--- title: "Meaning & Key Takeaway of: That was the first. There were more…" description: "\"“That was the first. There were more. Rarely on U.S. soil, the cases he worked were quiet, involved and deadly. Different killers, different MOs. Killi..." image: "https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/j-t-ellison-1281_men-and-women_that-was-the-first-there-were-more-rarel_3055390.jpg" --- # That was the first. There were more. Rarely on U.S. soil… ![“That was the first. There were more. Rarely on U.S. soil, the cases he worked were quiet, involved and deadly. Different killers, different MOs. Killing zones and sprees that needed to be kept as quiet as possible, that needed to be solved through back channels. These weren’t the men who made it…” quote by J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/j-t-ellison-1281_men-and-women_that-was-the-first-there-were-more-rarel_3055390.jpg) [Download](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/j-t-ellison-1281_men-and-women_that-was-the-first-there-were-more-rarel_3055390.jpg) [Open image](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/i/f95/j-t-ellison-1281_men-and-women_that-was-the-first-there-were-more-rarel_3055390.jpg) > ““That was the first. There were more. Rarely on U.S. soil, the cases he worked were quiet, involved and deadly. Different killers, different MOs. Killing zones and sprees that needed to be kept as quiet as possible, that needed to be solved through back channels. These weren’t the men who made it onto Court TV, or even made it to court. These killers were protected. The governments of various countries kept silent assassins on the payrolls. Men and women paid to kill, trained to be sociopaths, sometimes broke from their proscribed paths, headed out on their own to satiate their burgeoning needs. Developed a bloodlust that their government targets couldn’t sate. Tracking these assets was a vital function, one not left to everyday agents.”” [J.T. Ellison](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/j-t-ellison/) ## About This Quote This interpretation was drafted with AI assistance. It is one reading of the quote, not the author's own explanation. The passage describes covert assassins employed by governments, operating in secrecy, driven by bloodlust, and the challenges of tracking them. **In simple terms:** Governments use hidden killers, making them hard to detect. Key Takeaway Recognize hidden threats and the limits of oversight. Themes secrecy power violence ethics surveillance Mood tense critical reflective Type political ethical analytical When to use this quote - intelligence analysis - policy making - law enforcement - journalism Key Concepts statecraft moral ambiguity psychology of killers Questions to Reflect On - What safeguards can prevent abuse of secret programs? - How does secrecy affect accountability? A Different Perspective Such covert actions can erode public trust. ★ ★ ★ ★ ★ No ratings yet [Men and women](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) ## Related quotes > [“The fact that the bodies weren’t my first concern–-pissing and bodies were, in that order—-helped too. Killers have different priorities.”](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/rob-thurman/the-fact-that-the-bodies-weren-t-my-first-concern-pissing-and-bodies/) [Rob Thurman](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/rob-thurman/) > [“Guadalupe Fuentes: --They're not paid to kill honest people, to shoot for no good reasons. 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I wanted…](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/tory-burch/one-of-the-reasons-i-wanted-to-start-a-company-is-because-i-wanted-an/) [Tory Burch](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/author/tory-burch/) [Browse all 5,305 Men and women quotes ](https://sms4smile.com/quotes/about/men-and-women/) ```json { "@context": "https://schema.org", "@graph": [ { "@type": "Quotation", "text": "“That was the first. There were more. Rarely on U.S. soil, the cases he worked were quiet, involved and deadly. Different killers, different MOs. Killing zones and sprees that needed to be kept as quiet as possible, that needed to be solved through back channels. These weren’t the men who made it onto Court TV, or even made it to court. These killers were protected. The governments of various countries kept silent assassins on the payrolls. Men and women paid to kill, trained to be sociopaths, sometimes broke from their proscribed paths, headed out on their own to satiate their burgeoning needs. 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