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MODERATOR: Does the term exterminate, to terminate with extreme prejudice—are you familiar with that term?

 

OSBORN. There are two ways—yes—there are two ways to terminate an agent. When you are through with the agent, that is, when he serves no more function to you, you can do one of two things. You can terminate him by paying him an amount of money, thanking him for his service, swearing him to secrecy, and simply letting him go—that's without prejudice. There is termination with prejudice where the agent constitutes a threat either to your operations, to you personally as a case officer, to whatever has determined the threat, and you terminate him with prejudice by either killing the individual or perhaps relocating him in the—I remember one incident of an agent up in Phuo By who was relocated as a prisoner of war into a Chieu Hoy camp and reoriented—I'm not really familiar with the details of that, but the main idea was to, of course, neutralize the individual. I got orders a couple of times to terminate agents with prejudice because of things they had done which were considered illegal or in bad taste or threatening—bad security—while I was there [in Vietnam].

terminate with extreme prejudice. This is now firmly planted in the public ethos as intelligence jargon for 'to murder,' again thanks to Time. I have terminated at least four agents with extreme prejudice myself, without ever infringing on the Sixth Commandment. To terminate simply means to 'sever contact' with an agent on friendly terms, usually because he is no longer needed or because he has lost his access to the target for which he was recruited. He is usually given contact instructions in case he ever needs to get in touch again, and his file is retired to Registry.

 

To terminate with prejudice means that a not will be put in his file strongly recommending that no further contact be initiated (nor will he be given the means to establish it). He has been a handling headache, whether insecure, inaccurate (or worse) in his reporting, unreliable, cheating on his expense account, or found to be engaged in criminal activities on the side.

 

To terminate with extreme prejudice, a bum notice is circulated to friendly liaison intelligence services, informing them that while he did indeed work for us, his conduct was so bad—outright fabrication of information or an attempt to perpetrate a major fraud—that we are warning them to have nothing to do with him if he appears on their doorstep, as he probably will.

MODERATOR: Does the term exterminate, to terminate with extreme prejudice—are you familiar with that term?

OSBORN. There are two ways—yes—there are two ways to terminate an agent. When you are through with the agent, that is, when he serves no more function to you, you can do one of two things. You can terminate him by paying him an amount of money, thanking him for his service, swearing him to secrecy, and simply letting him go—that's without prejudice. There is termination with prejudice where the agent constitutes a threat either to your operations, to you personally as a case officer, to whatever has determined the threat, and you terminate him with prejudice by either killing the individual or perhaps relocating him in the—I remember one incident of an agent up in Phuo By who was relocated as a prisoner of war into a Chieu Hoy camp and reoriented—I'm not really familiar with the details of that, but the main idea was to, of course, neutralize the individual. I got orders a couple of times to terminate agents with prejudice because of things they had done which were considered illegal or in bad taste or threatening—bad security—while I was there [in Vietnam].

terminate with extreme prejudice. This is now firmly planted in the public ethos as intelligence jargon for 'to murder,' again thanks to Time. I have terminated at least four agents with extreme prejudice myself, without ever infringing on the Sixth Commandment. To terminate simply means to 'sever contact' with an agent on friendly terms, usually because he is no longer needed or because he has lost his access to the target for which he was recruited. He is usually given contact instructions in case he ever needs to get in touch again, and his file is retired to Registry.

To terminate with prejudice means that a not will be put in his file strongly recommending that no further contact be initiated (nor will he be given the means to establish it). He has been a handling headache, whether insecure, inaccurate (or worse) in his reporting, unreliable, cheating on his expense account, or found to be engaged in criminal activities on the side.

To terminate with extreme prejudice, a bum notice is circulated to friendly liaison intelligence services, informing them that while he did indeed work for us, his conduct was so bad—outright fabrication of information or an attempt to perpetrate a major fraud—that we are warning them to have nothing to do with him if he appears on their doorstep, as he probably will.

The phrase "terminate with extreme prejudice" begins to appear as euphemisms for assassinate in 1969. In some of the earliest instances, the phrase arises in connection with assassination of double agents—that is, agents who were in some sense employees of the U.S. government or its branches (typically the CIA). From Newsweek, volume 74 (1969):

The phrase "terminate with extreme prejudice" begins to appear as a euphemism for assassinate in 1969. In some of the earliest instances, the phrase arises in connection with assassination of people suspected of being double agents—and such agents were in some sense employees of the U.S. government or its branches (typically the CIA). From Newsweek, volume 74 (1969):

Definition 2(c) of terminate above may be the source of definition 3. In any event the phrase "termination of employment" has a particular legal meaning, according to Black's Law Dictionary:

Definition 1(c) of terminate above may be the source of definition 3 (which doesn't appear in the Tenth Collegiate [1993] or any previous edition of the Collegiate Dictionary). In any event the phrase "termination of employment" has a particular legal meaning, according to Black's Law Dictionary: