SREBRENICA MADNESS 57The following legend is to help the reader decipher some of the terms
used in these realistic CIA cables:
“ZULU” is Greenwich Mean Time.
“IMMEDIATE” means the cable is of high priority; lower levels
of precedence include “ROUTINE” and “PRIORITY.” There are
higher levels of precedence as well.
“DIRECTOR” is CIA headquarters.
“CITE” means “from,” where the cable originated (in this case,
Sarajevo Station).
“WNINTEL,” et al., are internal “slugs” or key words used to route
the cable to the correct recipients.
“SITREP” means “situation report.”
“REFS” are cables that were sent previously and that relate directly
to the cable in question.
“SDR” is “surveillance detection route,” an elaborate, preplanned
route run by a case officer to ensure (s)he is not under surveillance
before performing an operational act, such as meeting with an agent.
“COS” is the chief of station, the CIA’s highest-ranking employee
in-country.
“CLARKE” is the pseudonym of the COS. CIA employees do not
use true names in cable traffic. They are assigned randomly generated
pseudonyms that are used throughout their careers in cable traffic.
“00TRIBE/1” is a cryptonym used in lieu of true name to identify
a particular foreign agent, or in this case an “advanced developmental”
(someone who is not yet a formal agent but is taking steps in that direc-
tion). “00” is a digraph that refers to the geographic division in charge
of the case, and “TRIBE” is the randomly generated word assigned to
the agent to protect his/her true identity.
DDO is the CIA’s deputy director of operations.
STU-III is a secure encrypted landline.
In CIA terminology, “agent” refers to the foreign national who
agrees to spy for the CIA. The US officer who handles spies is called
“case officer” or “operations officer” (aka “ops officer”).