Any individual with power and influence is at risk for assassination.  This is because, as security consultant H. H. A Cooper says in On Assassination (1984), assassination is a crime against the power, not the person, of the victim.  Assassination targets can range from political leaders (such as John F. Kennedy, Harvey Milk, Margaret Thatcher, and Ronald Reagan) to corporate leaders (Charlie Hebdo executives) to religious leaders (Pope John Paul II) and even diplomatic leaders (Don Orlando Letelier del Solar).

Different types of assassins present different types of threats.  Cooper (1984) introduces three different types of assassins, each with his/her own characteristics: the employee, the agent, and the independent.  The employee has the least amount of independence and works completely under the control of his/her employer.  Thus, the employer picks the weapon, methodology, and fate of the assassin.  Michael Townley is a prime example of the employee assassin.  An agent assassin has a little more freedom and can be thought of as a kind of contract worker.  Agents can be useful to clients because their acts are less easily traced to their ultimate sources.  Mehmet Ali Agca stands out as an example of an agent assassin.  The independent assassin acts on his/her own volition, answering to no one.  Although the independent assassin may have gotten the idea to assassinate a certain individual from an outside source, the planning and execution were accomplished autonomously.  John Hinkley is an infamous example of an independent assassin.

Different assassins also utilize different methods. (See Cooper, 1984.)  Some, like Lee Harvey Oswald, attack at long range.  Others, like John Wilkes Booth, attack at short range.  Still others, like Montholon (the assassin of Napoleon Bonaparte), infiltrate the target’s trusted circle and perform the assassination as an inside job.  Each method presents its own set of threats; and, as every target has his/her own security preferences and weaknesses, there is no one-size-fits-all protection strategy.

Therefore, potential assassination targets need professionals to perform threat assessments, provide protection, and train the targets to “walk softly and carry a big stick.” (Cooper, 1984)  Professional security experts know how to harden the target and his/her surroundings, employing a strategy of “avoidance, prevention, and protection.” (Cooper, 1984)  Ultimately, a properly implemented security plan saves lives, as was exhibited in Garland, Texas in May earlier this year.

Works Cited

Cooper, H. (1984). On Assassination. Boulder, CO: Paladin Press.