Mole (espionage)

Mole, also U- boat, an agent, informant or Agitateur that enters an organization and there (hidden) information for its clients is procured or influenced the organization does in terms of its mastermind, control and manipulate. This is referred to as a sleeper agent when he comes only after a long period of inactivity in action or has not yet come into action.

Espionage

As part of covert operations or investigations is the function of the mole to sneak into an organization that camouflaged to consolidate its position in it, and there to operate intelligence or espionage activities.

As a sleeper he lives abroad, for example, as a normal person and begins its activities only after activation by a supervisor.

A perspective is a potential agent / intended as an agent person for introduction into an intelligence target.

Political activities

In a figurative sense is called mole or submarine a person in a political party that operates in secret against party interests and / or party members, eg by containing either of their common victory or defeat of the party member casting vote or for the opposition is true ( cf. d case Simonis in the choice of the Prime Minister of Schleswig -Holstein 2005).

Guerrilla and terrorism

Since the terrorist attacks of 11 September 2001, the term sleeper falls again and again in connection with terrorism ( in the election for the word of the year 2001 voted to 4th place ), since the Western intelligence services fear Al- Qaeda and other fundamentalist Islamist terrorist groups possessed sleepers who could carry out attacks after activation.