Gildor's got a gun

[FeRaL sHaDoW]

2. to destroy or harm treacherously and viciously: to assassinate a person's character.

Then that would mean king Théoden’s ordeal with Grima would also count as an assassination attempt by Saruman. It appears the leaders of men at that time were both under evil control so Sauron and Saruman had been using assassination tactics.


A good thought, the honourable fellowship was in fact a sneaky assassination squad to do the dirty on Sauron.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by FeRaL sHaDoW

A good thought, the honourable fellowship was in fact a sneaky assassination squad to do the dirty on Sauron.

Good may be more devious than I've given it credit for.

[Boromir88]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

Good may be more devious than I've given it credit for.

It is! I was thinking about the 'honourable' way of doing things, and if good was honourable, Aragorn et Gandalf would have marched out their army to fight Sauron's army. Then I thought...well that's what they did! But....

That was just to get Sauron's army out, grab his attention, so two little buggers could pass through Mordor and put a hit on Sauron. Sneaky, nasty hobbitses and sneaky, nasty Aragornses!

[alatar]

Hobbits - Eru's silver bullets.

Someone brought up political assassination. What of 'emotional' assassination, as per Denethor? He was driven to despair, and when it became too much, he took a flying leap.

Could some on the other side be made ineffectual - despondent - in the same way? Aragorn taunted Sauron, and must have caused the maia some anxiety. Could he and, say, members of the White Council use the palantiri or other methods to neutralize Sauron and/or other threats?

Again, my larger question is why the 'good' did not seek to hamper and harass (with extreme prejudice) the evil? Like, in an odd way, could Galadriel have sent a betrothal request (between her and Sauron) back with one of the Nine (on its way back from Dale) just so she could turn him down when he got his hopes up?

[Hakon]

Hobbits are the James Bonds of Middle Earth.

I think Sauron would have attacked the Lothlorien instantly if Galadriel had done that. Yes what happened with Denethor is emotional assassination. You could say there was also an attempt with Theoden.

[alatar]

Originally Posted by Hakon

I think Sauron would have attacked the Lothlorien instantly if Galadriel had done that.

I think that she could have messed with him a bit, as seems that he was always looking to catch her eye...

Yes what happened with Denethor is emotional assassination. You could say there was also an attempt with Theoden.

Agreed. I was wondering of the converse.

As Davem may have stated in another thread, after reading the Sil, the other side just *has* to know how it's all gonna go down. Maybe Elrond could have sent Sauron a his copy. Maybe that's how elvish spells work - they remind the evil ones that, despite their best efforts, it's still Eru's world.

[Kuruharan]

Originally Posted by alatar

Like, in an odd way, could Galadriel have sent a betrothal request (between her and Sauron) back with one of the Nine (on its way back from Dale) just so she could turn him down when he got his hopes up?

What might Celeborn have said about this?

[Farael]

I would not call what Sauron did to Denethor and Saruman to Theoden "attempt at assasination" as a matter of fact JeffF hit the nail in the head, they were controling them

Now, being controled by the bad guys clearly has some negative side-effects on people's health, but both Sauron and Saruman were better served by their targets survival, which would have allowed to weaken the good guys further than by just killing the leader and having the next in line step up, as demoralizing as that may have been.

Of course, as far as assassinating their characters... well, that's more like it

[JeffF.]

The destruction of the ring was not an attempt on Sauron's life. As Gandalf describes at the Last Debate in RotK,"If he (Sauron) regains it (the ring)...his victory will be swift and complete, so complete that none can foresee the end of it while this world lasts. If it is destroyed than he will fall; and his fall will be so low that none can foresee his arising ever again. For he will lose the best part of his strength that was native to him in the beginning...and he will be maimed forever."

The attempt to destroy the ring was to render Sauron helpless rather than kill him.

[LadyBrooke]

Originally Posted by Kuruharan

What might Celeborn have said about this?

I knew I should have listened to mother when she warned me about those Noldor women.

or

Oh great. First she's running around accepting strange jewelry from other men, and now she's proposing to the Dark Lord.

On a more serious note. The reason we don't hear about assassinations by the good guys (Fingolfin doesn't count anyways because he challanged Morgoth to a duel, not snuck into his house and stabbed him in the chest) might be that it doesn't fit the heroic ideal that Tolkien held his elves to.

You could argue that when Feanor threatened Fingolfin with a sword that he was threating assassination, which would fit with the popular view of assassinations as being politically motivated. That might just apply in the U.S. though, where we speak of the assassinations of J.F.K, Robert Kennedy, and Martin Luther King, Jr. but the murder of Versace and so on.

[Nessa Telrunya]

Well, what about the last march of the ents? It may not have been the most secretive events, but they in effect nipped Isengard "in the bud" Saruman wasn't killed then, but that would have been a blow to Sauron.