The president's kill list : assassination and US foreign policy since 1945 / Luca Trenta.

Format:

Book

Author/Creator:

Trenta, Luca, author.

Series:

Intelligence, surveillance and secret warfare.

Intelligence, surveillance and secret warfare

Language:

English

Subjects (All):

Assassination--United States--History--20th century.

Assassination.

Assassination--United States--History--21st century.

United States--Politics and government--1945-1989.

United States.

United States--Politics and government--1989-.

Physical Description:

1 online resource (x, 388 pages) : digital, PDF file(s).

Edition:

First edition.

Place of Publication:

Edinburgh : Edinburgh University Press, 2024.

Summary:

From Fidel Castro to Qassem Soleimani, the US government has been involved in an array of assassinations and assassination attempts against foreign leaders and officials. 'The President's Kill List' reveals how the US government has relied on a variety of methods, from the use of poison to the delivery of sniper rifles, and from employing hitmen to simply laying the groundwork for local actors to do the deed themselves. It shows not only how policymakers decided on assassination but also the level of Presidential control over these decisions. Tracing the history of the US government's approach to assassination, the book analyses the evolution of assassination policies and, for the first time, reveals how successive administrations - through private justifications and public legitimations - ensured assassination remained an available tool.

Contents:

Frontmatter

Contents

Acknowledgements

List of Abbreviations

Introduction: The US Government and the Assassination of Foreign Officials

1. Experimenting with Assassination: Brainwashing, Poison and Early Cold War Plots

2. Patrice Lumumba: Eisenhower’s Order to Kill

3. Fidel Castro: The US Government’s Assassination Campaign against Cuba

4. Rafael Trujillo: Assassination and the US Role in Covert Regime Change

5. Ngo Dinh Diem: Preparing the Ground for Assassination

6. René Schneider: Removing the Main Obstacle to a Coup in Chile

7. The ‘Season of Inquiry’ and the Fight over the Ban on Assassination

8. Muhammar Qaddafi: The Return of Assassination during the Reagan Years

9. Manuel Noriega: Coups, Failed Coups and the Ban on Assassination

10. Saddam Hussein: Assassination and the Long Confrontation between the US Government and Iraq

11. Osama Bin Laden: Assassination and Counterterrorism on the Road to 9/11

Conclusion: Assassination, ‘Targeted Killings’ and the Ban since 9/11

Resources

Index

Notes:

Includes index.

Includes bibliographical references and index.

Description based on print version record.

ISBN:

1-3995-1951-4