“See No Evil is a compelling account of America’s failed efforts to ‘listen in’ on the rest of the world, especially the parts of it that intend to do us harm.”—The Wall Street Journal In his explosive New York Times bestseller, top CIA operative Robert Baer paints a chilling picture of how terrorism works on the inside and provides startling evidence of how Washington politics sabotaged the CIA’s efforts to root out the world’s deadliest terrorists, allowing for the rise of Osama bin Laden and Al Qaeda and the continued entrenchment of Saddam Hussein in Iraq. A veteran case officer in the CIA’s Directorate of Operations in the Middle East, Baer witnessed the rise of terrorism first hand and the CIA’s inadequate response to it, leading to the attacks of September 11, 2001. This riveting book is both an indictment of an agency that lost its way and an unprecedented look at the roots of modern terrorism, and includes a new afterword in which Baer speaks out about the American war on terrorism and its profound implications throughout the Middle East. “Robert Baer was considered perhaps the best on-the-ground field officer in the Middle East.”–Seymour M. Hersh, The New Yorker
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"One of the best books to every come out of the "former CIA operative" band of authors that are out there. For me personally this was the American Intelligence version of the Mossad book. A ton of insight into the goings on in Iraq, some solid spy techniques, and a lot spy psychology. "
— Ryan (4 out of 5 stars)
" Hopefully the CIA has turned itself around. "
— Caroline, 5/6/2011" such a cool book. the real deal about the cia "
— Paul, 3/13/2011" Good fun for what it was. "
— Beyondzero, 3/2/2011" Simply incredible, a novel not to miss. "
— Y.S., 8/6/2010" A decent review of C.I.A.'s risk averse culture and how having its hands tied made the agency less effective instead of more. "
— Kenny, 7/11/2010" The book is incredibly interesting and gives a great perspective of what was required of a CIA grounds agent during the middle east tension leading to the 21st century. "
— Dennis, 5/25/2010" I liked this book, but it started to get difficulty to follow all of Baer's thinking as he linked evidence from one source to another. More than once I found myself wishing for a handy diagram outlining relationships. It's a fascinating take on what it's like to work on the ground for the CIA> "
— Anna, 4/20/2010" I could not wait for the book to end. The book had some interesting insights into the CIA and Baer's felling that the CIA has become much more focused on satellite photos than actual intelligence from agents, but my interest quickly waned. "
— Joshua, 4/15/2010Robert Baer is the author of two New York Times bestsellers: Sleeping with the Devil, about the Saudi royal family and its relationship with the United States, and See No Evil, which recounts Baer’s years as a top CIA operative. See No Evil was the basis for the acclaimed film Syriana, which earned George Clooney an Oscar for his portrayal of Baer. Baer writes regularly for Time.com and has contributed to Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post. He is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Middle East.