false 2794230 6 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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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. <br><br>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.<br><br>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.<br><br>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. 2820002 30 9 2008 The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower total:102|5:33|4:38|3:22|2:8|1:1| 102 400 250 36 4 1 false false Wed Oct 15 17:29:39 -0700 2008 Wed Oct 15 17:29:39 -0700 2008 more...]]> 3 1 false false Thu Nov 27 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Oct 31 14:02:57 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 27 22:44:47 -0800 2008 more...]]> 1 0 false false Wed Apr 15 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 13:06:49 -0700 2009 Wed Apr 15 14:04:10 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 1 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Jan 29 10:14:44 -0800 2009 Sun Feb 01 12:52:15 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Sun Feb 01 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 05 22:18:09 -0800 2009 Thu Feb 12 21:45:25 -0800 2009 Nearly everything the average American has been told about Iran is wrong.

This is a compelling analysis of one of the major players on the world stage. For those who have read much about the Middle East there is not a whole lot of new information here, but Baer has the ability to gather t...more...]]> 5 1 false false Tue Jan 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 23:05:03 -0800 2008 Fri Dec 05 23:11:49 -0800 2008 more...]]> 3 0 false false Thu Apr 23 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Mon Mar 30 05:39:50 -0700 2009 Thu Apr 23 05:56:20 -0700 2009 more...]]> 2 1 false false Wed Feb 11 13:16:37 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 27 10:48:51 -0800 2009 Wed Feb 11 13:16:37 -0800 2009
also, with no central character or narrative to follow its really hard to keep reading.]]> 2 0 false false Mon Nov 09 00:00:00 -0800 2009 Sun Oct 25 14:57:28 -0700 2009 Mon Nov 09 04:37:09 -0800 2009 more...]]> 5 0 false false Fri Mar 20 09:16:47 -0700 2009 Tue Mar 24 08:07:26 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Dec 01 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Mar 26 11:21:02 -0700 2009 Thu Mar 26 11:24:55 -0700 2009 See No Evil did when I first read it. The Middle East is such a complex area that is governed by so many more factions than we, as laypeople, can understand. Baer does an outstanding job detailing why Iran is such a t...more...]]> 4 0 false false Fri Feb 13 10:38:22 -0800 2009 Sun Jan 25 19:18:34 -0800 2009 Fri Feb 13 10:38:22 -0800 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Tue Dec 30 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Wed Nov 12 22:01:11 -0800 2008 Tue Dec 30 09:34:55 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Tue Sep 29 04:34:49 -0700 2009 Tue Sep 29 04:39:30 -0700 2009 5 0 false false Tue Jan 06 15:40:26 -0800 2009 Tue Jan 06 15:41:41 -0800 2009 3 0 false false Mon Jun 01 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 06:38:58 -0700 2009 Sat Jun 20 06:45:33 -0700 2009
]]> 4 0 false false Tue Dec 02 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Mon Oct 13 21:47:06 -0700 2008 Thu Dec 04 18:20:34 -0800 2008 more...]]> 0 0 false false Sun May 17 00:00:00 -0700 2009 Sun May 17 15:41:34 -0700 2009 Sun Jun 14 15:26:33 -0700 2009 more...]]> 4 0 false false Mon Dec 08 00:00:00 -0800 2008 Thu Nov 13 10:08:11 -0800 2008 Mon Dec 08 11:09:36 -0800 2008 more...]]> 5 0 false false Wed Oct 22 06:52:51 -0700 2008 Thu Nov 13 11:58:11 -0800 2008 more...]]>