[custom_adv] The Country provided new information on a man it has said will be executed for allegedly spying on behalf of Israel’s Mossad and the US Central Intelligence Agency. Judiciary spokesman said Mahmoud Mousavi Majd had resided in Syria in recent years alongside his family, in an unspecified capacity. Spies in general, and Russian spies in particular, seem to be everywhere: cyber-spies, spies operating undercover in civilian disguise, financial spies, political spies; spies infiltrating social media to deliver fake news, plant lies and swing elections, and spies deployed to kill other spies. [custom_adv] Wherever there are rivalries, there are double agents. These rivalries can be between corporate houses, drug cartels, countries or even civilizations. For one side, double agents become heroes, but for the other side they are the worst type of traitors… rats! [custom_adv] Compared to any other job, double agents work in the most dangerous circumstances. This danger is what makes this job so thrilling, and so high paying. Yet not every double agent is after money. There are many who do it for the love of their country, or ideological reasons. [custom_adv] The character of a double agent is so exciting that it is often used in literature. However, in literature, money does not drive the character. Instead, it’s typically passion. [custom_adv] One of the most brilliant double agent characters from modern literature is Severus Snape of the Harry Potter series. Author J.K. Rowling portrayed the perfect double agent. He remains in high risk and is often mistrusted. He’s lonely, and he’s devoted. He’s cunning, and he is complicated. But above all else, he gets the job done. Almost all brilliant double agents have these characteristics in common. [custom_adv] The traditional definition of a double agent is a spy who is secretly working for two different intelligence services/governments at the same time. In other words, all double agents are spies but most spies are not double agents. [custom_adv] A spy works for an organization, typically a government. A double agent is a spy who also works for the "other side". An ordinary government spy is usually patriotic; a double agent is usually acting for personal gain. [custom_adv] A spy might also be a false double agent, pretending to work for the other side while actually remaining loyal to his side, in the hope of getting deeper into the other side's organization and its secrets.
