The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower

The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower

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 Americaâ€™s destiny as traditional superpowers Russia and China. Indeed, one of this bookâ€™s central arguments is that, in some ways, Iranâ€™s grip on Americaâ€™s future is even tighter.

As exâ€“CIA operative Robert Baer masterfully shows, Iran has maneuvered itself into the elite superpower ranks by exploiting Americansâ€™ false perceptions of what Iran isâ€”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 frighteningâ€”and yet contained in the potential catastrophe is an implicit political response that, if weâ€™re bold enough to adopt it, could avert disaster.

Baerâ€™s on-the-ground sleuthing and interviews with key Middle East playersâ€”everyone from an Iranian ayatollah to the king of Bahrain to the head of Israelâ€™s internal securityâ€”paint a picture of the centuries-old Shia nation that is starkly the opposite of the one normally drawn. For example, Iranâ€™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 worldâ€™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 actorâ€”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 worldâ€™s most important energy corridors to a nation that can match us militarily with its asymmetric capabilities (which include the use of suicide bombers)â€”or deal with the devil we know. We might just find that in allying with Iran, weâ€™ll have increased not just our own security but that of all Middle East nations.The alternativeâ€”to continue goading Iran into establishing hegemony over the Muslim worldâ€”is too chilling to contemplate.

From the Hardcover edition.
Country USA
Brand Broadway Books
Manufacturer Crown
Binding Paperback
ItemPartNumber 9780307408679
Color Black
ReleaseDate 2009-08-18
UnitCount 1
EANs 9780307408679

Country	USA
Brand	Broadway Books
Manufacturer	Crown
Binding	Paperback
ItemPartNumber	9780307408679
Color	Black
ReleaseDate	2009-08-18
UnitCount	1
EANs	9780307408679

The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower

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