Political assassinations that changed history for the better

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So I was listening to a book about the SOE on my way to work, and it was talking about some discussion the SOE had about killing Hitler. They ultimately decided "such assassinations only make things worse". It got me thinking...

Can anyone think of a historical example that either proves or disproves that theory? I can't think of a political assassination that would be on the scale of Hitler (leader of a large nation, cult figure with religious like following). Can ya'll think of any?

I'm wondering... What would have happened if Hitler, Mussolini, Polpot, Mao, Stalin...etc. were assassinated before they could do all the shit they became famous for?
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Re: Political assassinations that changed history for the better

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The assassination of Lincoln was extremely successful for the South; there's a case where the plotters were mostly successful. The assassination of Diem worked out exceptionally well for the North Vietnamese. Yitzhak Rabin's assassination seemed to work out well for the right wing in Israel.

Malcolm X could be an example of where the assassination ended up working against the agenda of those who wanted him dead. Even more so for MLK.
“I think there’s a right-wing conspiracy to promote the idea of a left-wing conspiracy”

Re: Political assassinations that changed history for the better

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IIRC the SOE, Special Operations Executive was the creation Winston Churchill, he wanted them to "set Europe ablaze" and they were daring. Britain already had an intelligence service, MI-6 the Secret Intelligence Service that was very old boy full of Oxford and Cambridge graduates, rather clubby. SOE was the opposite composed of British and foreigners. Because of secrecy laws some weren't known until after they died like Eileen Neame.
https://www.theguardian.com/uk/2010/sep ... earne-dies

Whether an assassination was for the better or worse depends on which side of the divide one is standing on.
"Everyone is entitled to their own opinion, but not their own facts." - Daniel Patrick Moynihan

Re: Political assassinations that changed history for the better

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Political assassinations are the mindset of Imperialism. Those with the power and resources to send assassins halfway around the world to do their dirty work always downplay or ignore unforeseen consequences of their actions because of hubris. History has pretty much shown that the fall of empires are due to hubris and political assassination (as well as torture interrogations) simply do not work as intended.
"It is better to be violent, if there is violence in our hearts, than to put on the cloak of non-violence to cover impotence. There is hope for a violent man to become non-violent. There is no such hope for the impotent." -Gandhi

Re: Political assassinations that changed history for the better

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One of the more significant assassinations that gets ignored was that of Huey "Kingfish" Long in the 1930's. His populist movement and appeal was perhaps the only serious challenge to FDR in the Democratic Party. The murder of Robert F. Kennedy resulted in his New York seat in the US Senate being won in a 3-way race by James Buckley, brother of William F., running on the Conservative Party ticket. Gov. Rockefeller had appointed liberal Republican Charles Goodell to the seat, who was similar to Jacob Javits. Richard Ottinger was the Dem nominee and that allowed Buckley to win.
"Even if the bee could explain to the fly why pollen is better than shit, the fly could never understand."

Re: Political assassinations that changed history for the better

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Changing history for better or worse, let's see Julius Caesar, Caligula and other various Roman emperors. Also other various warlords and kings of noted history.One that not mentioned Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

Re: Political assassinations that changed history for the better

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FrontSight wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 10:53 am
TrueTexan wrote: Wed Oct 27, 2021 10:16 am One that not mentioned Archduke Franz Ferdinand of Austria.
Did that one not go well? :D
as I said for better or worse.
Facts do not cease to exist because they are ignored.-Huxley
"We can have democracy in this country, or we can have great wealth concentrated in the hands of a few, but we can't have both." ~ Louis Brandeis,

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