Exactly twenty years ago the European Court of Human Rights found that the British Government had acted illegally in shooting dead three IRA members in Gibraltar, even though the court accepted that the government had a genuine belief that they were planning a bombing attack. Indeed the court accepted the victims were terrorists, and refused compensation to their families on those grounds. But the court refused to accept there was no possibility of foiling the plot through methods other than summary execution.
In the light of the decision that Operation Flavius contravened Article 2 of the European Convention on Human Rights, it is difficult to understand how the government can claim its killing of British men in Syria, with no trial, is anything other than murder. I personally find it difficult to imagine technically how men journeying in a car in Syria were imminently able to instantly wreak havoc in the UK so that it was impossible to prevent by any method other than their execution without trial. The level of certainty required for that decision would involve sufficient knowledge of what was to happen in the UK to stop it here. If there was vagueness about what was actually to happen in the UK, there cannot have been the certainty about the threat claimed. It is a logical impasse.
Frankly in twenty years of experience working with British security services their level of accuracy (remember Iraqi WMD) was never that good. And everybody is fortunately now deeply sceptical about the continual claims by the security services that there are thousands of dedicated Islamic terrorists in the UK conducting hundreds of plots every year, and yet miraculously never actually managing to kill anybody.
Just in case anybody had not worked out yet that the Guardian is a disgraceful neo-con rag, it has an article by its “legal correspondent” Joshua Rozenberg, married to the even more rabid Zionist militarist Melanie Phillips (who still believes the Iraqi WMD exist, hidden in the bed of the Euphrates). Rozenberg assures us it is absolutely legal for the British government to kill us without trial if it wants. He even suggests the murdered Mr Khan would not object:
“If he was waging war on British troops and civilians, he can hardly complain the UK’s armed forces were one step ahead of him.”
Astonishingly for a lawyer, the disgraceful Rozenberg does not seem to notice that the opening “if” is rather important. “If Mr Jones was engaged in insurance fraud, he can hardly complain at being banged up for twenty years”, so according to Mr Rozenberg we can dispense with all that nonsense about trials and evidence and just take the government’s word for it. Not to mention that the government has now instituted summary execution without trial in a country that does not even have the death penalty.
As I have argued, it is not unusual for British people to go to fight abroad. There were British citizens in the Israeli Defence Forces participating in the massacre of Palestinian civilians in Gaza last year. Our neo-con governments of both blue and red Tories have positively encouraged the mercenary companies Executive Outcomes/Sandline/Aegis of Tony Buckingham and Tim Spicer. There are Britons fighting now in the Ukraine. We started by positively encouraging factions in the Syrian civil war, with the Saudis and CIA arming and training them and some of those factions helped constitute ISIL. There is no evidence at all that Islamic State had any interest in attacks in the UK until we started to attack it. (That is not to say it is not a very bad organisation and did not commit actions against UK citizens in its “Caliphate area”. But it did not threaten the UK).
For the government to claim the right to kill British people through sci-fi execution, based on highly unreliable secret intelligence and a secret declaration of legality, is so shocking I find it difficult to believe it is happening even as I type the words. Are we so cowed as to accept this?
It’s quite disgusting that Cameron feels he can get away with this but even more disgusting that the MSM just lets him glibly justify himself without seriously questioning his actions.
The point about how vague a threat these men posed to the UK is well made and vital.
Parliament voted against military action in Syria. Its votes are clearly irrelevant and the law is whatever the serving prime minister says it is.
Re-posted
Reyaad Khan, from Cardiff, and Ruhul Amin, from Aberdeen, were killed in the aerial raid which was ordered without Commons approval.
David Cameron said the attack was carried out with the approval of the Attorney General [Jeremy Wright, appointed by Cameron in 2014] but without parliamentary backing.
Mr Cameron defended the RAF raid, telling the Commons it was “necessary and proportionate”, adding it was “entirely lawful”.
“We were exercising the UK’s inherent right to self-defence,”
If the above is based on the advice of the Attorney General then the Attorney General is an arse and in the wrong job.
A question for Jeremy (Wrong) Wright:
Two Real IRA men, who were suspected of plotting to bomb the UK, are targeted and killed by a missile fired from an RAF drone flying in the Republic of Ireland’s airspace.
Would that be lawful?
My guess is that the strike was intended much more as a deterrent to wannabe jihadis heading to Syria from Britain than anything else. If so it misunderstands the ISIS mindset and will be counterproductive in the long run, but there will be more extrajudicial assassinations of Brits unwise enough to star in ISIS videos.
Once again we are presented with a weak PM trying to grab some war-cred and restore his appeal to his core vote, absent any consistent policies, and present a dangerous capacity for vacillation. This is a man who on the one hand – the one with the press release – slavers about “Britain’s extraordinary compassion” and on the other hand intentionally cuts funding for the most disadvantaged in his own country. A privileged bully, openly contemptuous of the unprivileged, whose only recorded skills are those of a PR wank. It’s time the Tories slapped him down hard, if only for their own sake.
That should have been ‘wonk’….but let it stand…
The output on this morning breakfast programme on Sky News from presenters, reporters and two individuals who they had in to review the papers, was appalling. There was endless agreement with the action taken, many references to the so called ‘plots’ and then a long winded defence from the glib Fallon who has been despatched by Cameron for support. Generally the message is that to keep Britain ‘safe’ the government can do what it likes.
Great reliance is being placed on the opinion of Jeremy Wright, MP, QC, CFoI, the newish Attorney General. So like the reliance by Blair on what Goldsmith had to say in 2003.
Goldsmith now works for a US law firm as head of their EU legislation practice.
‘Some of Debevoise’s clients include: AIG, American Airlines, American Express, AXA, BNP Paribas, The Carlyle Group, Clayton, Dubilier & Rice, The Coca-Cola Company, CNN, Delta Air Lines, Deutsche Bank, Gap, Goldman Sachs, Hasbro, International Paper, JPMorgan Chase, Kelso & Company, MetLife, National Football League, National Hockey League, NBC, The New York Times Company, Providence Equity Partners, Prudential Financial, Polyus Gold, Siemens, Shell Oil Company, Sony Corp., Universal Music Group, Verizon, Yahoo!.’
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Debevoise_%26_Plimpton
Philippe Sands has been saying that Cameron cannot rely on Wright’s advice who should come to the House and provide an explanation. He described Wright as inexperienced and a bit of a yes man!
Why these men were targeted and killed can be open to speculation? Could the fact that they may have been turning be a possibility? This is based on recollection that “Jihadi John” was executed by Daesh, ie these “caliphate” is dispensing with these imported villains. Also due to the gains made by the Syrian Army there is a possibility these characters could have been picked up by them. Tying the loose ends and cleaning up has always been a messy business, and cannot be planned for even by these “masters of universe”!.
Reposting;
All the while the first Brit has been killed openly and unashamedly just cuz Cam said so! It was the murder of Jean Charles de Menezes whom was purportedly wearing a puffer jacket in the middle of the summer with “wires sticking out”. They are graduating closer to targeting anyone they like to kill openly and without any worries, because Cam says so or tonykins wishes so, etc
Interesting comparison. Those were the days when the media was not completely bought and paid for and where there was some measure of integrity within the political establishment.
Now we have an elite that is increasingly answerable to no one in this country. I have said before that I don’t think Cameron won the general election in any meaningful sense but was installed so that his work on behalf of powerful foreigners could continue; a few months later this has become more obvious. I wouldn’t in fact assume this story about the drone strike on the alleged jihadis is even true – it may be a warning to would-be jihadis as well as an attempt to confuse opponents of mass immigration from the Middle East.
But whether the story is true or not we clearly have a government that considers itself untouchable. I hope if Corbyn is elected as Labour leader he can ask some more searching questions. But I fear it will take more than our democratic process to change anything.
Yes. (In answer to your final question.)
What operation name do you think was given to these murders.
Someone has pointed out that one killing took place many days after the event that was supposed to be targeted by the individual killed.
Was Cameron going to keep it all under wraps but was told it would leak or was the announcement designed to take attention from the refugees?
Crikey, I didn’t know that. Another neo-con celebrity death tag-team are exposed.
Sadly, there seems to be a hundred knukledragging, extra-judicial killing approvers to every one who thinks this is at least questionable.
Britain is more of an ISIS-like death cult than most are comfortable to admit.
IIRC, Tony Blair’s take away from the Falklands War was that British military action was an extremely good way of boosting political popularity.
What operation name do you think was given to these murders.
Operation Fallon’s Woody?
It seems, like all good bogey-men these days, the killee lived at least twice.
These people were clearly incapable of carrying out an attack in the UK, given their location. The logic is they might have helped ‘plot’ an attack by others in the UK. They could only have done so by long range communication susceptible to interception.
If we accept this plotting claim, wouldn’t it make more sense, in terms of preventing such attacks, to have identified people alive as potential sources of information? Rather than some unknown replacement. A genuine question, as I wouldn’t know.
There hasn’t been an Islamic State attack in the UK to date. But if there’s one thing that makes people want to bomb you – its bombing them.
Yes but WHAT are the Brits going to do about it?
“Parliament voted against military action in Syria.”
No the didn’t, they voted against military action against Syria. The motion they voted against said:
So that is what was the only thing voted against.
http://www.publications.parliament.uk/pa/cm201314/cmagenda/ob130829.htm
Absolute truth confirmed by my father, a civil servant who worked as an explosives expert in Gibraltar for two years living in Gibraltar Heights . We were the very few who had access to Governer’s Beach and the ‘storage’ facilities inside the rock. Thank-you Dad.
Mary
8 Sep, 2015 – 9:57 am
“What operation name do you think was given to these murders.”
……………………………………………………….
Operation Jeremy Wright’s Peerage?
Hello Craig. Whilst I frequently disagree with your views on this matter I do agree. This seems to set a very dangerous precedent.
So Cameron uses the outrage over the photo of the drown Syrian boy, not only to bomb Syria, but also as opportunistic retro cover for revealing the extra-judicial murders of British citizens.
The mask further slips when the Rule of Law is becoming so openly flaunted by a State.
First off these tayyyrrrrrrrroooorrists have nine lives as cats do!
Secondly the chap in the mirros is the double for the said tayyyrrrrrrrroooorrists, as any sensible dictator would have!!! (Note Mr. Murdoch I can write a good copy, linking the whole lot together).
Seriously though you have reminded me of that headline and song and dance about the demise of this Welshman abroad. Seems all of those getting into the media have to be killed a few times before they are dead as in a door nail!
===
Mark Golding that is far too cryptic to be deciphered just after the morning tea break. Elaboration is called for please.
Is it now possible to have a non-judicial state assassination on British soil because of “security” issues, or only abroad?
Presumably it made more sense to have deniable “00” black ops. Telling the truth is it a good idea?
What sort of security state are drifting to? A UK security state or an EU security state?
I think a lot depends on whether the killing would be considered under battle field conditions or not.
Britain has been killing people with drones for years, in Afghanistan, in Iraq and the only thing I see different here is that by accident of birth those killed have the title “British”.
From the Daily Express:
“TERROR ALERT: UK faces a ‘series of ISIS attacks’ within weeks, defence secretary warns”
“BRITAIN should be braced for a “series of TERROR ATTACKS” within weeks, the Defence Secretary warned, as the Government said that it “would not hesitate” to order further drone strikes against British jihadis in Syria.”
Front Page of Daily Express:
“MI5 foil plot to kill Queen”
……………………………………………………………….
Watch out for a “false flag” incident?
The papers were well prepped with this story I just wonder why Cameron decided to break it now?
And what will be Camerons response if there is now an ISIS attack on Politicians or military personnel on British soil if ISIS then claim it to be “self defence”?
I have an uncomfortable feeling that the answers to these two questions may be connected.
Which I’d agree with, Fred, if the anti-Assad meme-for-the-proles had not been consistently “bombs his own people”. If Cameron’s really proud of “his” achievement here, no doubt the video footage from the drone will be released, and I’d guess the only person shooting at the time was Flt. Lt Scapegoat, in his bunker in the UK.
“a very dangerous precedent indeed agent Cameron. You were outed on WebCameron that is why the SS told you to close it down but not until you you sent your attack dog ‘theRealElvis’ after me.
What goes around comes around Mr Cameron and you will pay for your determination to snuff lives with grim reapers sneaking in from the heavens above!
Fred
8 Sep, 2015 – 10:42 am
“Parliament voted against military action in Syria.”
“No they didn’t, they voted against military action against Syria.”
……………………………………….
Ke?