I have trouble with that phrasing, but I also have trouble with the phrasing that you suggest, too.

I have trouble with the word "authorize" because if he authorized the assassination, then (to me at least) that implies that the operator could choose to act or not. Was the operator able to choose? If not, then it's more than an authorization.

Maybe "ordered" is more correct, but I have my suspicions that word goes too far in the other direction.