O.K, Q.; since when does 'sanctioned' mean 'killed'? I thought it was another term for being punished?
Author's response
There are dozens, if not hundreds of euphamisms for killed. The word sanctioned was coined from ‘The Eiger Sanction’ (1975) starring Clint Eastwood. Basically it’s politic-eze to use words that can have more than one meaning. That way if the crime is detected, and investigated, and the investigation actually goes somewhere, the person or government agency that ordered it, can disavow any knowledge.
Alorkin