Britain rarely drops a bomb on Syria unless Michael Fallon approves it first.
British forces began bombing ISIS targets in Syria this month. And Fallon, a civilian who serves as secretary of state for defense, tells NPR that he insists on personally signing off before Royal Air Force Tornado warplanes strike a target.
Fallon's remarks on Morning Edition underscore how Western powers are struggling to damage ISIS without causing the kind of civilian deaths that would undermine the legitimacy of the campaign. One sign of the tension is that Fallon himself is so involved.