Baer, Robert. Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude. New York: Three Rivers Press, 2004. 238 pages.

Robert Baer was a case officer in the CIA from 1976-1997, mainly in the Middle East, and has handled agents who infiltrated some of the governments and liberation groups there. His previous book was titled "See No Evil" (2002), about how the CIA lost its way in the fight against terrorism. In this book, the devil is Saudi Arabia and its oil-rich princes. Behind them are the Wahhabis, the Muslim Brotherhood, and al-Qaeda. The corrupt princes are obliged to support these movements at one level or another, as the price for staying rich and forestalling social instability.

The Brotherhood was closed down by Nasser in Egypt in 1954. By the 1970s, they were established in theological and educational institutions in Saudi Arabia, along with the Wahhabis. Al-Qaeda grew out of this, at a time when the U.S. needed them to fight the Soviets in Afghanistan. When the Soviets withdrew and the cold war ended, the militants continued on theological overdrive, and Western-styled corruption and immorality was the new target. Baer doubts that the Saudi princes will hold it together for much longer. He also has harsh words for U.S. policy wonks, some of whom are eager to accept money from Saudi princes. In exchange, these think-tankers turn a blind eye toward the threatened collapse of the Saudi regime, and the possible loss of Saudi oil.
ISBN 1-4000-5268-8

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