Letter on drone attacks published in The Guardian

The Guardian has published my letter regarding the killing of British citizen in US drone strike:

There are a number of deeply disturbing issues about the reports that Abdul Jabbar, a British citizen killed in a US drone strike in north Waziristan, was to lead a British terrorist cell (Drone killed British Taliban plotter, reports say, 6 October). First, the suggestion that he was to lead a terrorist cell in the UK appears to come from one unnamed “senior Pakistani security source”. It is of great concern that a single unnamed source, who, it could be argued, has a vested interest in justifying the death of Mr Jabbar and raising fears about terrorism, has such an influence on the media. But perhaps even more disturbing is the fact that the execution of a British citizen accused of being involved in terrorist activity without any due legal process seems acceptable to many in the media and beyond.

Chris Cole
Oxford
 
A larger comment piece on the same subject is here:  Unnamed Sources and Drones: A Deadly Combination

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