I recently learned a new term, or more accurately, a new meaning for a term I had long known in a very different context (agriculture). The term is “sheep dipped.”
Its meaning as a term of art in the intelligence field is taking someone with a formal role in the military or FBI and creating for them a new identity in the private sector where they continue to function sub rosa on the government’s behalf while accruing govenment benefits.
You can find a formal definition of the term here and here. Speculations about recent uses including the placement of FBI agents inside Twitter and other Internet firms exist here and here.
I’m okay with its use in international intelligence operations, much less than okay with its use domestically.
