As something of a Clancy fan: he reported in interviews that he developed a strong working relationship with members of the intelligence community, circulated drafts, and was occasionally asked "WTF Tom who gave you that one?!" about things he had created for fictional convenience.
A similar thing happened with Vince Flynn and George Bush:
>"His fans included George W. Bush, who called Flynn "a little too accurate" because Flynn's books >are often so true to CIA actions around the world. Once, while catching a ride in Bush's limo from
>Andrews Air Force Base, Flynn was grilled by the then-president on where he gets his information.
