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An assassin is one who kills (assassinates) people for money. The original term comes from the "Hashishim" of the medieval Afghanistan Silk Road (from which also derives hashish - as drugs were used in training) who raided caravans travelling between Europe and China.

The practice long preceded that particular organization. It has been common to the politics of most cultures to use strategic killings as a tool of policy, in particular to win or avoid wars, and paid killers have always been very necessary to this practice. Political killings are usually referred to as "assassinations" as it is difficult to distinguish motivations (money or loyalty, usually some of both being involved) for a clandestine act.

Individually, too, people have always found their reasons to attempt to arrange the deaths of others through paid intermediaries. The term "hired killer" is often used to distinguish an assassin with no political motive.

Entire organizations have sometimes specialized in assassination as one of their services. Besides the original Hashishim, the ninja clans of Japan were rumored to perform assassinations. In the United States, an organization with ties to the Mafia, Murder Incorporated, was formed for the sole purpose of performing assassinations for organized crime.

Before a United States executive order by President Gerald Ford in 1976, the United States federal government, in particular its Central Intelligence Agency, trained, hired, and employed numerous assassins. It was deemed at that time that the liability of engaging in this activity led in general to a reduced level of personal security for elected leaders of democratic countries, who are in general much more vulnerable to retaliation.

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See also: assassins, asymmetric warfare, terrorism.