, I believe France intervened at the invitation of both the government and the rebels. That neither side was happy after the fact is not relevent. I am going by memory here though, so I might be wrong.
Well, yeah.... It's kinda hard to stand idly by and watch 5,000 people being slaughtered by mustard-gas.
He didn't gas them after the Gulf War. When he gassed civilians the US was giving him political protection (because the US hated Iran more) and resisting tabled UNSC resolutions to condemn Iraq for the use of gas.
The US protected Saddam for a while, then the international pressure and the evidence of the act became so strong that the US caved in and Iraq was reprimanded.
Back to the Gulf War - he brutally crushed the rebellion, but it was a rebellion after all. I'm not saying we should or shouldn't have done anything for the reasons I mentioned earlier.
Home
login 
NEWS FLESH 
If you are between the ages of 18 and 34 and you live through your future visit to the Middle East in the company of The United States Armed Forces,then you too will become a vet,and you too will have the pleasure of fending for your self,because according to bushco your Vetrans Administration ain't going to pay for a friggin thing...(-;
So if your 29 sport'n Long Hair and you sound like a commie pinko,I hope you love olive drab,because your going to be wearing it very soon...
Enjoy