A "burn notice" is an official statement issued by an

intelligence agency An intelligence agency is a government agency responsible for the collection, analysis, and exploitation of information in support of law enforcement, national security, military, public safety, and foreign policy objectives. Means of informa ...

to other agencies. It states that an

asset In financial accounting, an asset is any resource owned or controlled by a business or an economic entity. It is anything (tangible or intangible) that can be used to produce positive economic value. Assets represent value of ownership that ca ...

or intelligence source is unreliable for one or several reasons, often

fabrication Fabrication may refer to: * Manufacturing, specifically the crafting of individual parts as a solo product or as part of a larger combined product. Processes in arts, crafts and manufacturing *Semiconductor device fabrication, the process used t ...

, and must be officially disavowed. This is essentially a directive for the recipient to disregard or "burn" all information derived from that individual or group.

Examples

* Ahmed Chalabi *

Curveball In baseball and softball, the curveball is a type of pitch thrown with a characteristic grip and hand movement that imparts forward spin to the ball, causing it to dive as it approaches the plate. Varieties of curveball include the 12–6 curv ...

—"The CIA has since issued an official 'burn notice' formally retracting more than 100 intelligence reports based on his information." * 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." * 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."John M. Berger, ''Jihad Joe: Americans Who Go to War in the Name of Islam'', pp 54,

Potomac Books Inc, May 15, 2011

In popular culture

* The

USA Network USA Network (simply USA) is an American basic cable television channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. It was originally launched in 1977 as Mad ...

television series ''

Burn Notice ''Burn Notice'' is an American espionage television series created by Matt Nix, which originally aired on the USA Network for a total of seven seasons from June 28, 2007, to September 12, 2013. The show stars Jeffrey Donovan, Gabrielle Anwa ...

'' centers on Michael Westen (portrayed by Jeffrey Donovan), a former

covert operative A covert operation is a military operation intended to conceal the identity of (or allow plausible deniability by) the party that instigated the operation. Covert operations should not be confused with clandestine operations, which are performe ...

who has been burned and is trying to find those responsible. * In the

season 1 Season One may refer to: Albums * ''Season One'' (Suburban Legends album), 2004 * ''Season One'' (All Sons & Daughters album), 2012 * ''Season One'' (Saukrates album), 2012 See also * * * Season 2 (disambiguation) * Season 4 (disambigua ...

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 A false flag operation is an act committed with the intent of disguising the actual source of responsibility and pinning blame on another party. The term "false flag" originated in the 16th century as an expression meaning an intentional misr ...

operation.

References

Espionage {{Gov-stub