Repeat: Whiskey Tango Foxtrot

William Rooney is a highly successful veteran of 35 years' in the Clandestine Service and was directly involved in a number of effective and dangerous operations. He has lived in foreign countries for a number of years in his exciting and distinguished CIA career. His first novel, Whiskey Tango Foxtrot, is a cautionary tale all should heed. The elements in this captivating love story quickly unfold into an urgent need to stop a sophisticated, potentially nation-shattering terrorist plot. Rooney believes strongly that CIA operations are one of the first lines of defense in the everyday struggle to protect this country. He feels the Clandestine Service needs to meet the highest standards of professionalism, and also needs to be covert. He does not pull punches when discussing what is happening to the CIA, and how it is a political football in the nation's capital. Acknowledging some of this is a self-inflicted wound caused by various retired officers who in public forums and daily news talk shows, opine on world political issues Rooney is also frustrated by the continuing leaks of sensitive information about operations from 'anonymous sources' or from unnamed retired Agency Officers. Recent examples make the point clearly and include the news stories of the Safe House near Osama Bin Laden's hideout, that there was a stealth drone overhead monitoring activity at the target location and the announcement in newspapers, CIA operatives had deployed into Libya the previous day. Agency Operations Officers face great difficulties in mounting successful operations, and such public transparency does not make their jobs easier. Too often, politicians, newsmen, and Government turf war barons in Washington play "pin the tail on the donkey" and "gotcha" when dealing with the Clandestine Service in the hardball game of politics. While this book is fiction, and a fun novel to read, Rooney touches on a number of issues that need to be discussed and also offers interesting insights all should give thought to.