This thrilling thriller reads like a CIA promo novel. It’s consistently on message presenting a compelling and unambiguous world view.

The Syrians are portrayed as barbaric, merciless killers who’ll do anything for their nefarious ends. This includes torturing a CIA agent who had diplomatic immunity!

“They took her fucking scalp,” Procter said. “Agency docs and photography experts could see a thin incision in the photo, despite the makeup. They scalped her, then sewed it back on for the picture.” p147

The CIA is incensed. A superhero is dispatched and those responsible will meet a ghastly end. Our superhero recruits a beautiful, talented woman with exceptional access to Syrian powerbrokers. She’s also been trained in Israeli unarmed combat – 6 Syrian secret officers find this out the hard way. The Syrians know the superhero is in their midst and use surveillance techniques, which he evades. Nothing daunted they ship in a crack Russian team of surveillance experts. Now our superhero is facing Syrian and Russian surveillance and a drone. No problem.

Finally, the killer responsible for the death and torture of the CIA agent must be assassinated. But! No innocent pedestrians should be harmed. At this point it becomes ludicrous to anyone who’s paid attention to American drone assassinations,¹ which have many civilian deaths.

In Stalin’s time the media were under strict control. Be on message or be blacklisted. This book is as subtle as a Soviet novel. McCloskey worked for the CIA and one of his ex-colleagues writes,

‘Damascus Station is simply intoxicating. A vortex of love, loyalty, murder and damn good espionage’ DON HEPBURN, former CIA Chief of Station.

Or, in other words, wonderful propaganda.

Note

1 Obama’s Final Drone Strike Data | Council on Foreign Relations (cfr.org)