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The Amazon Store at MillionDollarPetPix.com ( In association with Amazon.com )The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpowerby: Robert Baer  List Price: $25.95 Amazon.com's Price: $17.13 You Save: $8.82 (34%)Prices subject to change. Availability: Usually ships in 24 hours
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Binding: HardcoverDewey Decimal Number: 955.054 EAN: 9780307408648 Edition: 1 ISBN: 0307408647 Label: Crown Manufacturer: Crown Number Of Items: 1 Number Of Pages: 288 Publication Date: September 30, 2008 Publisher: Crown Release Date: September 30, 2008 Studio: Crown Related Items:
Browse for similar items by category: Click to Display Editorial Review: Product Description: Over the past thirty years, while the United States has turned either a blind or dismissive eye, Iran has emerged as a nation every bit as capable of altering America’s destiny as traditional superpowers Russia and China. Indeed, one of this book’s central arguments is that, in some ways, Iran’s grip on America’s future is even tighter. As ex–CIA operative Robert Baer masterfully shows, Iran has maneuvered itself into the elite superpower ranks by exploiting Americans’ false perceptions of what Iran is—by letting us believe it is a country run by scowling religious fanatics, too preoccupied with theocratic jostling and terrorist agendas to strengthen its political and economic foundations. The reality is much more frightening—and yet contained in the potential catastrophe is an implicit political response that, if we’re bold enough to adopt it, could avert disaster. Baer’s on-the-ground sleuthing and interviews with key Middle East players—everyone from an Iranian ayatollah to the king of Bahrain to the head of Israel’s internal security—paint a picture of the centuries-old Shia nation that is starkly the opposite of the one normally drawn. For example, Iran’s hate-spouting President Ahmadinejad is by no means the true spokesman for Iranian foreign policy, nor is Iran making it the highest priority to become a nuclear player. Even so, Baer has discovered that Iran is currently engaged in a soft takeover of the Middle East, that the proxy method of war-making and co-option it perfected with Hezbollah in Lebanon is being exported throughout the region, that Iran now controls a significant portion of Iraq, that it is extending its influence over Jordan and Egypt, that the Arab Emirates and other Gulf States are being pulled into its sphere, and that it will shortly have a firm hold on the world’s oil spigot. By mixing anecdotes with information gleaned from clandestine sources, Baer superbly demonstrates that Iran, far from being a wild-eyed rogue state, is a rational actor—one skilled in the game of nations and so effective at thwarting perceived Western colonialism that even rival Sunnis relish fighting under its banner. For U.S. policy makers, the choices have narrowed: either cede the world’s most important energy corridors to a nation that can match us militarily with its asymmetric capabilities (which include the use of suicide bombers)—or deal with the devil we know. We might just find that in allying with Iran, we’ll have increased not just our own security but that of all Middle East nations.The alternative—to continue goading Iran into establishing hegemony over the Muslim world—is too chilling to contemplate. Average Rating:
 Rating:  - Understanding Other CulturesThis is an excellent book. It gives insight as to why certain people that we really don't understand act the way they do. Rating:  - Almost GreatFirst let me say that I was really excited when I saw that Baer was writing on Iran. I was not dissapointed either. The problem is he seems to be too much in Iran's camp. One outright falsehood is his complete disregard for Al-Sistani: the Iraq shia religious leader, now is he as powerful as Iran? No, but he (according to Iraqis I have talked to while being stationed there) is not just sitting in his house in Najaf waiting to be taken out as Mr. Baer implies: according to my Iraq friends Maliki ... Read More Rating: - Very Important for America to considerThis guy knows what he is talking about and the books well written. I was fortunate to catch Robert Baer's interview with Terry Gross on NPR's Fresh Air" October 2 episode (available for download/podcast) and was astonished. I consider myself somewhere in the middle or higher than average as far as being informed about what goes on in this world, but found that interview astonishing!. I immediately had to run out and get the book. I've now read all three, and am better informed about what is REALLY ... Read More Rating: - Questions for Mr. BaerI couldn't find any contact information for Mr. Baer so I post my question here. I watched Mr. Baer's interview with Stephen Colbert ( [...] ) He says some strange and wrong things about Iran in this interview, such as Iran was involved in 9/11 and those Al-Qaida members were trained in Iran and USA should have attacked Iran instead of Iraq. Then I watched his interview with BBC Hard Talk here: [...] What he says in this more recent interview totally contradicts with what he says in ... Read More Rating:  - If you can't beat them, join them...This book has value as a reference to assist in the understanding of the players involved in the Middle East and how they interact/relate to each other. There is a lot of good information on how many of the players came to reach their current positions of power and how positions of power were lost. And the author is correct in that the West (and the US in particular) doesn't understand Iran and it's internal workings and the core differences between Shia and Sunni factions. The problem is ... Read More 
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