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...

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.)