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British security services - license to kill?

TroyTroy
in News Posts: 342
As the UK government admits it is assassinating UK citizens overseas, do we still believe MI6 when they claim British agents with a license to kill is fantasy?

http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-34181475

Comments

  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    I think it all depends if the UK citizens are planing terrorist attacks on
    Innocent British civilians. In my opinion a few less terrorists in the world
    is a good thing. =D>
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited September 2015 Posts: 18,280
    It wasn't British agents though was it, but don't let the facts get in the way of a good story. It was the Royal Air Force using a drone. And I am of the same opinion as @DrGorner. If ISIS want the fight, let us bring it to them!
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    It's nice to send a message to ISIS, that they can't hide. =D>
  • DragonpolDragonpol https://thebondologistblog.blogspot.com
    edited September 2015 Posts: 18,280
    I think that anyone who joins ISIS/ISIL/IS/the Islamic State/Caliphate/Whatever ceases at that moment to be a British national and becomes instead an Islamic State national. There are responsibilities as well as rights with citizenship - let's not forget that. Ian Fleming wrote in 'For Your Eyes Only' that the state must “Never send a man where you can send a bullet” and I think that definitely still holds true, most especially in the age of the drone attack.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Agreed, if you join ISIS you have renounced being British
    ( or even civilised, in my opinion) if everyone is a legitimate
    target ( like off duty bandsmen) then surley all members of
    ISIS are also legitimate targets ?
  • CraterGunsCraterGuns
    Posts: 618
    Didn't MI6 help an SAS unit rub out some IRA terrorists on Gibraltar back in the '80s?
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Who knows how many innocent lives that saved.
  • suavejmfsuavejmf Harrogate, North Yorkshire, England
    Posts: 5,131
    Dragonpol wrote: »
    I think that anyone who joins ISIS/ISIL/IS/the Islamic State/Caliphate/Whatever ceases at that moment to be a British national and becomes instead an Islamic State national. There are responsibilities as well as rights with citizenship - let's not forget that. Ian Fleming wrote in 'For Your Eyes Only' that the state must “Never send a man where you can send a bullet” and I think that definitely still holds true, most especially in the age of the drone attack.

    Very well said and seconded. A very M comment too.
  • TroyTroy
    Posts: 342
    Apologies, but the point of my post was to highlight that the security services are involved in killing people (who else told the RAF where to fire their drone), which we can extrapolate towards real life James Bonds - which of course SIS have always vehemently denied.

    PS on a more controversial point, I find it interesting that the UK govt seemed to support ISIS (or whatever they were called then) when they were fighting Assad and Hague wanted to send in troops to support them, but when they took over the oilfields and threatened Saudi Arabia they became the worst thing since the Nazis - worse than Al Queda who is so last season. Almost as confusing as U.S. Policy which, according to Jon Stewart is "fighting with Iraqis along with Iran to defeat ISIS. But in Yemen we're fighting Iran with Iraqis and Saudis."
  • RogueAgentRogueAgent
    Posts: 12,526
    I find it amazing that certain politicians are trying to point score over legality with regards this drone strike against known terrorists!
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    Watching an old QI episode on Netflix. They were talking about the killing
    of Rasputin and claimed the " Death bullet" to finish him off came from a
    Gun issued to MI6 ?
  • SarkSark Guangdong, PRC
    Posts: 1,138
    Nothing about this implies that anyone at SIS/MI6 has a James Bond style "License to Kill". Some people kill when that's their mission, this is known (although it's usually SAS or something, not SIS). A license to kill seems superfluous when you're ordered to kill.
  • ThunderpussyThunderpussy My Secret Lair
    Posts: 13,384
    As pointed out, any agent can kill if they have to, the " Licence to kill"
    Was simply a great bit of advertising on Fleming's part. In the real
    World the security services are answerable to the politicians and as
    History has shown, the truth always comes out.
  • ThunderfingerThunderfinger Das Boot Hill
    Posts: 45,489
    DrGorner wrote: »
    As pointed out, any agent can kill if they have to, the " Licence to kill"
    Was simply a great bit of advertising on Fleming's part. In the real
    World the security services are answerable to the politicians and as
    History has shown, the truth always comes out.

    The 00 prefix did not imply a licence to kill in the books. It meant that the agent had to kill on one of his missions. So no licence, just a matter of status.

    Until LALD, Bond had only ever killed two people( during the war), despite him being an agent since before the war.
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