A triple murder in Syria

The front pages of the national press today are dominated by the murder of three Muslim men in Syria.  They were killed by a missile fired from a drone which was remotely guided by RAF personnel in England.

I have no problem in saying that these killings were an act of murder.  David Cameron has described the killings as an act of self-defence, but this does not make sense. These men were in Syria, and were not in a position to attack the United Kingdom - or are we to believe that they too had access to missile-laden drones?

While the Prime Minister maintains that the killings were lawful, he currently refuses to publish the exact legal advice which he received, and it is reported that the relatives of the murdered men - two of whom were British nationals - can now be expected to seek legal remedies against the British government.

It is true that Article 51 of the United Nations Charter permits acts of self defence, but that I hope I am correct in assuming that this refers to situations where one country is clearly attacked by another.  I find it curious however that no one ever uses Article 51 to argue for the British government sinking any Spanish military vessel which dares to enter British waters off Gibraltar.

It is however fair to point out that the United Nations is an unelected body, which is not the same as saying that its dictates should be ignored.

I have previously written extensively about the murder of Lee Rigby.  Two Muslim men killed a British soldier on the streets of London, and were then shot - although not fatally - by police marksmen.  They were then arrested and put on trial, were conviced of murder, and were sent to prison.

By contrast, the Muslim men who were killed by the RAF drone had not been convicted of any crime.  They were sentenced to death without any trial.

I have yet to hear anyone explain the difference between Muslim men killing a British soldier in London and British soldiers killing Muslims in far-off countries.

If the killing of these three men was legal, then logically it must also be legal for the British government to kill anyone anywhere at any time - including you right now.

Related previous posts include:
Hear the words of a killer - and learn
Woolwich: more bad press coverage