I'm really a library man, or second-hand book man.
The cat sat on the mat is not a story. The cat sat on the other cat’s mat is a story.
After all, if you make your enemy look like a fool, you lose the justification for engaging him.
There are some subjects that can only be tackled in fiction.
You can't make war against terror. Terror is a technique of battle. It's a tactic that has been employed since time immemorial. You can conduct clandestine action against terrorists, and that must be done.
[My novels] introduce levels of intelligence ... moral doubt [and] self-doubt, which may not pertain [to real-world espionage].