The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower » (Bargain)

ROBERT BAER is the author of two New York Times bestsellers: Sleeping with the Devil, about the Saudi royal family and its relationship with the United States; and See No Evil, which recounts Baer’s years as a top CIA operative. See No Evil was the basis for the acclaimed film Syriana, which earned George Clooney an Oscar for his portrayal of Baer. Baer writes regularly for Time.com and has contributed to Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. He is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Middle East.

From the Hardcover edition.

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...

Publishers Weekly

Former CIA operative Baer (See No Evil) challenges the conventional wisdom regarding Iran in this timely and provocative analysis, arguing that Iran has already "half-won" its undeclared 30-year war with the United States and is rapidly becoming a superpower. In Baer's analysis, Iran has succeeded by using carefully vetted proxies such as Hezbollah and by appealing across the Muslim sectarian divide to Sunni Arabs, and is well on its way to establishing an empire in the Persian Gulf. Baer claims that since "Iran's dominance in the Middle East is a fait accompli," the United States has no viable choice but to ask for a truce and enter into negotiations prepared to drop sanctions against Iran and accept a partition of Iraq, which is already, and irretrievably, lost. Baer's assumptions are often questionable-most tellingly that Iran is now trustworthy-and his conclusions premature: he states unequivocally, for example, that "the Iranians have annexed the entire south [of Iraq]." But his brief adds an important perspective to a crucial international debate. (Sept.)

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Prologue 1

1 The Iranian Paradox 7

2 How Iran Beat America 29

3 The Master Plan: How Iran Arrived at Its Secret Blueprint for Empire 51

4 From Terrorism to Power Politics: How Iran Became a Statist Power 77

5 Lethal and Elusive: Why Iran's Weapons and Tactics Make It Unconquerable - Even Without Nukes 95

6 Seizing the World's Energy Corridors: Why Iran Will Shortly Control the Most Vital Oil and Gas Trade Routes 113

7 Toppling the Arab Sheikhdoms: How Iran Plans to Seize the Persian Gulf's Oil 137

8 White Knights: How Iran's Shia Are Winning the Hearts of the Sunni Palestinians 155

9 Winner Take All: Why the Shia Will Prevail - and the Opening It Offers 181

10 Ultimate Sacrifice: Martyrs, Suicide Bombers, and the Fight for the Soul of Islam 205

11 Memories That Don't Fade: What Iran Really Wants 233

Epilogue 249

Glossary 263

Index 271