Abstract
The paper states that the act of murder in any form is a tragic and often gruesome event. However, when it is a political leader whose life is taken, the incident acquires particular resonance. The paper explores some significant political assassinations which have occurred within the past 200 years. Specifically, time is devoted to a discussion of the assassinations of Abraham Lincoln, Austrian Archduke Franz Ferdinand and much more recently, the assassination of former Israeli leader Yitzhak Rabin in late 1995. In each instance, this paper examines why these killings took place, as well as the repercussions of these seemingly senseless murders.

Tags:political, assassination, outcomes

Abstract
This paper looks at the assassination of prominent American figures, as well as terrorist attacks of Middle Eastern origin, such as 9/11. This paper also takes a look at the word 'assassin', its origin and its meaning.

Contents:
Assassinations
A problem of Middle Eastern Origin
Could George Do What He Did?
Assassination Prior to 1975
Non-state Threats to National Security: Assassinating Thugs?
Assassination as "Alternative Justice
Conclusion

From the Paper
"That was almost a decade ago, and terror suicide bombing had not stopped or even slacked off until the recent accords. So it must be asked whether assassination is ever truly fruitful in terms of diminishing attacks and enhancing national security. Silverstein offers another more extensive 'assassination' scenario to attempt to prove that it is.
During the Vietnam era, the United States CIA and South Vietnamese agencies ran a program to uncover and neutralize members of the Viet Cong who were "secretly directing subversion and terror campaigns in South Vietnam--communists who aimed to undercut the stability of South Vietnam's evolving proto-democracy" (Silverstein, 2001, p. 36+). It was regarded as a success, with about 33,000 Viet Cong incarcerated, 22,000 'turned' to another way of thinking, and 26,000 killed. Despite the fact that it offered options other than assassination, the program "turned out to be highly effective in eliminating terror and subversion in South Vietnam...[and] "The ranks of Viet Cong terrorists were thinned so drastically that the war became less of a counter-guerilla battle and more a struggle against invading regular North Vietnamese troops" (Silverstein, 2001, p. 36+)."

Tags:murder, bomb, terror, victim, president

Abstract
This paper is an examination of the topic of terrorist assassinations and the advantages of assassinating terrorists rather than using military force to seek them out and bring them to justice. The writer presents the need to use assassinations as a measure for counter terrorism only and not as a preventative method. It gives a history of the use of terrorist assassinations, offering an exploration of state sanctioned assassinations. The paper analyzes support in the US for this policy and concludes that there is a place in US policy for counter terrorist assassinations in light of the new era of terrorism.

From the Paper
"The world watched in hopeless horror when the WTC came down on 9-11-2001. When it was over thousands of innocent civilians were dead, billions of dollars in property damage was done, the Pentagon had been hit, and the nation's confidence had been shaken to the core. The terrorist attack on America triggered a worldwide hunt for the perpetrators and other terrorists who may threaten the nation in the future."

Tags:counter, terrorism, US, preventative, history, state, sanctioned, era, method, policy

Abstract
This paper explains that, although the Warren Commission concluded that all shots were fired from the School Book Depository, the assassination of President Kennedy at Dealey Plaza on November 22, 1963, was more than likely the result of a triangulated gunfire. The author stresses that, today, the lone assassin theory has gone the way of "Alice in Wonderland" because polls have shown that a majority of Americans regard the theory as ludicrous; the House Assassinations Committee concluded that the assassination of President Kennedy was probably the result of a conspiracy. The paper reviews several possible assassins from such spheres as the CIA and FBI, the Mafia, the Ku Klux Klan, the military-industrial complex, the Cuban exiles, the corporate world and others.

Table of Contents
A Nightmare on Elm Street
Terminate With Extreme Prejudice: Lancer
The Lone Assassin Theory, Anyone?
Did the Murder of JFK Change the Course of History?
Motive, Means and Opportunity

From the Paper
"In 1963, there were several contracts on President Kennedy's head. And some of those contracts took the form of direct threats. One such threat was reported in a telex to the FBI days before the assassination, warning of an attempt on the president's life by a militant group "somewhere in the South." Unfortunately, for some inexplicable reason, that warning was ignored. Other warnings were ignored in the days leading up to the assassination. Secret Service agent Abraham Bolden warned that a militant group might be planning to assassinate President Kennedy. CIA agent Gary Underwood warned that a militant group in the Far East was planning to kill the president. Dallas nightclub dancer Rose Cheramie, beaten and left on the road days before the assassination, warned, "they're going to kill Kennedy." "

Tags:warren, triangulated, conspiracy, questions, witnesses

Abstract
The paper examines how Sarah Vowell in "Assassination Vacation" focuses on the way presidential assassinations are remembered in a physical and commemorative fashion through memorials. The paper explains Vowell's belief that the fascination we have with artifacts disconnects rather than connects us to the past and the issues of the present. The paper suggests, however, that Vowell uses her experiences at tourist attractions to reexamine her own problematic relationships with guns and her father, rather than objectively evaluating the meaning of these sites on their own merits. The paper further points out the irony that although she loves reconstructed history, she doubts its value and, it creates a bond between herself and her father and other Americans that can transcend politics, while it can also polarize individuals.

From the Paper
"In her book Assassination Vacation, Sarah Vowell views the tourist attractions featuring relics from presidential history with a wry eye, particularly those individuals obsessed with artifacts of the past. She is both alternately attracted and repelled by this aspect of American culture and America's way of remembering their recent and distant past. At times, her tone lapses into pure irony, but the historical figures themselves she views with respect, however kitsch and cliched the museums that commemorate great and mediocre presidents alike may seem at times. Even traveling through time as well as place the past can seem like a different country, a country that Vowell treats with a mix of humor and respect. Thus in her book, Vowell takes the literary vehicle of the travel genre, and uses it to travel through cultural time as well as space, examining the way that Americans have viewed presidential history over the years and musing the way we view the past reveals our nature as Americans."

Tags:memorials, museums, artifacts, relics, tourist, attractions, guns, father

Abstract
This paper explains that political assassination, which has caused innumberable victims throughout history, is very hard to define because there are many forms of political violence. The author points out that the present postmodernist era of civilization is socially characterized by anomie, which causes instability and lack of social order, which in turn result in dangerous acts of political violence. The paper concludes that political assassinations usually cease when two cultures or two different ideological groups find a way to tolerate each other and, instead of fighting, establish common external rules by which to play the game.

From the Paper
"The moral perspective on political murder is intrinsically related to its political dimension. As assassination contravenes to the moral principles and ideals as set by religion, it also contravenes to the principles of democracy, which, as form of government, seems the closest to the religious moral order. Democracy is at present the universally accepted type of rule, although it still has many variants according to the country or region where it develops. It can be said that the beginnings of American democracy were the first steps towards the establishment of the Western civilization."

Tags:lincoln, palestine, legitimacy, crime, prohibition

From the Paper
"The House Select Committee on Assassinations was created on February 2, 1977, with the mandate to conduct a "full and complete investigation and study of the circumstances surrounding the assassination and death of President John F. Kennedy and the assassination and death of Martin Luther King, Jr.. The House Resolution 1540, by the 94th Congress, second session, authorized the 12-member select committee..


Despite the passage of many years since final conclusions were reached regarding the death of John F. Kennedy and Martin Luther King, Jr., the American people did not believe that the truth concerning these assassinations had been disclosed, and they continued to question the adequacy and integrity of the original investigations. The Select Committee on Assassinations, in its report to the 94th Congress stated that the passage of..."

Abstract
This paper examines the John F. Kennedy assassination. The paper explains that the assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 has been shrouded in controversy for the past forty years. The paper discusses, however, that many researchers have concluded that the Central Intelligence Agency, or rogue elements within the CIA, were responsible for the murder of this popular American president. The paper explains that conspiracy theorists have been unable to provide conclusive proof of CIA responsibility, but they have been able to offer a significant amount of circumstantial evidence that seems to implicate the CIA.

From the Paper
"The assassination of President John F. Kennedy in Dallas, Texas on November 22, 1963 has been shrouded in controversy for the past forty years. But many researchers have concluded that the Central Intelligence Agency, or rogue elements within the CIA, was responsible for the murder of this popular American president. Conspiracy theorists have been unable to provide conclusive proof of CIA responsibility, but they have been able to offer a significant amount of circumstantial evidence that seems to implicate the CIA. In order to ascertain whether a CIA conspiracy to kill JFK is credible, it is necessary to examine a number of issues and to ask some pertinent questions. For example, did the CIA have a motive to assassinate President Kennedy?"

Tags:jfk, assassination, issues

Abstract
This paper describes how Lyndon B. Johnson, with the help of J. Edgar Hoover and mob boss Carlos Marcello, was the only person with the motive, means and opportunity to assassinate John F. Kennedy.

From the paper:

"Just as with any other murder investigation, to uncover President Kennedy's killer, one must find the person(s) with the motive, means, and opportunity to commit the crime. As presented in class, Lee Harvey Oswald had none of these. Oswald possessed no motive. Despite his "defection" to the Soviet Union in 1959, Oswald bore no malice toward Kennedy or his administration. Oswald did not have the means to commit the actual murder, especially on his own. The official records of the assassination state that three shots were fired in 5.6 seconds from 60-80 yards away."

Tags:assassination, jfk, marcello, kill, plan, conspiracy

Abstract
This paper discusses the assassination of Martin Luther King, Jr. and the prosecution of James Earl Ray The author includes recent evidence that sheds doubt on Ray's trial and conviction. The paper relates the impact of the assassination on the African-American community and American society.

From the Paper
"The full page banner headline in 'The New York Times' the day following the assassination of Civil Rights leader Martin Luther King Jr read as follows: "MARTIN LUTHER KING IS SLAIN IN MEMPHIS. A WHITE IS SUSPECTED."

Tags:assassination, civil rights, racial discrimination, government, Jessie Jackson, James Early Ray, politics, protest, African Americans