This thesis is an assessment of the possible use of assassination by the United States against those who threaten U.S. interests through acts of terrorism and warfare. With the terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on 7 August 1998, the United States government and its citizens were once again forced to confront the realities of international terrorism. Osama bin Ladin has been indicted for these bombings, as well as other terrorist attacks against the United States and its citizens. Saddam Hussein is a Near Eastern despot who was a threat to the United States even before his invasion of Kuwait in 1991. Hussein has been developing nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in order to destroy Israel, a strategically important U.S. ally, and to limit U.S. actions in the Near East. With regard to both Osama bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein, many in the public have asked the question, \"why don't we just kill him?\" This thesis attempts to answer this question by examining the option of assassinating those who threaten U.S. interests through acts of terrorism and warfare. Under certain circumstances, assassination of these individuals by the United States Government is possible, legal, and moral.
","abstract_html":"<p>This thesis is an assessment of the possible use of assassination by the United States against those who threaten U.S. interests through acts of terrorism and warfare. With the terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on 7 August 1998, the United States government and its citizens were once again forced to confront the realities of international terrorism. Osama bin Ladin has been indicted for these bombings, as well as other terrorist attacks against the United States and its citizens. Saddam Hussein is a Near Eastern despot who was a threat to the United States even before his invasion of Kuwait in 1991. Hussein has been developing nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in order to destroy Israel, a strategically important U.S. ally, and to limit U.S. actions in the Near East. With regard to both Osama bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein, many in the public have asked the question, "why don't we just kill him?" This thesis attempts to answer this question by examining the option of assassinating those who threaten U.S. interests through acts of terrorism and warfare. Under certain circumstances, assassination of these individuals by the United States Government is possible, legal, and moral.</p>","abstract_has_math":false,"creators":["Mankins, Fred W., II"],"institution":null,"degree_name":"Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies","degree_level":"Masters","degree_discipline":"Defense and Strategic Studies","degree_department":null,"school":null,"contributors":["William Van Cleave"],"advisors":[],"committee_chairs":[],"committee_members":[],"year":1999,"date_issued":"1999-01-01T08:00:00Z","date_published":"1999-01-01T08:00:00Z","updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:15:35Z","subjects":["Defense and Security Studies"],"languages":[],"rights":["© Fred W Mankins"],"rights_urls":[],"identifier_entries":[]},"links":{"outbound_url":"https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/561","outbound_label":"Repository record","outbound_source":"dc:identifier"},"metadata_groups":[{"id":"people","label":"People","entries":[{"key":"dc:contributor","label":"Contributor","values":["William Van Cleave"]},{"key":"dc:creator","label":"Author","values":["Mankins, Fred W., II"]}]},{"id":"academic_context","label":"Academic Context","entries":[{"key":"thesis:degree_discipline","label":"Discipline","values":["Defense and Strategic Studies"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_level","label":"Degree Level","values":["Masters"]},{"key":"thesis:degree_name","label":"Degree Name","values":["Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies"]}]},{"id":"subjects_keywords","label":"Subjects and Keywords","entries":[{"key":"dc:subject","label":"Dc Subject","values":["Defense and Security Studies"]}]},{"id":"language_rights","label":"Language and Rights","entries":[{"key":"dc:rights","label":"Dc Rights","values":["© Fred W Mankins"]}]},{"id":"identifiers","label":"Identifiers","entries":[{"key":"dc:identifier","label":"Identifier","values":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/561"]}]},{"id":"additional","label":"Additional Metadata","entries":[{"key":"dc:description.abstract","label":"Abstract","values":["This thesis is an assessment of the possible use of assassination by the United States against those who threaten U.S. interests through acts of terrorism and warfare. With the terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on 7 August 1998, the United States government and its citizens were once again forced to confront the realities of international terrorism. Osama bin Ladin has been indicted for these bombings, as well as other terrorist attacks against the United States and its citizens. Saddam Hussein is a Near Eastern despot who was a threat to the United States even before his invasion of Kuwait in 1991. Hussein has been developing nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in order to destroy Israel, a strategically important U.S. ally, and to limit U.S. actions in the Near East. With regard to both Osama bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein, many in the public have asked the question, \"why don't we just kill him?\" This thesis attempts to answer this question by examining the option of assassinating those who threaten U.S. interests through acts of terrorism and warfare. Under certain circumstances, assassination of these individuals by the United States Government is possible, legal, and moral.
"]},{"key":"dc:title","label":"Title","values":["Assassination: An Assessment"]}]}],"canonical_facts":{"dc:contributor":["William Van Cleave"],"dc:creator":["Mankins, Fred W., II"],"dc:description.abstract":["This thesis is an assessment of the possible use of assassination by the United States against those who threaten U.S. interests through acts of terrorism and warfare. With the terrorist bombings of U.S. embassies in Kenya and Tanzania on 7 August 1998, the United States government and its citizens were once again forced to confront the realities of international terrorism. Osama bin Ladin has been indicted for these bombings, as well as other terrorist attacks against the United States and its citizens. Saddam Hussein is a Near Eastern despot who was a threat to the United States even before his invasion of Kuwait in 1991. Hussein has been developing nuclear, biological, and chemical weapons in order to destroy Israel, a strategically important U.S. ally, and to limit U.S. actions in the Near East. With regard to both Osama bin Ladin and Saddam Hussein, many in the public have asked the question, \"why don't we just kill him?\" This thesis attempts to answer this question by examining the option of assassinating those who threaten U.S. interests through acts of terrorism and warfare. Under certain circumstances, assassination of these individuals by the United States Government is possible, legal, and moral.
"],"dc:identifier":["https://bearworks.missouristate.edu/theses/561"],"dc:rights":["© Fred W Mankins"],"dc:subject":["Defense and Security Studies"],"dc:title":["Assassination: An Assessment"],"thesis:degree_discipline":["Defense and Strategic Studies"],"thesis:degree_level":["Masters"],"thesis:degree_name":["Master of Science in Defense and Strategic Studies"]},"updated_at":"2026-07-24T03:15:35Z"}