Agent Provocateurs
Agents provocateurs are undercover agents intended to incite others to commit violent and/or illegal acts.
Although the use of Agent Provocateurs dates back centuries the modern version was further expanded on in France by Eugène François Vidocq in the early 19th century. A former criminal himself, Vidocq went on to create France's Sûreté Nationale detective agency and is widely regarded as the founder father of criminology. This is where the modern monicker first appeared and literally means "inciting agent" in the French language. The term "undercover operative" is also commonly used in other parts of the world.
source[Agent Provocateur inciting violence at Standing Rock Protests]
An agent provocateur may be a police officer or a secret agent of police who encourages suspects to carry out a crime under conditions where evidence can be obtained; or who suggests the commission of a crime to another, in hopes they will go along with the suggestion and be convicted of the crime.
A political organization or government may use agents provocateurs against political opponents. The provocateurs try to incite the opponent to do counter-productive or ineffective acts to foster public disdain or provide a pretext for aggression against the opponent.
Wikileaks
https://wikileaks.org/gifiles/docs/11/1107322_observations-on-the-double-agent-cia-.html
CIA Library
I recently came across this Wikileaks document created by the CIA and released in 1994. The email details the role and significance of the Agent Provocateur (AP) plays for intelligence services.
Despite the fact that the information from the 1994 document deals primarily with Cold War era espionage, it does shed light on how APs operate. Previously, the CIA document was classified as SECRET.
In light of the protests and almost certain infiltration of demonstrations by undercover operatives, I felt that this account of APs was extremely relevant in the current context.
As always, I encourage people to view the original documents and come to their own conclusions.
National Security
denofgeek.com
Agent Provocateurs are sometimes also referred to as "Double Agents", particularly in relation to espionage and counter-espionage operations. This is also the case with APs engaged in law enforcement operations. One component of an AG operation is to spy and gather relevant intelligence on their targets.
Like all other intelligence operations, double agent cases are run to protect and enhance the national security. They serve this purpose principally by providing current counterintelligence about hostile intelligence and security services and about clandestine subversive activities. The service and officer considering a double agent possibility must weigh net national advantage thoughtfully, never forgetting that a double agent is, in effect, a condoned channel of communication with the enemy.
This paragraph is particularly instructive as it states plainly that the objectives of any AG is to "principally" protect "national security" against "subversive activities". Note that target organizations are referred to as "the enemy". Certainly, this relates to Soviet and Eastern Block intelligence operatives like the KGB but it also informs us that in the current versions of APs they are also crossing into 'enemy' territory to exploit weaknesses and take down targets.
Competent double agents are a rare breed the document goes on to explain. APs can be quite adept in the art of manipulation and are often considered to be highly skilled and resourceful operatives. The document states that double agents may come about in several ways. They may walk-in-off the street and volunteer their services, they may be officers or agents already in employment who display a propensity for this type of assignment or they may also be an individuals already within a target organization that can be placed under duress and may be coerced into participating in an operation.
[The Umbrella Man casually knocking out windows during Minneanapolis protests]
The Value of His Services
Much of the value of an AG depends on their personality as well as their ability to be accepted by the target organization.
If he is skillful and well trained, he can do valuable work by exploiting the weaknesses of others: all intelligence officers of any service, despite their training, have some weaknesses. Some are loose-mouthed, some like to drink, others tend to brag.
The case officer may find his agent to be a wonderful fellow and confide in him, putting him in a good position to elicit specific information and making him the recipient of all manner of unsolicited information. The agent may be able to learn the operational techniques, the security practices, the training methods, and the identity of other members of the service. Possibly, if at a high enough level, he may even be able to report the policies and intentions of the government.
... he can report on the type of support given him in servicing dead drops, providing accommodation addresses, arranging transportation, and supplying technical equipment. If he has been issued some modern technical device, say an automatic transmitter, it can logically be concluded that the service has a good support capability.
Valuable information in many forms can be obtained and passed on to their employers to gain advantage. The document further highlights how agents work to disrupt organizations from within.
A double agent may serve as a means through which a provocation can be mounted against a person, an organization, an intelligence or security service, or any affiliated group to induce action to its own disadvantage.
The provocation might be aimed at identifying members of the other service, at diverting it to less important objectives, at tying up or wasting its assets and facilities, at sowing dissension within its ranks,... , at forcing it to surface an activity it wanted to keep hidden, or at bringing public discredit on it, making it look like an organization of idiots...
Sabotage and sewing discord within the ranks of an organization are tactics that can be observed in modern iterations of APs. Creating disharmony between protest participants by acting in ways that being harm to the group, making rash individual decisions that have net negative impacts on the group as a whole and instigating infighting within the group are common objectives.
"Bringing public discredit" upon a movement, organization or protest is a major aim of infiltrators. When public support for protestors falters and a group's actions are put under the microscope by media critics. this can work to quickly erode confidence and support from the greater public.
Traits of an Agent Provocateur
According to the now disclosed SECRET CIA document, many Agent Provocateurs display character traits of sociopaths.
Experience suggests that some people who take to the double agent role-perhaps a majority of willing ones, in fact have a number of traits in common with the con-man. Psychiatrists describe such persons as sociopaths.
Key Traits
- They are unusually calm and stable under stress but cannot tolerate
routine or boredom. - They do not form lasting and adult emotional relationships with other
people because their attitude toward others is exploitative. - They have above-average intelligence. They are good
verbalizers-sometimes in two or more languages. - They are skeptical and even cynical about the motives and abilities of
others but have exaggerated notions about their own competence. - Their reliability as agents is largely determined by the extent to
which the case officer's instructions coincide with what they consider
their own best interests. - They are ambitious only in a short range sense: they want much and
they want it now. They do not have the patience to plod toward a
distant reward. - They are naturally clandestine and enjoy secrecy and deception for its
own sake.
Wikileaks
The Guardian
http://www.guardian.co.uk/uk/2011/jan/09/undercover-office-green-activists
Infiltration of Environmental Movement
Briefly wanted to mention an example of a long term infiltration of several environmental, anti-racist and anarchist organizations by an undercover London Metropolitan Police officer.
Mark Kennedy spent almost two decades inside a variety of peaceful and legal organizations and protest groups.
Legal documents suggest Kennedy's activities went beyond those of a passive spy, prompting activists to ask whether his role in organizing and helping to fund protests meant he turned into an agent provocateur.
Kennedy first adopted the fake identity Mark Stone in 2003, pretending to be a professional climber, in order to disrupt the UK's peaceful movement to combat climate change. Then aged 33, he grew long hair and sported earrings and tattoos, before going on to attend almost every major demonstration in the UK up to the G20 protests in London. He was issued with a fake passport and driving licence.
After his role was revealed to the public, Kennedy apologized to his friends from infiltrated organizations and said what he had done was wrong.
The Wikileaks emails leaked from Stratfor adds that the London Metropolitan Police created a special unit, the National Public Order Intelligence Unit (NPOIU), to combat "domestic threats". To that end, peaceful citizens exercising their rights to free speech, free assembly and association are deemed "threats" authorities and law enforcement agencies.
The correspondence between Stratfor employees show both admiration and revulsion towards Kennedy.
Very impressive undercover work...
He sure looks like a dirty hippy.
It also states that with the fake passport the undercover operative received from the NPOIU he traveled to more than 22 countries.
This type of infiltration speaks volumes as to how the ruling and managerial classes view the general public. We can assume that:
Peaceful assembly or taking action to change and improve the world is looked upon as suspicious and criminal behavior.
Participating in peaceful movements makes you a target of the state and their intelligence agencies.
Free citizens engaging in their communities are regarded as threats and enemies of the state.
The people, the masses, are a threat to the status quo and the social hierarchy.
The people are a threat to "National Security".
The people are the enemy of the state.
For more on Agent Provocateurs see @krnel piece on the US riots
@krnel/corona-crisis-narrative-fading-bring-on-another-crisis-riot-to-justify-more-control
Related Article
@v4vapid/from-noble-protests-to-violent-riots-or-reframing-the-narrative
