Nope. From what I understand, Ghost mode is it's own separate feature with it's own game save and play at your own risk. I like the hyper intensity (no more shooting at Unidad just for fun) and having to play like you're 4 American covert operators with your asses hanging out in the wind in a country you're not authorized to be in. But yeah, I can imagine being 40 hours in and dying any number of stupid ways like diving off a cliff and my chute not opening in time or clipping a power pole in a helo.
That said, I'm going to try to make backup saves on a USB stick. I know it defeats the purpose of permanent death but if they really wanted it to be permanent, once you died, the game would automatically uninstall itself and your machine and gamertag will never be allowed to play it again. Also you would be put on an international registry where you'd be prohibited from buying another copy of the game ever again. Now that's permanent.
