Ordering a hit on any particular person, even one as diabolical as Saddam, is dirty business. But assuming Saddam's death would stop the Iraqi war machine cold, it would mean one life in exchange for the thousands, or tens of thousands, who might die if the battle continued. British Prime Minister John Major spoke for many people around the world when, alluding to the prospect of Saddam's murder, he said, "I for one will not weep for him."
Under a 1981 Executive Order, the U.S. government is forbidden to participate in assassination. But the rules of battle arguably supercede that prohibition....