Wednesday, October 13, 2010

COP: Vince Flynn’s “American Assassin” Part I


Elise Cooper

American Assassin is a vintage Vince Flynn novel, a prequel to his Rapp-Kennedy series. All of his books deal with terrorism and the methods needed to keep America safe. If you are looking for political correctness this is not the book for you. Mr. Flynn intertwines his fictional plots with real life political situations. Although there is much less political commentary in this novel than in the last two, this book is not completely devoid of politics. Flynn discusses the issue of torture, targeted assassinations, and the need for America to take an aggressive stance in fighting its enemies. NewsRealBlog had the pleasure of interviewing him about American Assassin.

NewsRealBlog: Why did you choose to write the prequel now?

Vince Flynn: I have wanted to write it since 1998 when I finished Transfer of Power, the first Mitch Rapp book. The longer I went on writing more novels the farther I became removed from the beginning. I was drawn to tell the story of how it all got started.Vince Flynn: I have wanted to write it since 1998 when I finished Transfer of Power, the first Mitch Rapp book. The longer I went on writing more novels the farther I became removed from the beginning. I was drawn to tell the story of how it all got started.

NRB: The main characters of the series are Mitch Rapp, a “grade A” CIA operative, Irene Kennedy, who heads an anti-terrorist secret program, and Thomas Stansfield, head of CIA operations who becomes CIA Director. Did you feel a bond with any of these characters?

Flynn: The characters mean so much to me. I teared up when some of them died. In this book Kennedy and Rapp are both fairly young. He is 23 and she is 28. I wanted to have the characters feel like I did. There is nothing more motivating than when you suffer that personal tragedy. Kennedy was brought into the agency for many of the same reasons Rapp was brought into it. They both lost somebody that they love to terrorism (Kennedy her father in the 1983 US embassy Lebanon bombing and Rapp in the downing of Pan Am Flight 103.) Now they are motivated to go out there and defend America.

NRB: What can you tell us about the newest character, Stan Hurley?

Flynn: He is an old school guy. He is out there on the cutting edge and has no patience for political correctness. He wants to take the fight to the terrorists.

NRB: What do you consider the spark for Islamic radicalism/terrorism?

Flynn: There are a series of points that you can go back and trace where the problems should have been solved earlier. One of the problems is that Israel was never allowed to annex the territory won during the wars. No country ever gave anything back. There are all these crazy arguments that Israel must give the land back even though they were attacked. The UN has been this goofy, biased referee that allows this problem to fester. Look at the Munich Olympics. It was naked aggression. How did the world react to it? The Germans released these murderers after a couple of years in jail. This sends a message to all the little Palestinian thugs that they won’t be punished. These guys should have been executed and the problem would have been solved. I am trying to make this point in my book, that we miss opportunities.

NRB: The antagonists in the book are America’s old adversary, Russia and its new adversary, the Terrorists. Can you elaborate?

Flynn: I wanted to tie the Cold War into the new war. Look at the Russian country today. The common thread for top tier guys is that they all worked for the former KGB.

NRB: You delve into the torture issue in the book. It appears you don’t agree with those who claim that torture does not work?

Flynn: William Buckley (the Lebanon CIA Station Chief,) gave up vital information. Torture works. Period, end of discussion. A skilled interrogator goes into a room after someone is worn down for 24 to 48 hours. There are the “20 questions” as talked about in American Assassin. Certain questions are asked where they try to box the captive into a corner. They ask questions where they already know the answers. These are the baseline for the rest of the interrogation. They will always go back to the questions they know the answers to make sure the person interrogated is being honest.

NRB: A good quote in the book is that America should not play defense and that “weakness breeds contempt… I want these guys looking over their shoulders wondering if they’re next.” Please comment.

Flynn: A good football team plays offense and defense. You have to be aggressive and disrupt. Look at Fort Hood where political correctness affected our national security. We should take a lesson.

NRB: Are you going to continue the prequel in future books?

Flynn: Because I am immersed in this time period I want to continue this story line. I am thinking of writing an American Assassin series, a trilogy.

Thank You

No comments: