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Question: Has there ever been a 'good' assassination!?
With the new film Valkarie with Tom Cruise we had a discussion at work about the rights and wrongs of assassination!.

Most assassinations seem to cause violent wars or brutal revenge attacks!. I'm thinking of WW1 after Franz Ferdinand was shot or the Rwandan genocide after President Juvénal Habyarimana was killed when his plane was shot down!.

So we were trying to think of any assassination that may have actually saved lives and not provoked any violent backlash!. Possibly an attack on an evil dictator who was in the process of ruining a nation etc

We thought that possibly the Renaissance was rife with political assassination and someone suggested that many Roman emperors were killed this way (we couldn't remember names or if these deaths actually brought peace)

Here are the conditions:

1!. It must be an assassination!. No natural causes or self inflicted wounds!. Death in battle is a grey area as the death toll must be lower than the deaths that would have been caused if the guy was left alive!.

2!. No court executions!. Nicolae Ceau?escu, King Charles I, Louis XVI, Saddam Hussein etc were in a way lawfully killed as punishment for crimes etc!.

3!. The death of the person (or persons) must have brought peace and stability that was obviously absent while they were in charge!. Julius Caesar is out because of the extended civil war that followed his death!.

Any serious suggestions welcome!. Please justify your answer!.!.!. 10 points but the best argument!Www@QuestionHome@Com


Best Answer - Chosen by Asker:
This of course requires a particular definition of "good"!. It seems that you are using the term with a utilitarian basis, that the good of the many outweigh the good of the few!. While there is an attraction to this particular philosophy, it is by no means universally accepted!.

Still, this is a working definition that can be applied!. I'll agree with another answer that posits Caligula as a victim of a "good" assassination, for while the result was not guaranteed, the odds were in favour of a positive outcome for a larger group of people!.

Perhaps a less thought of instance occurred in 1983 when Benigno Aquino was assassinated while he was returning to the Philippines after being in exile!. Perhaps without his death, his widow might not have been able to lead a peaceful revolution that toppled Ferdinand Marcos' dictatorial presidency!.

But then, hindsight is indeed 20/20!. Since we are dealing with a what-if situation, I'll mention something on television that I vaguely recall!. The story involves a futuristic time-traveller journeying back into his past to stop the assassination of President John Kennedy!. The result of this change allowed Kennedy to survive, but somehow a nuclear war with the Soviet Union took place, killing millions upon millions!. In that fantastic vision, Kennedy's murder would have been a "good" one on utilitarian grounds!. However, I doubt that most people would celebrate his death!.

Hope that helps!. Respectfully submitted!.!.!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

I'd think that the assassination of Rheinhard Heydrich in May 1942 was probably a good thing!.
The man was a ruthless nazi, being head of the Gestapo, DS, secret police, etc!. Hitler even considered him as a successor to the leadership!. He arranged the 'disappearance' of countless people!. Quite frankly, he was a right !.!.!. er !.!.!. um !.!.!. well, shall I say that he appeared to be illigitimate!. Such as he are not missed!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Assassination is murder!. Regardless of if it actually saves more lives or not!.

But then again, knowing which outcome derives the least deaths, is a hindsight advantage!. Not a foresight one!.

Murder is still murder, no matter who is saved!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Mussolini was EXECUTED not ASSASSINATED you prat!
Another Roman Emperor assassinated by his guards was Commodus (played by Joaquin Phoenix in Gladiator)Www@QuestionHome@Com

ASSASSINATION of king george abdullah google it it was so perfectWww@QuestionHome@Com

Mussolini was assassinated at the end of WW2Www@QuestionHome@Com

noWww@QuestionHome@Com

Nero, the mad Roman emperor was assassinated by his own guards!. And after his death Rome was able to be rebuilt and thrived for a few years!.
Same with Caligula, who was also assassinated by those entrusted to protect him from the citizens he so enraged!.
Both emperors not only abused their power over the citizens they abused their power over the treasuries, nearly bleeding them dry in the name of their "godhood!." They also sacrificed what respect the people had for the already shaky government, Caligula attempted to have his horse made a senator, and established golden statues and marble villas in his cattle's honor!.
Nero persecuted christians to the near brink of extinction, and after his death Christianity was able to flourish and eventually become the state religion under Constantine I!.
Therefore, if I were to name some "good" assassinations it would be those of the cruelest emperors of Romes history, Nero and Caligula!.Www@QuestionHome@Com

Caligula would be a great example!. I see someone has already given it as well as Nero, who wasn't assassinated he killed himself with the aid of one of his slaves!. There was also a civil war after nero's death, it was known as the year of the four emperors!.
How about the emperor Domitian!? He was seen as a cruel tyrant and was assassinated by court officials!. Domitian was widely seen as a villain and he also led a series of disastrous campaigns in Dacia that humiliated Rome!. The period after his death was known as the period of the five good emperors and widely regarded as one of the most prosperous in Rome' s History
Other tyrants I would suggest would be commodus!. Who spent more time in the arena than looking after the state!.He was also a vicious ruler and was assassinated by his lover a Spanish Gladiator (he's the same character from the film Gladiator)!. I think there was some dispute over the succession though!. Another tyrant was Caracalla, he was also assassinated!. I think there was some sort of stability after he died but the next emperor only lasted 14 monthsWww@QuestionHome@Com

The guy above me thinks nero's assassination was good but his death caused the death of thousands during AD69, the year of the four Emperors!.!.!.therefore, it cant be a good answer under the conditions set by the question!! silly!.!.!.read your Tacitus (Histories)!!! I don't care how smug i seem, i only know one thing and it's ancient history!!!

Billy Wright (the LVF leader- Northern Ireland) was assassinated wjile still in prison using a rifle which was apparently brought into the prison by guards/british government agents who had colluded with the INLA to have him murdered in prison, thus preventing more death and chaos which the LVF had caused under his rule!.

this was a 'good' assassination- no government has ever fomrally admitted to collusion on this case!

i am a hero and a smug bastard!Www@QuestionHome@Com