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Comment by goles | Hacker News Reader

The idea that someone would use their real identity, or not disappear and get a new identity, while on covert action against America enemies is so absurd it's almost a great skit idea.

"We successfully attacked the nuclear facility!"

"Oh Van, by the way what name did you sign in the log book?"

"...Oh no"

I imagine there are a non-zero amount of readers (but not commenters) who find these stories comments extremely funny.

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It sounds like something out of Four Lions - https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=okGgkfDy4bc

> "Oh Van, by the way what name did you sign in the log book?"

Actually his name is Erik, van Sabben is his last name. Perhaps that's how he got away with it.

I’ve known several people whose surname was Van<something> who simply went by “Van”.

They were all older gents, but it’s not outside the realm of plausibility that “Van” could be what van Sabben was called. :)

I think that only goes for when Dutch surnames are adopted by people who don't speak Dutch. "van Sabben" just means "from Sabben" and calling someone "From" just sounds weird. ;)

maybe the death was an implementation detail?

Gallows humor, we' be dead without it

_he said, his face deadpan._

Sorry, I’ll respond seriously because re-reading my comment sounds like a bit of a cheap shot at P, et al.

From the report in Dutch, they raise the point he may not have even known the magnitude of what he was doing. Until it already had been done and he realized what happened.

Even AIVD/MIVD may have not known…or so they say.

But we will probably never know.

He was an asset, not a member of a secret service organization. He was in a useful position in a company, then he was recruited. It sounds like he was more of a useful idiot and not some mastermind.

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