Wikipedia:Today's featured article/April 25, 2004
Assassin has come to mean someone who kills people selectively, usually for ideological or political reasons. The immediate motivation for an assassin may be money (in the case of a hit man), opposition to a person's beliefs or belief systems (in the case of a fanatic, for example), orders from a government (often carried about by a subversive agent such as a spy), or loyalty to a competing leader or group. Assassin, like companion terms such as terrorist and freedom fighter, are often considered to be loaded terms; however, the definition of assassin is clearer than others and most assassins appear, publicly, comfortable enough with their deed to describe it as such, whereas few would call themselves a terrorist. (more...)
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