Murder is a fairly normal affair, Jamaica is the murder capital of the world - statistically speaking. A murder - whether a homicide, poisoning, targeted killing, etc., does not create much excitement - it's not "Breaking News". When you really need for the murder to make front page news, or credibility, one has to create a relevant background, fake news or not. Reputational damage has to be manufactured. Every type of slander is deployed. Then when the execution is carried out, the world condones the action.
The best case study is Saddam Hussein. Although a bit of a scoundrel, Saddam was the bulwark for the Western World (read NATO) against revolutionary Iran. The Arab States in proximity relied on him to contain Iran. Then the 8 year Iran/Iraq war was created to bring down the theocratic regime in Iran. NATO and its Arab allies armed Saddam to the hilt. After 8 years it was a stalemate, Iranians fought with their back to the wall - for survival. After the war, NATO was concerned about all the sophisticated weaponry it had supplied to Iraq. They were concerned about its misuse. Iraq had to be disarmed at any cost, mainly at the insistence of Israel. In a now famous instance, the U.S. Ambassador April Gillespie, duped Saddam into invading Kuwait. An "Extreme Prejudice" case was built up internationally. The first Gulf War was launched. Saddam's revolutionary guards were reduced to rubble. Yet, President George Bush Senior left Saddam in power. A very good geopolitical strategy. After the 9/11, George Bush junior needed to boost his popularity and pay back for the 9/11 attacks. A campaign was launched about "Weapons of Mass Destruction". USA hired their famous mouthpiece Tony Blair to sell the lie to the world. When Saddam was taken out, the western world didn't mind. "Eliminate by Extreme Prejudice".
Yasser Arafat is another interesting case history. When he launched the PLO, the Arab monarchies and Israel were quite happy. They did not think Arafat would gain traction. But it would help divide the other factions that already existed - divide and rule. But, Arafat did gain momentum, leadership and funding. Finally the Head of Mossad, Shabtai Shavit, issued an execution order, after taking some Arab leaders on board. An intense character assassination campaign was launched. Once when Arafat was entering a building in Jerusalem, a Mossad sharp shooter was on the roof of the next building. He had Arafat in the crosshairs. On his earphone he sought permission to pull the trigger. Due to a technical hitch, the permission was delayed by 40 seconds. Arafat had already entered the building. The sharp shooter was using a high powered rifle and a Dum Dum soft nosed bullet (long outlawed by the Geneva Convention). When Arafat finally died, there was rejoicing in Israel and some Arab capitals. His widow was alleged to be the happiest - she laid claim to the hidden wealth.
In history, such cases abound. If the ruling powers disapprove, a campaign is launched, leading to "Execution by Prejudice". Some survive. Some don't. Sukarno, The Castros of Cuba, Zulfiqar Ali Bhutto (ZAB), etc. When ZAB was arrested, he was already hated by the ruling elite. But a section of the lower classes was still loyal. For two years a disinformation campaign was launched - "Zulm Ke Dastan". Of course ZAB was no angel. When he was finally hanged Zia and Gen. Chishti easily handled the fallout.
(The writer is the former Executive Director of the Management Association of Pakistan)
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