I'm going to say right up front that the assassination of American citizens (or British citizens for that matter) without due process of law is still troubling to me. I know the drone program in general gives us advantages in the hunt for terrorists. But I also know that granting these extrajudicial powers to our government in order to prosecute this protracted "Global War on Terror" is tantamount to viewing the POTUS as judge, jury and executioner.
That said...
Gotta admit it's a novel approach to the same controversy facing our own government. Should an elected leader of a constitutional republic have the power to assassinate fellow citizens without due process of law? There's no doubt that the behind the scenes U.S. involvement in crossing this new Rubicon threshold by Britain just seems to add more questions as to the constitutionality (not to mention the morality) of the way the drone program is conducted on this side of the pond as well.
Is simply stripping citizenship of terror suspects before the government assassinates them the next step here too?
The Independent has the disturbing story. Apparently, they still do investigative journalism over there. (and they're quite good at it too)
The Government has secretly ramped up a controversial programme that strips people of their British citizenship on national security grounds – with two of the men subsequently killed by American drone attacks.
An investigation by the Bureau of Investigative Journalism for The Independent has established that since 2010, the Home Secretary, Theresa May, has revoked the passports of 16 individuals, many of whom are alleged to have had links to militant or terrorist groups.
Critics in Britain of the way the program is being conducted accuse ministers of simply dismissing the dilemma of dealing with British nationalists suspected of terrorist ties. Thus, it allows the [former] citizens to be subjected to torture and illegal detention abroad without government redress or intervention. (which, would be the least of the problems of those facing suspicion of being a terrorism suspect)
So far, at least five British citizens who were actually born in Britain have been stripped of their nationality and one man had lived there for nearly fifty years. Passport cancellation and denial of entrance into the country makes it virtually impossible to appeal the Home Secretary's decision.
Leading the cries for accountability are the Liberal Democrats.
Last night the Liberal Democrats’ deputy leader Simon Hughes said he was writing to Ms May to call for an urgent review into how the law was being implemented.
And...
The leading human rights lawyer Gareth Peirce said the present situation “smacked of mediaeval exile, just as cruel and just as arbitrary”.
Ian Macdonald QC, the president of the Immigration Law Practitioners’ Association, described the citizenship orders as “sinister”.
It sure would be nice to have one of those
liberal Democratic parties over here too. (not to mention
actual investigative journalists)