‘The Day of the Jackal’ author on real life spy thriller
Michael Furlong, a Defense Department official, set up a network of private contractors in Afghanistan and Pakistan to help track and kill suspected militants. Mark Mazetti, who broke The New York Times, said Furlong used around 20 million dollars to hire private contractors to do intelligence gathering around Afghanistan and Pakistan.
This is a spy novelist’s dream. So we turned to one. Frederick Forsyth is the author of such acclaimed books as “The Day of the Jackal,” “The Odessa File,” “and “The Dogs of War.”
He says that Michael Furlong took a book out of John Gotti’s mafia wars, and that he has never seen anything like this – a government official hiring private contractors to assassinate.
The World is an independent newsroom. We’re not funded by billionaires; instead, we rely on readers and listeners like you. As a listener, you’re a crucial part of our team and our global community. Your support is vital to running our nonprofit newsroom, and we can’t do this work without you. Will you support The World with a gift today? Donations made between now and Dec. 31 will be matched 1:1. Thanks for investing in our work!