The murky world of assassins

A recent conversation centered around assassination with generous servings of political condemnation. It is always a source of wonderment to me as to how it is so easy for the armchair pundits to paint the world a simple black or white. Our increasingly liberal mindedness is quick to fault everything about the western system of government. What prompted this conversation was a taping of an interview with Walter Mondale in which he reveals that political assassination is common amongst the western nations.

Gasp! Isn’t horrible! My friends were aghast and were quick to jump on the guilty wagon. There must a better way to govern, they said.

Political assassinations are an extension of a type of war. We won’t go into the technicalities of it here, indeed far too complex and beyond my scope.

Taking a slight tack to the left (or would that be to the right), I asked what their take on the world’s most famous and beloved assassin of all was, one James Bond, aka 007.

Blank stares met my eyes.

Immediately I was met with protests. Oh, but he’s a spy and a fictitious one at that.

Hmm. Is he?

James is that rare breed of spy. Blessed with killer looks, nerves of steel, charm and wit, athletic agility, and other qualities we mere humans can only dream of. James overcomes adversity, leaps over impossible obstacles, and against improbable odds vanquishes the bad guy, saving the day yet one more time for Mother England and the world.

James Bond, the spy, carries a license to kill. That makes him a professional assassin.

James Bond is fashioned after a true, real life spy – Sidney Reilly, who served in Her Majesty’s Service a century ago. An excellent series. Reilly Ace of Spies starring Sam Neill, ran on the tube several years back; it chronicles the dirty, underground grit of the business of being a spy. The trailer reads:

”At the turn of the 20th century, one remarkable man single-handedly tried to alter the course of history. Cold, ruthless, enigmatic, this Russian-born British agent radically transformed modern espionage techniques and set the mold for a new kind of secret agent-the super spy. Reilly: Ace Of Spies is the thrilling, suspenseful dramatization of the real-life adventures of Agent ST-1, aka Sidney Reilly, the inspiration behind Ian Fleming's James Bond. Shot in glorious period detail, one heart-pulsing mission after another captures the arc of Reilly's brilliant career.

With acclaimed actor Sam Neill (JURASSIC PARK) in the lead role, REILLY: ACE OF SPIES was a gripping crime series, with all 12 episodes included here. Neill played Sidney Riley, an ace spy who risked life and limb to allow justice to prevail. What sets this series apart from the deluge of other titles in the genre is that Riley was a real person, and the events portrayed all actually happened. With that in mind, viewers are taken on a rollercoaster ride of emotions as the deft crime solver undertakes some jawdropping feats of bravery during his missions. The original inspiration for the James Bond character, REILLY: ACE OF SPIES is a glowing testament to one of the all-time great spies”

You can get the DVD. It is worth the $49.95.

Reilly fell a tad short of accomplishing his mission. I can’t help but think how different the course of world history would have been, had he succeeded. Better than going to war.