Licence to kill has at least two known meanings, it can be defined as an official sanction by a government or government agency to a particular operative or employee to initiate the use of deadly force, presumably in furtherance of the government's aims or policies, or in carrying out the operative's assigned missions and presumably in an assassination or covert context rather than in an overtly military context ^[1].

It is also sometimes used when referring to assisted suicide, or discontinuance of life support, especially by editorialists, who may use the phrase, possibly pejoratively, in reference to government sanction of either action ^[2]. Euthanasia (Greek, good death) is the practice of killing a person or animal, in a painless or minimally painful way, for merciful reasons, usually to end their suffering. ... Life support, in the medical field, refers to a set of therapies for preserving a patients life when essential body systems are not functioning sufficiently to sustain life unaided. ... Look up editorial, op-ed in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. ...

The idea of a licence to kill is popularly known from the James Bond novels and films (signified by the 00^[3]), and has been used at least once by a headline writer.^[4] In reality, the legitimacy of deadly force usage from country to country is generally controlled by statute law, particular and direct executive orders, the common law, or military rules of engagement. In Britain, the Intelligence Services Act 1994^[5] authorizes the secretary of state to grant immunity from British prosecution to personnel when they engage in any acts abroad that would be illegal under British law - such as murder.^[6] The James Bond 007 gun logo James Bond 007 is a fictional British agent[1] created in 1952 by writer Ian Fleming, featured in several novels and short stories. ... Deadly force or shoot to kill is that level of force which is inherently likely to cause death or great bodily injury. ... The Statute of Grand Duchy of Lithuania A statute is a formal, written law of a country or state, written and enacted by its legislative authority, perhaps to then be ratified by the highest executive in the government, and finally published. ... An executive order is an edict issued by a member of the executive branch of a government, usually the head of that branch. ... This article concerns the common-law legal system, as contrasted with the civil law legal system; for other meanings of the term, within the field of law, see common law (disambiguation). ... This article describes the military term of the rules of engagement. ... Intelligence Services Act 1994 (c. ...

The actual existence of a "licence to kill" is debated. Some feel that the term is a mere literary device, popularized by novels and films, while others believe that such a licence exists in at least some countries, whether in the military, police or counter-intelligence services. In the literary sense, the licence is presumed to be a discretionary one, distributed rarely and requiring extensive training to obtain, and it is only granted to a handful of covert agents of a state, in the interest of national security. The agent is not necessarily expected to kill enemies as part of a mission, but may receive immunity from prosecution (in his own country), if, in the agent's estimation, this became necessary to complete it. Security measures taken to protect the Houses of Parliament in London, England. ...

During the 1970s, the dispersal of Israeli agents with what would amount to a "license to kill" occurred during Operation Wrath of God. Teams of agents were supposedly assigned targets in international locations and given orders and permission to terminate said targets. It must be noted that, while evidence for such operations does exist, the Israeli government denies that it targeted enemies for death. The operation was ordered in response to the massacre of 11 Israeli athletes at the 1972 Munich Olympics. ...

In reality, such licences would run afoul of the laws of war: the covert agent would almost certainly be considered a spy or perhaps even a common criminal if murder is committed in a foreign country. For this reason, few governments, if any, are willing to disclose the existence of a licence to kill. The two parts of the laws of war (or Law of Armed Conflict (LOAC)): Law concerning acceptable practices while engaged in war, like the Geneva Conventions, is called jus in bello; while law concerning allowable justifications for armed force is called jus ad bellum. ...

See also

• Extreme prejudice
• Shoot to kill
• Kiri sute gomen
• Fifth Freedom

Extreme prejudice is a term coined to discribe the attitude and behavior exhibited by a certain armed force on any particular mission. ... Deadly force or shoot to kill is that level of force which is inherently likely to cause death or great bodily injury. ... Kiri sute gomen (斬り捨て御免 or 切り捨て御免 : literally, authorisation to cut or authorisation to leave (the body of the victim)) is an old Japanese expression dating back to the feudal era. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged with Splinter Cell. ...

References

December 4th redirects here. ... For album titles with the same name, see 2002 (album). ... CBS News is the news division of American television and radio network CBS. Its current president is Sean McManus who is also head of CBS Sports. ... The CIA Seal The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) is an American intelligence agency, responsible for obtaining and analyzing information about foreign governments, corporations, and individuals, and reporting such information to the various branches of the U.S. Government. ... Mark Alexander (February 7, 1792 – October 7, 1883) was a nineteenth century politician and lawyer from Virginia. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... January 30 is the 30th day of the year in the Gregorian calendar. ... 2007 (MMVII) is the current year, a common year starting on Monday of the Gregorian calendar and the Anno Domini (common) era. ... For the Lebanese political coalition, see March 14 Alliance. ... The Guardian is a British newspaper owned by the Guardian Media Group. ... For the Manfred Mann album, see 2006 (album). ... July 9 is the 190th day of the year (191st in leap years) in the Gregorian Calendar, with 175 days remaining. ...

External links

• [1] Licensed to Kill, Hired Guns in the War on Terror by Robert Young Pelton (Crown, Sept 1, 2006)
• USA Today editorial DeWayne Wickham editorial of November 6, 2001 arguing against the CIA "license to kill" authority.
• A 2000 BBC television documentary by Olenka Fenkiel, also shown on ABC, about murder of women in Pakistan in situations involving divorce or adultery. [2]