David McCloskey, Former CIA Analyst, discussing his realistic novel, Damascus Station, set in Syria

Interview of Tuesday, 14 September 2021 of former CIA Analyst David McCloskey discussing his latest novel, "Damascus Station," set during the Syrian civil war: Host/Interviewer: James Hughes, AFIO President, a former CIA Operations Officer. TOPIC: Former CIA Analyst David McCloskey and former CIA Operations Officer (and President of AFIO) James Hughes discuss David's latest novel, "Damascus Station." The novel centers on CIA case officer Sam Joseph who is dispatched to Paris to recruit Syrian Palace official Mariam Haddad. The two fall into a forbidden relationship, which creates unspeakable danger when they enter Damascus to find the man responsible for the disappearance of an American spy. The chase for the killer leads to high-profile assassinations and the discovery of a dark secret at the heart of the Syrian regime, bringing the pair under the eyes of Assad’s spy catcher, Ali Hassan, and his brother Rustum, the head of the ruthless Republican Guard. Set against the backdrop of a Syria pulsing with fear and rebellion...an area McCloskey knows intimately from his years with the Agency. McCloskey provides considerable authentic modern-day tradecraft. The interview runs 25 minutes. Damascus Station is available from Amazon here: https://www.amazon.com/Damascus-Stati... BIOS: DAVID McCLOSKEY is a former CIA analyst and consultant at McKinsey & Company. While at the CIA, he wrote regularly for the President’s Daily Brief, delivered classified testimony to Congressional oversight committees, and briefed senior White House officials, Ambassadors, military officials and Arab royalty. He worked in CIA field stations across the Middle East. During his time at McKinsey, David advised national security, aerospace, and transportation clients on a range of strategic and operational issues. David holds an M.A. from the Johns Hopkins School for Advanced International Studies, where he specialized in energy policy and the Middle East. He lives in Texas with his wife and three children. JAMES R. HUGHES currently serves as the 17th President of AFIO. His service began January 2015. He had a career of US Government service spanning 37 years in numerous foreign countries with a particular focus in the Middle East. He started in U.S. Military Intelligence in the late 1960s and then joined the CIA’s Clandestine Service. He served overseas as a Chief of Station several times, and at CIA Headquarters in a number of senior management positions, including as Chief of the Near East and South Asia Division, in the Directorate of Operations [today’s National Clandestine Service]. He was also named the Associate Deputy Director of Operations (ADDO) at the National Security Agency, 1998-99. Following his retirement from the government in 2005, he joined EDS in Herndon, Virginia, as the Client Industry Executive for the U.S. Intelligence Community. After the HP acquisition of EDS, he continued to serve in a similar capacity until his retirement in 2012. His parents were missionaries in Turkey in the 1950s, where Jim spent his formative years. He is fluent in Arabic. AFIO's upcoming programs: https://www.afio.com​ Follow us: LinkedIn:   / association-of-former-intelligence-officer...   Twitter:   / afio   YouTube:    / afiovideos   Podcasts: Apple - https://podcasts.apple.com/us/podcast... Tune-In: https://tunein.com/podcasts/Education... Spotify: https://open.spotify.com/episode/2eFF... Podbean: https://afio.podbean.com/