3 ms·
Can an assassination attempt be considered successful even if it fails?
by ddoolin 6y ago
Can an assassination attempt be considered successful even if it fails?
- boomboomsubban 6y agoYes, the attempt was successful but the assassination failed. They weren't thwarted or abandoned as far more assassination attempts against Mussolini were.
- mattnewton 6y agoI disagree, the next paragraph says only one came close to succeeding. I think it should have said “completed” attempts at least to avoid this obvious confusion.
- boomboomsubban 6y agoI also wouldn't word it that way, but it is technically correct. The four "successful" attempts all involve Mussolini in situations where slightly worse luck would have killed him, missed shots or bombs thrown and a sniper arrested just before he reached a balcony. Meanwhile there were many other plots against his life that didn't ever put him in danger.
- munk-a 6y agoI'm also quite confused on the wording here - I would guess you can have multiple people succeed at assassinating someone (if they are all intent on their plan, they all follow the steps of their plan and the target ends up dead whether directly due to their actions or not) but not if the target remains alive.
- unyttigfjelltol 6y agoIt's especially confusing considering that Mussolini eventually met his end at the hands of partisans. So, the event that actually did end his life ... was not a successful assassination? Back to the editors with this article!
- toyg 6y agoHis death was not an “assassination attempt”, but an instance of rough military justice. He was detained while trying to escape a country his troops had lost control of, and subsequently executed. This was (and is) a common instance in military conflicts.
- tomc1985 6y ago"Task failed successfully."