Friday Book Review: "The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower"

The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower

By Robert Baer

Given the current election madness in Iran, the next few book reviews will feature books about Iranian culture and politics. In addition to The Devil We Know, I will discuss:

• Lipstick Jihad: A Memoir of Growing up Iranian in America and American in Iran,by Azadeh Moaveni
• Iran: A People Interrupted,by Hamid Dabashi

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Robert Baer is a retired CIA case officer who has become an author on foreign affairs in the Middle East. His other books include See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism and Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Sould for Saudi Crude. He is a explicitely critical of U.S. foreign policy in the Middle East and uses The Devil We Know to educate Americans on the Iranian political mindset, Iranian goals in the Middle East and in the world, and how the United States can recover from its previous mistakes in the region.

Mr. Baer presents two central theses: first, he states that "...the bottom of Iran's soul is a newfound taste for empire." Second, "nearly everything the average American has been told about Iran is wrong." For 262 pages, he provides evidence to support these two assertions, concluding with an analysis of Iran's national interests and the responses available to United States policymakers.

Empire-Bound

The main premise of the book is that Iran is seeking to dominate the Middle East and establish itself as a world power. Before people start to argue about his hypothesis, let Mr. Baer clarify the term empire. He is not claming that Iran wants to invade other Muslim nations and establish the Supreme Leader as the head of the Middle East—rather, he sees an Iranian empire as an established network of influence and allies that take subtle (and occasionally explicit) guidance from Tehran. He uses Iranian influence in Lebanon as the “model” for this shadow empire. The current focus in the expansion of Iranian power: Iraq.

American False Impressions

Mr. Baer constantly returns to the fact that Americans are woefully unfamiliar with Iran. Those Americans who can find Iran on a map usually know about the 1979 Hostage Crisis and little else. Unfortunately for us, “Iran is a country of nuances. Unfortunately, at just the time it most needs to, the United States doesn’t see those nuances, or understand Iran for what it is.” He stresses that “Iran’s lines of power and authority are almost impossible to follow,” even for native Iranians. Next week’s book, Lipstick Jihad, will confirm this. Mr. Baer tries to assure readers that Iran “is not fighting a crusade. It does not want to convert us to Islam.”

He frames Iran’s strategic goals as rational actions of a modern nation. A large part of Iran’s hostility toward the West is because the global community has not treated it with the respect that it deserves as “the most powerful and stable country in the Middle East.” Instead of the Marg bar amerika (“Death to America”) campaign that Americans imagine coming from Tehran, Mr. Baer outlines the six core issues that affect Iranian foreign policy:

• Internal security – Iran is not without its dissenters, and its history with externally-initiated revolutions makes it nervous about the United States trying to encourage or support these groups.
• Iraq – As the only Shiite nation in the world, Iran sees it as a responsibility to protect and watch over the Shia-majority population in Iraq.
• Energy – Oil is a massive aspect of Iran’s economy, especially when one considers its control over the Straight of Hormuz.
• An Iranian Empire
• Control of Mecca – As the leader of Shia Islam, Iran desires at least partial control of Islam’s holiest city. Mr. Baer hypothesizes about a co-administered Mecca and Medina, jointly controlled by Iran and Saudi Arabia.
• Recognition/Equality – “At the bottom of it all,” Mr. Baer says, “the Iranian want to be treated fairly.”

Final Judgment

The Devil We Know is an interesting read that presents some compelling arguments about the way we view the Islamic Republic of Iran. Mr. Baer makes many claims, however, that are only backed up by his personal experience from his CIA years or statistics without sources. It is a good book to hear one side of the Iran debate, but I would not use it as the ultimate authority on Iran. The author does demonstrate the difficulty of discussing Iran in an unbiased manner—he succumbs to the trap of most Iran experts and automatically rejects any opinions that differ from his own. This is why it is vitally important to examine multiple perspectives and opposing opinions, which we will find in the upcoming books for review.

For more information, check out these resources:

The CIA World Factbook
The Official Website of the President of Iran
The Official Website of Iran
"What You Know About Iran is Wrong," an article by Fareed Zakaria