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    The Devil We Know: Dealing With the New Iranian Superpower
    Unavailable
    The Devil We Know: Dealing With the New Iranian Superpower
    Unavailable
    The Devil We Know: Dealing With the New Iranian Superpower
    Audiobook9 hours

    The Devil We Know: Dealing With the New Iranian Superpower

    Written by Robert Baer

    Narrated by Ted Barker

    4/5

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    Currently unavailable

    Currently unavailable

    About this audiobook

    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.


    From the Hardcover edition.
    LanguageEnglish
    PublisherPenguin Random House Audio
    Release dateSep 30, 2008
    ISBN9780739376058
    Unavailable
    The Devil We Know: Dealing With the New Iranian Superpower

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    Reviews for The Devil We Know

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    • 5/5
      An essential book about Iran and the Middle East written by someone who understands the history, culture and outlook of that region from first hand experience. Robert Baer's other books, See No Evil and Sleeping With the Devil are both first rate, but this one tops this others, especially because its focus is on contemporary issues that bear directly on the United States and Iran. It should be at the top
      of Barack Obama's and Hillary Clinton's reading lists (assuming, of course, that they have reading lists!).
    • 5/5
      This book was perfect for understanding where Iran is today since its revolution in 1979. Robert Baer focused primarily on Iran’s foreign policy strategy throughout the Middle East. He argues that Iran, far from being a regime run by apocalyptic religious fundamentalists out to nuke Israel, is a shrewd and calculating political player in the region. Its ultimate goal; to make the US accept Iran as an equal power and replace America as the dominating force in the Middle East. I was astonished reading about how far Iran’s reach goes and how much weight it carries in places like Iraq and Lebanon. Baer also notes how Iran’s proxy in Lebanon, Hezbollah, has won the hearts and minds of Shias and Sunnis alike throughout the Muslim world. This book should serve as a wake up call that Iran is winning in the Middle East and the US should either find a way towards peace or start gearing up for a hundred year war in the region. Highlights: - Iran wants nuclear capability but would never create a nuclear weapon , doing so would jeopardize all the progress that it has made.- Iran plans on controlling all the oil fields in the Persian Gulf. With large Shia populations in many Gulf states this is making Arab countries more willing to acquiesce to Iran’s demands.- Baer believes that our best option with Iran is diplomacy and that in the long run a US-Iran alliance will be successful in terms of stability in Iraq, better hopes of a peace deal between Israel and Palestine, and more cooperation in containing the Taliban in Afghanistan.