“So do we. We cant go around killing UK citizens willy-nilly. But when it happened/happens, there was/is less wailing and gnashing of teeth.”
On the contrary there was rather more “wailing and gnashing” in the UK over the shooting of Irish terrorists than has been evinced in the US over this Yemen incident.
You might not recall the brouhaha surrounding the killing of three IRA activists in Gibraltar in 1988 but it was pretty huge with Maggie’s Attorney General having to make statements in the House of Commons and major TV and press investigations.
Equally there were decades-long police investigations into the shootings of many IRA and INLA terrorists in the “shoot to kill” inquiries (does John Stalker’s name ring a bell?).
The controversy surrounded precisely the same legal issues that arise here, ie whether armed agents of the state can simply shoot suspected terrorists on sight.
True, but that was the usual leftist suspects. Political and esp media. There was far more support in the general public for that operation and others like Loughhall.
I am 42. I remember all the mentioned controversies well. And I didnt forget them when I answered.
I think my point is valid. Bar a few incidents over the years like 1988, there has been little public disquiet about Britain killing its own citizens. Maybe because unlike America, we have had decades of murderous terrorism in our own backyard that killed thousands.