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Summary: Unusual insight into the CIA Operations Directorate
Review: First of all, kudos to Baer for writing such an uncompromising expose into the internal political machinations of the CIA Operations Directorate. The rare insight into the modern day political infighting of technocrats in Washington is extremely insightful...particularly documenting the risk-averse mentality that seems to have prevailed during the 90's.
Baer's descriptions of his time in Lebanon, and of following terrorism in that region is intriguing. His tour in Tajikistan mirrors sentiments I have heard from others who have served, or who have lived in Central Asia during the immediate post-Soviet era.
His dialogue on the Kurdish issue does raise questions about the US Iraq policy in a macro sense. While Baer points to missed opportunities with the Kurds, there are many who believe that within the Iraqi opposition, the Kurds are but one facet of an overarching mosaic. To strictly focus on the one element in hopes of implementing an Iraq-wide policy is excluding other important elements within Iraq, at the peril of not creating a cohesive opposition for the country as a whole.
Overall, an interesting read. I would have liked to have seen more on his involvement with the politics of the Clinton administration, which seems to have been his ultimate roadblock. But in the published literature of ex-CIA personnel, Baer has penned a very readable overview of the growing intransigence of the system in Washington. This will be an important document for historians to reference when looking at the genesis of the US war on terrorism. A good read, and highly recommended.
Rating: 
Summary: great and timely
Review: This book seems to become more timely every day that goes by and I read more and more stories about what may or may not have been told to the folks at the white house.When you read Bob Baer's account of what did happen and what could have been done, you realize that for all the technology and all the federal budgets and all the other things that make us paranoid about governments, the one thing that we need to remember is that for the most part the human beings that run things don't pay attention to the people in the field, becaue their own agendas drive their decisions. This book makes you shake your head in wonder about the lack of leadership and decisionmaking in Washington, and it makes you jump for joy that there is still hope that democracy will survive in the wake of the stupidity of the people running the bureaucracies that appear to run our lives. For anyone who believes in the possibility of conspiracies, read this and realize that the only conspiracy is ignorance. A must read.
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Summary: Excellent
Review: I bought it because I read the CIA was taking legal action against the author for not letting them approve the final version. I could not put it down! It is both exciting and informative.
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Summary: Amazing!!!
Review: THE BOOK " SEE NO EVIL" IS AMAZING! I COMPLETELY LOVE THE BOOK. FROM THE FIRST PAGE I WAS HOOKED, THE WAY MR. BAER AKA MR BOB WRITES IS WONDERFUL. THE THINGS THAT HE HAS DONE IN HIS LIFE IS AMAZING. THE BOOK IS ALSO FILLED WITH HUMOR I FOUND MYSELF LAUGHING OUT LOUD ALMOST AT EVERY PAGE. THIS BOOK IS FOR ANYONE WHO WANTS TO KNOW WHAT IT IS LIKE TO BE A CASE OFFICER FOR THE CIA. AFTER I WOULD FINISH THE BOOK I WOULD START TO READ TO OVER AGAIN. I ONLY WISH THAT I WOULD BE ABLE TO SIT DOWN AND TALK WITH HIM TO FIND OUT MORE ABOUT HIS LIFE. MR.BAER GREAT JOB!!!!!
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Summary: AWESOME, good writer, and one of the best officer's ever
Review: Great books, well writte, AWESOME. thats all i have to say!
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Summary: Read it, now
Review: I cant say enough about this book. I bought it from Amazon bundled with a book by Steven Emerson called American Jihad (I highly recommend this one as well) and so had no idea what to expect. I read some reviews and it sounded interesting so I said what the heck and bought it. I am so glad I did. Actually, Im mixed on my sentiment. I thoroughly enjoyed this book, I read it in 3 days, but at the same time I was completely [upset]after reading it. Mad at our government and especially the Clinton administration and their pursuit of greed at any cost. The reason why we have millions of people in the world that hate this country and hate Americans and seek to destroy it, is outlined in this book. For the last half century our government has been using people as pawns only to abandon them when they are no longer in favor. And a lot of the time, these people die when they fall out of favor. Its really not hard to see why Americans are disliked. And its not me, its not you, its the fat cats in Washington. One example from the book, in Kurdish Iraq after the Gulf War, we were poised to help the Kurds and possibly overthrow Saddam. But at the time it didnt fit into Washington's agenda. It was considered too messy. And so ... politicians made promises they knew guys like Bob Baer couldnt keep and many people lost their lives and at the same time these people gained an extreme distaste for Americans. Some of those same people that were marginalized by the leaders of the American intelligence community would eventually come back to haunt us. Osama Bin Laden and al Qaeda were just some of them. Its time we wake up America. Our future and our childrens future depend on it. This book helps to open your eyes. I want to say thank you to Robert Baer. Thank you for your service to this country and thank you for your courage to write this book.
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Summary: Exciting and important
Review: Baer tells how he became a CIA agent, what it's like, and why that agency didn't warn us about the September 11 attacks. Part of it is a swashbuckling adventure story, part is an account of how he unraveled the bombing of the U.S. Embassy in Beirut (hint: Yassir Arafat had a lot to do with it), and part is about his role in the botched attempt to overthrow Saddam Hussein. Why so many failures? Office politics and political correctness. But these only thrive when people take their eyes off the ball---when they forget why their jobs exist, and are no longer serious about them. Baer points a finger, with justification, at an America which takes investment banking more seriously than intelligence. After September 11 he hopes (we all must hope) that America will understand that the happy and profitable pursuits of peacetime must be protected by a shield of military strength, informed with intelligence. And much of that intelligence must be obtained in the old-fashioned, difficult, and often dangerous and ugly way, from human sources.
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Summary: A Very Important Book
Review: This book is a very important read and offers insight into a variety of problems the United States has experienced recently in regards to security. The book was written by one of the top field agents in the CIA who was a Middle East expert for many decades. From an insiders view he has explained why the CIA has lost so much of its ability to gather information. Due to both the politicians and the career agents in the CIA looking for the cushy job and not willing to make waves even if needed. And the appointees that have no idea what a field agent needs or what to pass on to their supervisors. Throughout this book Mr. Baer's experiences lead him to many educated theories about the Twin Towers attack, the Iran Hostages, Israel, Yassir Arafat, Saddam Hussein, Iraq, and many other Middle East topics. This book was very insightful and you feel like Mr. Baer is nothing but a normal guy frustrated with the "higher ups" in his job. He could be working in any industry and that is some of the appeal of his writing. Only many more important things, like US national security, are involved in his job. I highly recommend this book to anyone interested in the recent history of the CIA, Middle Eastern events or US security. It will, and should, make you think long and hard about how safe we really are. Thank you Mr. Baer!
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Summary: Start With This One
Review: Let me start by saying I can't recommend this book enough. Robert Baer has twenty-one plus years of experience in the areas we suddenly find ourselves desperate to know more about. Baer was a cowboy. He admits this himself but at the same time he sticks to the facts. Political Correctness has sucked the life out of the Agency. It's similar to what we've learned about the FAA, that it had become more interested in Social Engineering than its primary mission. Just how much damage did the Clinton Administration, Tony Lake in particular, inflict on our Nation Security infrastructure? Baer says prior administrations weren't a lot better but one can't help but conclude that we lost our way in the Clinton years. We became averse to risk. "It's the economy stupid" was their guiding principal. Well, now it's our very survival. Get the story from more than one source but don't leave this one out.
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Summary: Politicians & Political Correctness will kill us all
Review: In the murky world of spies and intelligence, the US government has nearly blinded everyone working for the CIA. This book begins as a lean, fast-moving look at how someone becomes a CIA agent, but then shifts gears into how our spies have been burned out, sold out and undercut by the selfish interests of politicians in Washington DC. You'll find out how Sept. 11th happened. Certain members of the Clinton administration--as well as others--should be tried for treason! Hopefully the word will get out with this book and the United States will try to turn our intelligence situation around.
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