DronesBritish public divided on merits of drone strikes
Fifty-five percent of the British public would support the U.K. government assisting in a drone missile strike to kill a known terrorist overseas, but support drops substantially if innocent casualties are likely, according to a new study.
Majority of Britons support UK support of drone strikes // Source: news.go.vn
Fifty-five percent of the British public would support the U.K. government assisting in a drone missile strike to kill a known terrorist overseas, but support drops substantially if innocent casualties are likely, according to a new study.
The findings come from a joint study from University of Surrey’s Center for International Intervention (cii) and the Royal United Services Institute (RUSI), in collaboration with YouGov.
A University of Surrey release reports that polling data also established British public support for drone missile strikes rose significantly if an imminent terrorist attack against the United Kingdom could be stopped, with many agreeing that drones can help to reduce casualties compared to other weapons, but feared that drones could make military intervention too easy.
Britons were divided, however, on whether drones strikes are ultimately leaving the West more safe by making it easier to target known terrorists, or less safe by turning public opinion against us in other countries.
The new findings feature in a joint cii/RUSI Whitehall report Hitting the Target? How New Capabilities are Shaping International Intervention, which addresses the debate surrounding drones; how much is known or understood by the public about this new technology and the capability it provides.
The YouGov poll examines to what extent the British public support or oppose the U.K. government assisting in a drone strike and whether this is affected by several independent variables, including the hypothetical context of imminent threat, the targeting of U.K. citizens, and the likelihood of varying civilian casualties.
In each case respondents were first shown the following explanatory text: “It was recently reported that the U.K. government might be passing information to U.S. authorities to help them carry out missile strikes from unmanned aircraft called ‘drones’ to kill known terrorists overseas in countries like Pakistan, Yemen, and Somalia”.
Overall support for the U.K. government assisting in a drone strike against a known terrorist increased slightly to 60 percent if the person being targeted was a U.K. citizen. Moreover, if it was guaranteed that no innocent civilians would be killed by a drone strike, support increased again to 67 percent.
Support for a drone strike dropped substantially to 43 percent, however, with 41 percent opposed, when it was suggested that 2-3 innocent civilians might be killed. Support for a drone strike dropped further still to 32 percent if it was “likely that 10-15 innocent civilians might be killed,” conversely opposition rose to 46 percent.
When presented with
