A "burn notice" is an official statement issued by an intelligence agency to other agencies. It states that an asset or intelligence source is unreliable for one or several reasons, often fabrication, and must be officially disavowed.^[1] This is essentially a directive for the recipient to disregard or "burn" all information derived from that individual or group.^[2]

Examples

Ahmed Chalabi^[3]
Curveball—"The CIA has since issued an official 'burn notice' formally retracting more than 100 intelligence reports based on his information."^[4]^[5]
Manucher Ghorbanifar—1984 and 1986. "The CIA considered Ghorbanifar a dangerous con man and had issued a 'burn notice' recommending that no U.S. agency have any dealings with him."^[6]^[7]^[8]
Ali Abdel Saoud Mohamed, who was recruited by the CIA and immediately revealed himself to be a double agent. "The CIA issued a burn notice to U.S. and allied intelligence services that Mohamed was not to be trusted."^[9]

In popular culture

The USA Network television series Burn Notice centers on Michael Westen (portrayed by Jeffrey Donovan), a former covert operative who has been burned and is trying to find those responsible.
In the season 1 episode of Archer "Job Offer", Malory Archer puts out a burn notice on her son Sterling Archer after he accepts a job with competing intelligence agency ODIN, which was then made to look like an ODIN false flag operation.
In the 1966-1973 CBS Network television series Mission Impossible and the Mission: Impossible (film series) the IMF leader is given a secret recorded message explaining the mission, followed by a disclaimer to the effect of "should you or any of your team be caught or killed the secretary will disavow any knowledge of your actions."

References

^ Burn Notice Definition Archived 2008-06-10 at the Wayback Machine, Dictionary of Military and Associated Terms Archived 2016-10-10 at the Wayback Machine, accessed via dtic.mil April 9, 2008
^ West, Nigel (2006). Historical dictionary of international intelligence. Vol. 4. Rowman & Littlefield. p. 41. ISBN 978-0-8108-5578-6.
^ Mahle, Melissa Boyle (2004). Denial and deception: an insider's view of the CIA from Iran-contra to 9/11. Nation Books. p. 27. ISBN 978-1-56025-649-6.
^ "Curveball: 'I Am Not To Blame' for U.S. War in Iraq". ABC News. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
^ Hosenball, Mark (January 17, 2006). "Whose Fault is CurveBall Mess?". Newsweek.
^ "They're Back". American Prospect. September 26, 2006. Archived from the original on 2007-04-29. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
^ Bamford, James (July 24, 2006). "Iran: The Next War". Rolling Stone. Archived from the original on January 21, 2007. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
^ "Niger Yellowcake and The Man Who Forged Too Much". uruknet.info. Retrieved 2008-06-27.
^ John M. Berger, Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam, pp 54, ISBN 1597976938, [1] [2], Potomac Books Inc, May 15, 2011

v t e Espionage
Agents Assets	Agent handling Cover Double agent Field agent Resident spy Sleeper agent Spymaster
Analysis	Intelligence assessment competing hypotheses
Devices and communications	Concealment device Covert listening device Cryptography Cutout Dead drop Invisible ink Numbers station One-way voice link Short-range agent communications Steganography microdot
Tradecraft and techniques	Canary trap Front organization Limited hangout
Operations	Chinese intelligence activity abroad Chinese espionage in the United States Cold War espionage Recruitment Black operation black bag wetwork Eavesdropping SIGINT MASINT False flag Industrial espionage Interpersonal (HUMINT) intelligence interrogation safe house surveillance COINTELPRO MINARET SHAMROCK FVEY Sexpionage Stay-behind

Examples

In popular culture

See also

References