In every operation there is an above the line and a below the line. Above the line is what you do by the book. Below the line is how you do the job.

If you see the world as gloomily as I see it, the only thing to do is laugh or shoot yourself.

The world of spying is my genre. My struggle is to demystify, to de-romanticise the spook world, but at the same time harness it as a good story.

A good writer can watch a cat pad across the street and know what it is to be pounced upon by a Bengal tiger.

During the Cold War, we lived in coded times when it wasn't easy and there were shades of grey and ambiguity.

There will be no war, but in the pursuit of principle no stone will be left standing.

Americans believe that if you know something, you should do something about it.