The Cobra

Frederick Forsyth burst onto the espionage and thriller scene with The Day of the Jackal in the early 70's and has consistently produced primarily clandestine operations best sellers in the ensuing years. The Cobra is his newest and, I found, somewhat disappointing novel. But then, perhaps that's the point. The writing, the details, the plot are not disappointing--just the outcome. There is no happy ending here. If the president of the United States gave you unlimited power and a virtually unlimited budget, could you stop the traffic in cocaine? That's the question posed to retired CIA operative, Paul Devereux, who was nicknamed The Cobra for his less than diplomatic dealings with people. After careful study, he agrees that he could, and through careful preparation, he proceeds to disrupt the flow of cocaine and turn the enemy inward to consume itself. But innocent people do die as the gangs begin to war with one another in response to diminishing drug supplies and strategically placed disinformation. And the United States would rather that kind of thing happened somewhere else, so Devereux is called off before the cocaine industry can completely self-destruct. It's fascinating to watch the man's mind work its way through what would be required. He does his research and keeps you reading as the machinations of his plan are revealed. The ending is probably realistic, even if the premise of the story stretches credibility--but I still wish it had turned out differently.