Terminate with extreme prejudice
In military and other covert operations, terminate with extreme prejudice is a euphemism for execution (playing on the expression "termination with prejudice" of an employment contract). In a military intelligence context, it is generally understood as an order to assassinate. Its meaning was explained in a New York Times report on an incident during the Vietnam War.[1]
According to Douglas Valentine in his book The Phoenix Program (1990), the Central Intelligence Agency (CIA) routinely used the term during the Vietnam War when sacking its locally hired operatives. In cases of extreme misconduct, an assassination ("termination with extreme prejudice") was ordered.
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Wikiquote has a collection of quotations related to: Apocalypse Now |
The term was used in the 1979 film Apocalypse Now, in which Martin Sheen's character, Captain Willard, is ordered by 'Jerry'[2], a man in civilian attire (presumably CIA, played by Jerry Ziesmer) to "terminate the command" of the allegedly insane Colonel Kurtz (played by Marlon Brando) with "extreme prejudice." The full exchange runs (emphasis added):,
- Colonel Lucas: (Harrison Ford) Your mission is to proceed up the Nung River in a Navy patrol boat. Pick up Colonel Kurtz's path at Nu Mung Ba, follow it and learn what you can along the way. When you find the Colonel, infiltrate his team by whatever means available and terminate the Colonel's command.
- Willard: Terminate......the Colonel?
- General Corman: (G. D. Spradlin) He's out there operating without any decent restraint, totally beyond the pale of any acceptable human conduct. And he is still in the field commanding troops.
- Jerry: Terminate with extreme prejudice.
- Colonel Lucas: You understand, Captain, that this mission does not exist, nor will it ever exist.
[edit] See also
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Look up terminate with extreme prejudice in Wiktionary, the free dictionary. |
[edit] References
- ^ Details of Green Beret Case Are Reported in Saigon, Terence Smith, The New York Times, August 14, 1969 "...suggested that he either be isolated or 'terminated with extreme prejudice.' This term is said to be an intelligence euphemism for execution."
- ^ http://www.imdb.com/character/ch0041722/
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