Book Review | See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism

A Street-Man’s Story

See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism

By Robert BAER (New York: Crown, 2002), 284 pp., glossary, photos, index. $25.95

Reviewed by Hayden B. Peake, curator of the CIA's Historical Intelligence Collection

Edward SHIRLEY’s acidic Know Thine Enemy is a recent contribution to the intelligence literature of discontent. At first glance Robert BAER’s book might appear to fall in the same category, but that judgment would be wrong. See No Evil is better characterized as a memoir of disillusionment written in a positive style, not the bitter tone of those who wrote because they could not cope with the demands of the clandestine life. While at times critical, BAER clearly is proud of the CIA and his service during his twenty-four year career. The book tells of his unusual upbringing and his recruitment by the Agency that saw in him the makings of a promising case officer. With restrained modesty, BAER provides a first hand view of a successful case officer in the field as an operational street man.

A central theme of the book is the over-reliance on technical collection at the expense of human intelligence. Fluent in Arabic, BAER served in the Middle East and at times worked against those directly involved with terrorism. He argues that finding and listening to people who know what is going on, despite their often less than savory pedigrees, should be routine not the exception. His examples supporting this truth include comments on Osama bin LADEN’s operations, his experiences in the Biqa Valley, the government’s failure to support a military coup designed to overthrow Saddam HUSSEIN, and the neglect of fundamentalist activities in Afghanistan and Saudi Arabia in the 1990s. He also stresses the problem of language skills that has long plagued the Agency. It was his command of Arabic that allowed him to learn of the intent to kidnap Americans in Lebanon, though his out-of-channel warnings did not prevent them.

In the mid 1980s, while assigned to CIA Headquarters, BAER observed the initial activities of the newly formed National Counterintelligence Center led by the FBI. This little known tale of an attempt to solve an operational problem with an organizational fix is disturbing at best. Back at Headquarters in the 1990s, after an assignment in post Gulf-war Iraq, he got involved with CLINTON White House politics; a bizarre story that does not reflect well on National Security Council political stars and their sycophantic subordinates. On the CIA side, he tells of the environment of political correctness that prevailed during the CLINTON administration and the long term consequences that this could have on the Agency if it is allowed to continue.

This is a timely book, documented with intriguing, often awesome, stories written with a sense of humor. BAER’s comments on the tradecraft of espionage as practiced on the ground—the successes and the failures—will enlighten historians and layman interested in the profession. See No Evil should be mandatory reading for all candidates for the clandestine service and the analysts—geographic, functional and technical—who benefit from the collector’s hard work.

This is a fine memoir, one of the very best ever written.