Baer was a spy, and a good one. He was a CIA case officer and his depth of expertise in some of the most dangerous parts of the world, especially Beruit and Central Asia, was extremely interesting. As a memoir, I think that it was a great read; Baer has had an incredible life and reading about the lived reality of being a top spy for the US Government is a fascinating ride. From a policy perspective, I have less of a strong opinion, but I certainly came away worrying about our quintessentially modern focus on technology to replace traditional human sources, and the the question of political correctness within the intelligence community felt like a worthwhile place to dive deeper.

As a memoir, I think that it deserves high praise, but as a policy handbook, See No Evil falls short; it describes the problems, but does little in the way of offering credible solutions.

I have seen and enjoyed Baer as a talking head on cable news. That got my interest and I came to see him as really not in the stereotypical spy mold when I read The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True-Life Spy Story. Here he really has a screed against the CIA and a leadership and gov't (NSC, especially) cowed by big business putting profit above national security. Incompetence is a real prominent thread: "...a headquarters staffed with officers [who] so badly misidentified the Chinese embassy in Belgrade that we sent a missile into it."

Baer's behind the scenes story on a failed Kurdish coup in Iraq and lack of CIA interest in Bin Laden linkages to Iran paint an intriguing back story to the Beirut embassy bombing that one of the first salvos in the war with Islamic jihad. Along with Clinton admin influence peddling, this edition is updated with post-9/11 observations by the veteran spy.

Among the most interesting things to me here, though is all the fits and starts and details to the beginning of his career - what it's like to be a spy noob - and similarly learning to recruit agents and then have to pass them on as a veteran to another new-hire.

The book "See No Evil" by Robert Baer is a thrilling adventure story about the experiences of a young CIA case officer in Asia and the Middle East. It is written with energy and a touch of humor, making it a captivating read for those interested in espionage procedurals. The second half of the book reveals a different side of Baer, as he becomes burnt out and in need of rest. This is marked by a re-call to headquarters and an investigation into his involvement in a murder for hire plot. As Baer continues to operate on his own in the field, he becomes increasingly isolated and out of control, leading to his eventual return to headquarters in Washington D.C. There, he struggles to navigate the unfamiliar and seemingly unfathomable world of Washington politics. Despite these challenges, Baer is a talented writer and deserves a loyal audience for this and his other books.

Must read memoir of the decline of an intelligence agency, 1976 to 1997
Robert Baer served in the CIA directorate of operations as a case officer in the field from 1976 to 1997. This was a period of transition for the CIA--from a dashing Cold War establishment organization still largely led by action-oriented WWII veterans and Ivey Leaguers who distrusted the Soviets and loved the action of running agents or operating covertly in far-flung regions of the world, to a more bureaucratic and hidebound political instrument led by cautious, career-conscious Washington DC insiders who were desperate to appease the White House and unwilling to take risks or otherwise advance American interests because covert operations and aggressive intelligence work got in the way of good business. The result, suggests Baer (who was an Arab linguist who spent most of his career in the Middle East or its periphery), is that the US, especially the CIA, was caught totally flat-footed by the events of 9-11. This despite the CIA having spent years tracking the byzantine relationships and organizational developments of Islamic extremism. The CIA, according to Baer, had multiple opportunities to deal with Osama Bib Laden and Saddam Hussein in the 1990s. But the Clinton White House was focused on pursuing the profit-making opportunities presented in the region by the collapse of the Soviet Union. And the CIA became increasingly deskbound as its field operations shriveled. Baer found his talents as a field officer were less and less appreciated. A decision by the Clintons to "clean up" the CIA by turning its counterintelligence and domestic count-terrorism missions to the FBI further damaged the agency. Baer, fearing that National Security was threatened by the new direction of the agency, took tentative steps to become a whistle-blower, a decision that ostracized him from the agency he once served so loyally and well, leading to his 1997 resignation.
See No Evil is a memoir and as such is susceptible to personal bias and a one-sided view of events at the agency. But Baer's biographical details speak for themselves. He was a good and well-respected operator with several awards and distinctions on his record. His concerns were shared by many of us in the intelligence community in the 90s. In the mid-90s, I was personally involved in some DOD proof-of-concept exercises meant to improve CIA, DOD, NSA, and FBI counter-intelligence/human intelligence interoperability. I noted that the CIA never really wanted to get on board and their lackluster participation added nothing to our efforts. I thought about that as I read this book as our project took place in the period of Baer's greatest frustrations with the CIA's mid-90s operational decline.
This is a good book, and Baer led an interesting life. Some of his revelations will anger people who have turned a blind eye to the corruption that Baer exposed in the Clinton White House. But I served in parallel to Baer and can assure you his revelations are unlikely to have been exaggerated. I also find that Baer, as a memoirist, gives us a lot of information about operations in the field--including much overly detailed stuff that might bore some readers--but precious little information about his personal life or the effect of his career on his own psyche. We learn half way through and after the fact that Baer was married for three years but it didn't work out. But we aren't allowed to see how the grinding gears of his high-tension lifestyle played out in his personal life.
Baer comes across as a professional who was good at his job, a bit of an idealist at times, and probably too much of a hands-on operator to ever have risen to his potential in an industry that is, at the end of the day, a bureaucracy... albeit a cool one with a cloak-and-dagger image. Ethically, he lived by his convictions. And this may have cost him more than just a career. He does have several other published books but his experiences in the 80s and 90s feel dated now--as if the events at the closing of the Cold War were erased by the twenty-year lingering conflicts in Iraq and Afghanistan... which all could have been avoided had people like Baer been given their due in the sordid 1990s.
This is a good book and should be read by all Americans concerned about the politicizing of intelligence, the on-going War on Terror, the Cold War roots of today's Middle Eastern quagmires, intelligence, national security, and military history. It is Highly Recommended.

Verified Purchase
This autobiography, which forms the basis of the film Syriana, starring George Clooney, reads like a fast-paced thriller and is all the more exciting because this is actually real. The story that Robert Baer has to tell is nothing short of mind-blowing and a real eyeopener. It recounts the shady dealings of the United States in the Middle East from the early 80s until the time of publication, and a lot of the escrements that have hit the fan in the last 20 years make sense after you've read it. Lots of really incredible, hairy stories, like when he ended up being charged with the attempted assassination of Saddam Hussein.

The book also provides a rare glimpse into the politics of intelligence gathering and the growing aversion within the CIA and the State Department against human intelligence. In some cases, political pressure has stopped investigations and operations because the US needed to have a good relationship with a scumbag regime. The political pressure has tended to come from members of Congress and others who have a very deep and meaningful relationship with the oil industry.

Mr. Baer is also highly critical of the recent tendency in the CIA to outsource many kinds of services and operations. We're left with the impression of a increasingly dysfunctional, incompetent agency, where, rather incredibly, the author was one of two persons prior to the Iraq invasion who spoke fluent Arabic.

Some readers will probably be irritated at the author's cocky and informal style, and he certainly appears to be quite a character (the book includes an episode during his student days when he drove a motorbike through a university reading hall). For me, that makes it more enjoyable, not less.

Highly recommended for anyone who wants to understand the Middle East or espionage, or anyone who is not even slightly interested in those things, but likes a good thriller. They will be interested after they've read See No Evil.

I read this book for Tools of Statecraft, a course on the CIA. I couldn't put it down. Given his material, there are a lot of redactions. They subtract nothing. I encourage everyone to read this book. It's not just a memoir; it reads like a brilliantly crafted novel.

Side note: It is the real life inspiration for the movie Syriana. I know several people who did not follow the movie well until after they read this book.

Baer wrote on his real life investigation on the Beirut barracks bombing and his life in the shadows. People rarely understand that the people in the CIA are NOT spies. They are often described as such, but they are actually case officers who work to turn people against their countries and become spies. This work is an inside look on how this happens. It illustrates the importance of human intelligence in this digital-satellite age. One incident in particular describes how intelligence may be obtained from assets and the work case officers due to protect the flow of information.

See No Evil became one of my favorite books and one that I will read again and again. It is well written and interesting. It inspired me to read more on the subject and seek out his other works.

A combination adventure memoir, plea for the value of human intelligence, and condemnation on the politicization of intelligence.

Interesting, and very intricate, although I didn't find it as shocking as the blurbs say it is. Needs a lot of your attention to grasp the truckloads or names of people and organizations that the author describes. However, it is a well - written memoir.

3.5 stars

Thoroughly enjoyed reading his biography. His story telling is gripping and magnificent. I thank him for his service to our country.

This book is a memoir of a CIA operative, we follow Baer's early career into his theories and investigation of the mysterious 1983 Embassy Bombing in Beirut.

What becomes the main part of the book is Baers account of the downfall of the CIA as an information gathering agency. How the CIA comes to rely too much on technology and satellites instead of agents on the ground and sources and informants with information.

He discusses how this downfall led to the CIA having no credible agents in the Middle East, which eventually led to the September 11 attacks.

As someone who is interested in the activities in the Middle East, I found the book to be very good and a very focused look into the inner working of the CIA, it's downfall and how Washington has become so oblivious and corrupt due to their increased diplomatic sensitivity. 4/5 stars

Interesting, a bit outdated, a bit angry letter to the manager. Safe to say that 007 once existed but we care more about appearances and oil companies now? Maybe?