<Tr> <Th> Preceded by </Th> <Td> The Cardinal of the Kremlin </Td> </Tr> <Tr> <Th> Followed by </Th> <Td> The Sum of All Fears </Td> </Tr> <P> Clear and Present Danger is a political thriller novel, written by Tom Clancy and published on August 17, 1989 . A sequel to The Cardinal of the Kremlin (1988), main character Jack Ryan becomes acting Deputy Director of Intelligence in the Central Intelligence Agency, and discovers that he is being kept in the dark by his colleagues who are conducting a covert war against a drug cartel based in Colombia . It debuted at number one on the New York Times bestseller list . A film adaptation, featuring Harrison Ford reprising his role as Ryan, was released on August 3, 1994 . </P> <P> The President of the United States, who is running for reelection, finds a fierce opponent in Ohio Governor J. Robert Fowler, who has rallied the American public behind his administration's failures in the War on Drugs . This provides National Security Advisor James Cutter with an opportunity to help him initiate covert operations within Colombia with intent to disrupt the illegal drug trade there . Aided by CIA Deputy Director (Operations) Robert Ritter and CIA director Arthur Moore, the plan involves inserting light infantry troops with Hispanic descent into the country to stake out airstrips used by the cartel (SHOWBOAT), which then allows F - 15 Eagles to intercept drug flights (EAGLE EYE). In addition, mobile phone communications between cartel management are intercepted through CAPER, which is also the communications arm for SHOWBOAT . </P>

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