Don't let your right hand know what your left hand is doing....

bitterlemons-international.org - Middle East Roundtable

...Assassination in this context is considered a political tool to change an unfavorable strategic situation, usually at a much lower cost than that of military operations. An assassination is a low-cost, high-value political move. Its drawback is that it exaggerates the role of the individual and often ignores the high magnitude of unintended consequences. Khalid Al Islambouli, the assassin of President Anwar Sadat of Egypt in 1981, thought that removing the "pharaoh" would undo Egypt's peace with Israel and restore the glory of Islam. A quarter of a century later, Egypt is still at peace with Israel and the glory of Islam still an unattainable goal. The Israeli assassination of the "engineer" Yahia Ayash in 1996 was intended to end Palestinian resistance to peace with Israel. Instead it opened the gate for more resistance, the end of the peace process and the birth of more Yahia Ayashes....

Viktor Bout and the Pentagon - International Justice - Global Policy Forum

...Yet, remarkably, given this record and the international efforts to shut him down, Bout also counts among his clients the U.S. military and its contractors in Iraq, NATO forces in Afghanistan, and the United Nations in Sudan. The New Republic has learned that the Defense Department has largely turned a blind eye to Bout's activities and has continued to supply him with contracts, in violation of the executive order and despite the fact that other, more legitimate air carriers are available. Revenues from these flights enable Bout to carry on the profitable business of nurturing conflicts in other, less covered parts of the world, threatening further international instability....