Customer Reviews
A worrying view of the CIA from the inside - By: Darren Simons, 06 Oct 2007 
In this book, Baer talks through his career as a CIA field officer much of which is focused on the Middle Eastin the 80s & 90s. He describes his close contact with terrorist groupsin Beirut, his communication with his agentsin "enemy governments", & his involvementin history such as the US embassy bombingin Beirut & the planned coup against Saddam Hussein after the first Gulf war.
He provides what strikes me as a view honest & open view of what his feelings were at the timein the situation he was in. What also struck me about the book is that it takes the "Bond glamour" out of the world he's in... Baer describes himself very much as one of many, part of an overall engine which is the CIA. He appears proud to be part of it, & wants it to be successful (that said there is no flag wavingin this book - he couldin effect be a member of any major counter-terrorism organisation). Equally interesting is Baer's account of how he gotin to the CIA - his recruitment process & the training that went with it.
I did feel a certain disappointment that too much time was spent using hindsight to say everyone was wrong & no-one listened to him (it occurs a lotin the latter chapters). On reflection though, given that the book was first publishedin 2002 so long before the strong anti-Iraq-war feelings developed, perhaps actually Baer is making a very honest & fair call for help. Hopefully someone will listen.
Very readable, highly recommended & maybe a lot closer to the truth than any of us realised.
an eminently enjoyable read - By: M. Dooley, 19 Sep 2007 
Baer guides us through the complex web of late Cold War international relations with the ease of an insider. Startingin Madras & endingin Washington, encompassing an entire careerin the CIA along the way, one really gets the impression of chaotic ever-changing world. Very informative & well written. I had been expecting a dry account of world politics (all be it through the lens of the espionage community ), but its a real page-turner that keeps you gripped until the end.
Gripping, Worrying, Real and Brilliantly Uncomfortable - By: Gaurav Sharma, 27 May 2007 Yes, these are the words I really feel like describing this highly readable account by Baer, an agent on the frontline of an agency instituted to protect its citizens. As a journalist myself, very rarely, have I come across a non-fiction title which has generated such an interestin academia, press, citizenry of the world(not just US readers) & has even inspired a movie since it was first publishedin 2002.
The reason,in my opinion is that Baer has tried to tell (and sell) it like it is. It is not some sort of pseudo-liberal rant or a knee-jerk reaction to a Republican administration. He's equally critical of both sides of the American political divide & of the agency itself. For instance, Baer, himself fluentin Arabic, suggestsin See No Evil, thatin the later years of his career there, the CIA faced a shortage of Arabic speaking agents. That it had become temporarily archaic given the Cold War was over & there was no visible enemy!
I have read this book twice & appreciated it twice over. For the sake of a critical standpoint, I tried to analyse if Baer had made a slipin his narrative or made some uncustomary political rant. I feel that he has not. He put his life on the line for his country. So via this book if he has decided to have his say - he deserves to be heard.
Can anyone fix the CIA? - By: apressello, 28 Jul 2006 Robert Baer gives us a gripping account of his twenty-plus years with the CIA, most of it spent eyeball to eyeball with America's enemies -- studying them, co-opting them, & occasionally trying to kidnap them.
I first became aware of Baer after seeing an interview with him on the BBC, where he described how Clinton National Security Advisor Anthony Lake made a sudden, eleventh-hour attempt to ward off a coup attempt against Saddam Husseinin 1995. Incredibly, Lake had Baer brought back to Washington from Northern Iraq to answer a charge of attempted murder for his rolein not discouraging the coup attempt.
The further one reads into this book, the more one understands how deeply flawed the institution of the CIA truly is, if one needed any further evidence following the fruitless search for WMDin Iraq, not to mention the ensuing chaotic occupation.
The closing section on the power of the oil industryin Washington is particularly depressing. It really is as bad as one fears.
In sum, I found this book entertaining, informative, & somewhat depressing at the same time. Highly recommended, nonetheless!
Impassioned cry from a footsoldier in the war on terror - By: Mr. Warren M. Fisher, 07 Jun 2006 A chilling, gripping read from a CIA operative who policed the deadly back-alleys of the Middle East. Like manyin the intelligence & special ops world, Baer found his true enemiesin Washington, amongst his politically-minded careerist bosses & corrupt & timid politicians of all colours. Whilst human intel was sidelined by hi-tech electronic intelliegnce gathering, the higher upsin DC & at Langley curtailed the best efforts of Baer & his comrades to fight the growing threat of Islamic terror. Cynically, politicians ignored Baer's work, pinning the blame for terrorist outrages on easy stooges like Libya & Iraq, while all the time ignoring the likes of Syria & Iran. Indeed it is Iran that Baer states lies behind most if not all of the terrorist attacks of the last two decades (right up to & including Bin Laden & Al Qaeda).
Perhaps the most chilling & inflammatory of Baer accustaions regard the influence of big business & the oil industryin particular. While this was presentin the Republican administrations of the '80's, it was during Clinton's eight year reignin Washington that corruptiion reached its appogee. Secretary of State Warren Christopher's son & National Security Advisor Anthony Lake's wife were both given high-paying jobs with an oil company involvedin a state-sponsored pipeline deal. Dirty foreign money virtually ran the Clinton election campaigns. Baer was appalled by these actions & blew the whistle. He was driven to the brink by the hounding of Lakein particular (he callsin the FBI when Baer is implicatedin a plot to elimninate Saddam Hussein, & a later plotted coup to oust Saddam is shut down by Lake & the White House). Liberal propagandists choose to ignore the rampant misdeeds of the Democratic Clinton administration, propogating myths that big business corruption is the preserve of the Republicans.
A scathing expose, a gripping read, this is an indispensible book by a remarkable man.
