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| Britain Won’t ‘Hesitate’ on Drone Strikes in Syria | |
| (about 5 hours later) | |
| LONDON — Brushing aside objections to its lethal drone strike last month in Syria, the British government said on Tuesday that it would not hesitate to carry out similar attacks against militants suspected of plotting assaults against Britain and its allies. | |
| The British military drone strike, which happened on Aug. 21 and which officials said killed three men suspected of being Islamic State jihadists — including two Britons, one of whom had been specifically targeted — has stirred debate both about the government’s embrace of extrajudicial killings and its stepped-up involvement in the Syrian conflict. | |
| In 2013, British lawmakers rejected a motion to allow air attacks against Syrian targets. Now, the drone strike has prompted criticism that the government disregarded the intent of that vote and that it is on shaky ground in approving the killing of Britons abroad without a full legal process. | In 2013, British lawmakers rejected a motion to allow air attacks against Syrian targets. Now, the drone strike has prompted criticism that the government disregarded the intent of that vote and that it is on shaky ground in approving the killing of Britons abroad without a full legal process. |
| The issue is particularly delicate because the government is expected to ask lawmakers soon to reconsider their vote on authorizing airstrikes in Syria, on the principle that the target would be the Islamic State rather than the Syrian government, and that it is illogical to keep attacking the group in Iraq but not in Syria. | The issue is particularly delicate because the government is expected to ask lawmakers soon to reconsider their vote on authorizing airstrikes in Syria, on the principle that the target would be the Islamic State rather than the Syrian government, and that it is illogical to keep attacking the group in Iraq but not in Syria. |
| On Tuesday, Michael Fallon, the British defense secretary, gave an unabashed defense of the drone killings, insisting they were legal and hinting that further such strikes could happen. | On Tuesday, Michael Fallon, the British defense secretary, gave an unabashed defense of the drone killings, insisting they were legal and hinting that further such strikes could happen. |
| “We wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if we know that there is an armed attack that is likely,” Mr. Fallon told the BBC. “If we know who is involved in it, then we have to do something about it.” | “We wouldn’t hesitate to do it again if we know that there is an armed attack that is likely,” Mr. Fallon told the BBC. “If we know who is involved in it, then we have to do something about it.” |
| He said there were a number of terrorists in Syria “who are actively involved in planning attacks on our streets, who have been planning attacks on the streets of Australia, and on the streets of the United States.” | He said there were a number of terrorists in Syria “who are actively involved in planning attacks on our streets, who have been planning attacks on the streets of Australia, and on the streets of the United States.” |
| This involved “more than just the individuals who have been the subject of this strike,” Mr. Fallon said. That comment prompted the British news media to speculate about a possible British “kill list” that might include Mohammed Emwazi, an Islamic State member often referred to as “Jihadi John” because of his role in the killings of Western hostages on video. British officials have not confirmed the existence of a list. | This involved “more than just the individuals who have been the subject of this strike,” Mr. Fallon said. That comment prompted the British news media to speculate about a possible British “kill list” that might include Mohammed Emwazi, an Islamic State member often referred to as “Jihadi John” because of his role in the killings of Western hostages on video. British officials have not confirmed the existence of a list. |
| The Briton specifically targeted in the drone strike was Reyaad Khan, whom officials described as a terrorist threat. One of the other two killed in the strike was also a Briton, whom officials identified as Ruhul Amin. | |
| On Monday, Prime Minister David Cameron justified the action on the grounds that Mr. Khan, 21, and another Briton, Junaid Hussain, had sought “to orchestrate specific and barbaric attacks,” including terrorism in Britain. Mr. Hussain was killed in an American drone strike on Aug. 24, according to United States officials. | On Monday, Prime Minister David Cameron justified the action on the grounds that Mr. Khan, 21, and another Briton, Junaid Hussain, had sought “to orchestrate specific and barbaric attacks,” including terrorism in Britain. Mr. Hussain was killed in an American drone strike on Aug. 24, according to United States officials. |
| Many see the British strike as a clear step toward bringing the country’s policy on such killings close to that of the United States, which targeted and killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a jihadist preacher and American citizen, in a 2011 drone strike. | Many see the British strike as a clear step toward bringing the country’s policy on such killings close to that of the United States, which targeted and killed Anwar al-Awlaki, a jihadist preacher and American citizen, in a 2011 drone strike. |
| “It’s extremely alarming that the U.K. has apparently been conducting summary executions from the air,” said Kate Allen of the human rights group Amnesty International, adding that this appeared to be “following the United States down a lawless road of remote-controlled summary killings from the sky.” | “It’s extremely alarming that the U.K. has apparently been conducting summary executions from the air,” said Kate Allen of the human rights group Amnesty International, adding that this appeared to be “following the United States down a lawless road of remote-controlled summary killings from the sky.” |
| On Monday, Mr. Cameron said that Jeremy Wright, the attorney general, had justified the action as self-defense. On Tuesday, Mr. Cameron’s office said that the advice had been given several months ago, but that it did not plan to publish it. | On Monday, Mr. Cameron said that Jeremy Wright, the attorney general, had justified the action as self-defense. On Tuesday, Mr. Cameron’s office said that the advice had been given several months ago, but that it did not plan to publish it. |
| Legal experts, including Dominic Grieve, a lawmaker from Mr. Cameron’s Conservative Party and a former attorney general, believe that the decision to kill Mr. Khan might be challenged in the courts on human rights grounds. | Legal experts, including Dominic Grieve, a lawmaker from Mr. Cameron’s Conservative Party and a former attorney general, believe that the decision to kill Mr. Khan might be challenged in the courts on human rights grounds. |
| Simon Behrman, law lecturer at the University of East Anglia, argued that, to justify killings as self-defense, a threat must be about to materialize with no other means of stopping it other than force. | Simon Behrman, law lecturer at the University of East Anglia, argued that, to justify killings as self-defense, a threat must be about to materialize with no other means of stopping it other than force. |
| “It seems the U.K. government was arguing this yesterday, although the questions of just how imminent the alleged attack was, and whether there were other means for stopping it, are very vague here,” he said. | “It seems the U.K. government was arguing this yesterday, although the questions of just how imminent the alleged attack was, and whether there were other means for stopping it, are very vague here,” he said. |
| Alternatively, the government might be trying to apply a pre-emptive self-defense doctrine, arguing that it is legitimate to strike first when you think that someone is planning an attack, even if it is not necessarily imminent. “The legal grounds for this are very weak,” Mr. Behrman added. | Alternatively, the government might be trying to apply a pre-emptive self-defense doctrine, arguing that it is legitimate to strike first when you think that someone is planning an attack, even if it is not necessarily imminent. “The legal grounds for this are very weak,” Mr. Behrman added. |
| Whether or not there is a legal case against the government, lawmakers want more scrutiny. “We need to understand whether the self-defense case stands up in this,” a Conservative lawmaker, Crispin Blunt, chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, told the BBC. | Whether or not there is a legal case against the government, lawmakers want more scrutiny. “We need to understand whether the self-defense case stands up in this,” a Conservative lawmaker, Crispin Blunt, chairman of the House of Commons Foreign Affairs Committee, told the BBC. |
| Angus Robertson, leader of the Scottish National Party in the British Parliament, called for assurances “that we are not seeing the beginnings of something the likes of which the United States is pursuing — which is a much more general use of drones, frankly, to take out in an extrajudicial manner opponents of all hues.” | Angus Robertson, leader of the Scottish National Party in the British Parliament, called for assurances “that we are not seeing the beginnings of something the likes of which the United States is pursuing — which is a much more general use of drones, frankly, to take out in an extrajudicial manner opponents of all hues.” |
| Such concerns have been heightened because only limited information was released about the threat posed by those who were killed. Mr. Cameron said that Mr. Khan was involved in directing “terrorist attacks right here in Britain, such as plots to attack high-profile public commemorations, including those taking place this summer.” But the biggest events to observe the anniversary of the end of World War II had taken place by the time Mr. Khan died. | Such concerns have been heightened because only limited information was released about the threat posed by those who were killed. Mr. Cameron said that Mr. Khan was involved in directing “terrorist attacks right here in Britain, such as plots to attack high-profile public commemorations, including those taking place this summer.” But the biggest events to observe the anniversary of the end of World War II had taken place by the time Mr. Khan died. |