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Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude
“Saudi Arabia is more and more an irrational state—a place that spawns global terrorism even as it succumbs to an ancient and deeply seated isolationism, a kingdom led by a royal family that can’t get out of the way of its own greed. Is this the fulcrum we want the global economy to balance on?”
In his explosive New York Times bestseller, See No Evil , former CIA operative Robert Baer exposed how Washington politics drastically compromised the CIA’s efforts to fight global terrorism. Now in his powerful new book, Sleeping with the Devil, Baer turns his attention to Saudi Arabia, revealing how our government’s cynical relationship with our Middle Eastern ally and America’ s dependence on Saudi oil make us increasingly vulnerable to economic disaster and put us at risk for further acts of terrorism.
For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a “harmony of interests.” America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom’ s vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa’ud family. But the rot at the core of our “friendship” with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens.
In Sleeping with the Devil , Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa’ud’s culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those against the United States. Drawing on his experience as a field operative who was on the ground in the Middle East for much of his twenty years with the agency, as well as the large network of sources he has cultivated in the region and in the U.S. intelligence community, Baer vividly portrays our decades-old relationship with the increasingly dysfunctional and corrupt Al Sa’ud family, the fierce anti-Western sentiment that is sweeping the kingdom, and the desperate link between the two. In hopes of saving its own neck, the royal family has been shoveling money as fast as it can to mosque schools that preach hatred of America and to militant fundamentalist groups—an end game just waiting to play out.
Baer not only reveals the outrageous excesses of a Saudi royal family completely out of touch with the people of its kingdom, he also takes readers on a highly personal search for the deeper roots of modern terrorism, a journey that returns time again and again to Saudi to the Wahhabis, the powerful Islamic sect that rules the Saudi street; to the Taliban and al Qaeda, both of which Saudi Arabia helped to underwrite; and to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most active and effective terrorist groups in existence, which the Al Sa’ud have sheltered and funded. The money and arms that we send to Saudi Arabia are, in effect, being used to cut our own throat, Baer writes, but America might have only itself to blame. So long as we continue to encourage the highly volatile Saudi state to bank our oil under its sand—and so long as we continue to grab at the Al Sa’ud’s money—we are laying the groundwork for a potential global economic catastrophe.
In his explosive New York Times bestseller, See No Evil , former CIA operative Robert Baer exposed how Washington politics drastically compromised the CIA’s efforts to fight global terrorism. Now in his powerful new book, Sleeping with the Devil, Baer turns his attention to Saudi Arabia, revealing how our government’s cynical relationship with our Middle Eastern ally and America’ s dependence on Saudi oil make us increasingly vulnerable to economic disaster and put us at risk for further acts of terrorism.
For decades, the United States and Saudi Arabia have been locked in a “harmony of interests.” America counted on the Saudis for cheap oil, political stability in the Middle East, and lucrative business relationships for the United States, while providing a voracious market for the kingdom’ s vast oil reserves. With money and oil flowing freely between Washington and Riyadh, the United States has felt secure in its relationship with the Saudis and the ruling Al Sa’ud family. But the rot at the core of our “friendship” with the Saudis was dramatically revealed when it became apparent that fifteen of the nineteen September 11 hijackers proved to be Saudi citizens.
In Sleeping with the Devil , Baer documents with chilling clarity how our addiction to cheap oil and Saudi petrodollars caused us to turn a blind eye to the Al Sa’ud’s culture of bribery, its abysmal human rights record, and its financial support of fundamentalist Islamic groups that have been directly linked to international acts of terror, including those against the United States. Drawing on his experience as a field operative who was on the ground in the Middle East for much of his twenty years with the agency, as well as the large network of sources he has cultivated in the region and in the U.S. intelligence community, Baer vividly portrays our decades-old relationship with the increasingly dysfunctional and corrupt Al Sa’ud family, the fierce anti-Western sentiment that is sweeping the kingdom, and the desperate link between the two. In hopes of saving its own neck, the royal family has been shoveling money as fast as it can to mosque schools that preach hatred of America and to militant fundamentalist groups—an end game just waiting to play out.
Baer not only reveals the outrageous excesses of a Saudi royal family completely out of touch with the people of its kingdom, he also takes readers on a highly personal search for the deeper roots of modern terrorism, a journey that returns time again and again to Saudi to the Wahhabis, the powerful Islamic sect that rules the Saudi street; to the Taliban and al Qaeda, both of which Saudi Arabia helped to underwrite; and to the Muslim Brotherhood, one of the most active and effective terrorist groups in existence, which the Al Sa’ud have sheltered and funded. The money and arms that we send to Saudi Arabia are, in effect, being used to cut our own throat, Baer writes, but America might have only itself to blame. So long as we continue to encourage the highly volatile Saudi state to bank our oil under its sand—and so long as we continue to grab at the Al Sa’ud’s money—we are laying the groundwork for a potential global economic catastrophe.
238 pages, Paperback
First published March 5, 2003
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About the author
Robert B. Baer
13 books234 followersRobert B. Baer is a former Middle East intelligence specialist for the CIA, and a winner of the Career Intelligence Medal. He is the author of four New York Times bestsellers, including See No Evil—the basis for the acclaimed film Syriana, which earned George Clooney an Oscar for his portrayal of Baer. He is considered one of the world’s foremost authorities on the Middle East and frequently appears on all major news outlets. Baer writes regularly for Time.com and has contributed to Vanity Fair, The Wall Street Journal, and The Washington Post. He is the current national security affairs analyst for CNN.
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Displaying 1 - 30 of 138 reviews
March 27, 2025
Robert Baer - image from Penguin Random House
The focus here is Saudi Arabia, and it is a very chilling account with considerable new information (new to me anyway) providing a basis for a very dark look into the future. It is only a matter of time before the unimaginable thievery of the Al Sa’ud (the Saudi royal family) is crushed by the Wahabbi extremists that the royalty has been buying off for decades.
Things are even worse than they seem . Saudi Arabia doesn’t have what we would call a rule of law. Look inside a Saudi passport. It states that the holder “belongs” to the royal family. A Saudi commoner is chattel, a piece of property no different from an Al Sa’uds Jeddah palace or his Rolls-Royce Silver Cloud. There are no rights in the kingdom, just as there isn’t a parliament or a constitution.In the author’s opinion, the likelihood is strong that when Islamic fundamentalists control the nation, they will show no mercy in using the weapon of oil to bring about the economic destruction of the west. And faced with destruction, one likely response from the West, the USA in particular, is occupation of the oil fields. A Must Read!!!
2025 note - This book was released in 2003, long before Mohammed bin Salman took over. That he passed legislation to limit the power of the Wahhabi religious police (2017) has no doubt sustained the tension between them and the Saud family. His murder of journalist Jamal Kashoggi (2018) demonstrated his authoritarian rule and murderous personality. It remains to be seen how, if at all, that assassination will impact that mutual twitchiness. The growth in adoption of electric cars is having an impact as well, reducing potential motor fuel demand. It may be that, barring major international conflict, Saudi oil prices can sustain at their present level. The longer it takes for religious zealots to take over the nation, the less impact such a takeover might have on western economies.
July 1, 2015
The first part of this book shows the influence that Saudi Arabian oil wealth has bought in the US. In the second the author through his experiences in the CIA shows how the US is ill equipped to fight the terrorism due to the Saudi influence.
The number and size of gifts, contracts, commissions and jobs bestowed on US politicians and policy makers by the Saudi Royal family is staggering. In its own country, the royal family similarly uses its wealth to stay in power. Gifts to the charities of the fanatical Wahhabi leaders, who through their religious control of the people can start or stop a revolution, support the madrassas that produce political/religious radicalism. Such a revolution has plenty of fuel. The “beneficiaries” of free housing and cheap power are virtual slaves to a system where a growing number of arrogant princes can take whatever they want. (i.e. You’ve built a thriving restaurant or live in a good development location and a prince wants what you have – it is his.)
As a CIA operative in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Baer saw the growing anti-US sentiment in the Middle East and the CIA as an organization geared only to fighting communism/Russia. He cites instance after instance where his leads, requests and advice about Muslim charities and ubiquitous arms went nowhere. Baer builds a case that this was a willful lack of interest resulting from Saudi Arabia’s influence.
Saudi Arabia has been allowed to opt out of investigations. Louis Freeh was snubbed in the Khobar Towers investigation; John O'Neil was not permitted by the US State Department to enter Yemen to investigate the USS Cole bombing; The Bin Laden's were not to be interviewed regarding the 911 attack. Baer cites a personal experience with Qatar's interference with the arrest of Khalid Sheik Muhammed and the fate of Baer's source, the "black prince". (Makes you wonder if letting Bin Laden go at Tora Bora was ordered from Riyadh).
Baer notes the cracks in this system. There is infighting among the princes. The cost of supporting a lavish lifestyle for an exponentially increasing number of royal princes is growing. Buying friends is getting more expensive. Its military (though it has never fought in a war – Baer calls it an expensive body guard system) costs are among the highest in the world GDP-wise. Oil prices are not what they were. The implosion of the royal family or a Wahhabi revolution could reverberate world-wide.
While written in 2003, I expect the fundamentals remain. Some assumptions (such as the Muslim Brotherhood being behind almost any terror act you can name) have been proven wrong, but not the overall thesis. I would like to see an update. The rise of ISIS may have threatened the Royal family enough to defy the clerics who are undoubtedly funding them with cash from the royals, extracted from us when we fill our tanks.
The number and size of gifts, contracts, commissions and jobs bestowed on US politicians and policy makers by the Saudi Royal family is staggering. In its own country, the royal family similarly uses its wealth to stay in power. Gifts to the charities of the fanatical Wahhabi leaders, who through their religious control of the people can start or stop a revolution, support the madrassas that produce political/religious radicalism. Such a revolution has plenty of fuel. The “beneficiaries” of free housing and cheap power are virtual slaves to a system where a growing number of arrogant princes can take whatever they want. (i.e. You’ve built a thriving restaurant or live in a good development location and a prince wants what you have – it is his.)
As a CIA operative in the 1980’s and 1990’s, Baer saw the growing anti-US sentiment in the Middle East and the CIA as an organization geared only to fighting communism/Russia. He cites instance after instance where his leads, requests and advice about Muslim charities and ubiquitous arms went nowhere. Baer builds a case that this was a willful lack of interest resulting from Saudi Arabia’s influence.
Saudi Arabia has been allowed to opt out of investigations. Louis Freeh was snubbed in the Khobar Towers investigation; John O'Neil was not permitted by the US State Department to enter Yemen to investigate the USS Cole bombing; The Bin Laden's were not to be interviewed regarding the 911 attack. Baer cites a personal experience with Qatar's interference with the arrest of Khalid Sheik Muhammed and the fate of Baer's source, the "black prince". (Makes you wonder if letting Bin Laden go at Tora Bora was ordered from Riyadh).
Baer notes the cracks in this system. There is infighting among the princes. The cost of supporting a lavish lifestyle for an exponentially increasing number of royal princes is growing. Buying friends is getting more expensive. Its military (though it has never fought in a war – Baer calls it an expensive body guard system) costs are among the highest in the world GDP-wise. Oil prices are not what they were. The implosion of the royal family or a Wahhabi revolution could reverberate world-wide.
While written in 2003, I expect the fundamentals remain. Some assumptions (such as the Muslim Brotherhood being behind almost any terror act you can name) have been proven wrong, but not the overall thesis. I would like to see an update. The rise of ISIS may have threatened the Royal family enough to defy the clerics who are undoubtedly funding them with cash from the royals, extracted from us when we fill our tanks.
July 8, 2015
Know all those things that terrify you about the Middle East? In Sleeping with the Devil, former CIA case officer Robert Baer explains why you don't know the half of it.
A decade later, Sleeping with the Devil is as timely as ever, making it one of the best books I've read not just on the Middle East, but on foreign policy. Definitely a must-read.
A decade later, Sleeping with the Devil is as timely as ever, making it one of the best books I've read not just on the Middle East, but on foreign policy. Definitely a must-read.
March 27, 2020
A cogent take on the US/Saudi relationship which stinks to high heaven. Really, books like this should be required reading. Baer, ex-CIA bete noire of the establishment, offers less of his personal experience here, really just beefing up an analysis any one of us could make if we just took the time with his personal involvement when he was in the CIA.
It's a tangled web of political machinations, kickbacks, payoffs, and sheer crookedry. Saudi Arabia sells oils to us, buys weapons from us (a shitload these days!) to protect itself from its own population, and sinks money into terrorist organizations that do things like fly planes into buildings. Baer is in no doubt of the intricate linkage, and the redacted passages that pepper the work speak loud, silent volumes. As always, Baer gives you some fascinating ins to his former world, involving Russian arms dealers, Israelis, and all kinds of nefarious Islamists.
It's a tangled web of political machinations, kickbacks, payoffs, and sheer crookedry. Saudi Arabia sells oils to us, buys weapons from us (a shitload these days!) to protect itself from its own population, and sinks money into terrorist organizations that do things like fly planes into buildings. Baer is in no doubt of the intricate linkage, and the redacted passages that pepper the work speak loud, silent volumes. As always, Baer gives you some fascinating ins to his former world, involving Russian arms dealers, Israelis, and all kinds of nefarious Islamists.
March 7, 2024
I read the hardback edition, with 212 pages. IMO this
book had too much info to absorb.
Robert Baer, a CIA operative x 25 yrs, mostly in the
Middle East wrote this. He resigned in 1997. He stated
the CIA's main focus for years was to prevent the spread
of Communism. The CIA placed the author in the CIA's
new (1985) Counter-Terrorism Center.
Baer relayed that in 1945 President Franklin Roosevelt
offered to provide US troops to defend Saudi Arabia (here-
after 'SA' & US Navy in the Persian Gulf) in exchange for
discounted oil. SA accepted. (Baer noted that the SA army
was last utilized in the 1930s.) Our 2 countries shared de-
fense contractors, builders, arms deals, banks, etc. The
Saudis held: $1 Trillion in US banks per President Reagan's
initiative (funneled to offset the US budget deficit!) and
$ 1 Trill in the US stock market. The Saudis contributed
money toward select US election candidates, toward all
Presidential libraries, the Kennedy (cultural) Center, Just
Say No (Nancy Reagan's project) etc.
The House of Sa'ud included the Saudi King and Queen &
princes & so on. Yrs ago the Saudi royal family started a
joint, lucrative oil venture with a US company called Saudi
Aramco. They classified the co. as SA state owned. Saudi
oil & security became intertwined. Per the author, some
poor or (of shrinking) middle class Saudis resented the
royals.
The author alleged, while the US & SA were strong allies,
SA royals absorbed cost of providing free Qur'ans, & build-
ing mosques & schools, to encourage/ support terrorism.
They allegedly funneled $ to the Muslim Brotherhood &
charities (some fronts for terrorist groups). The author
explained US Presidents & members of Congress over-
looked this illegal activity (terrorist murder, maiming) w/
Saudi Arabia support, in order to keep the peace. And keep
the oil.
Richard Perle, chair of the US Defense Policy Board, said of
Saudi Arabia "The Saudis are active in every level of the
terror chain from planners to financiers, cadre to foot soldiers...."
Baer, once retired from the CIA, in 1997, learned that Khalid
Sheikh Muhammad planned to blow up US passenger planes.
He passed this info on to a friend in the CIA. The CIA had no
intention in investigating this. The irony!
Baer held the Muslim Brotherhood responsible for planning/
carrying out 09/11/01 terrorist attacks on NYC & DC & a PA.
plane crash (intended for the White House). MB reportedly
caused death/ destruction in other cities in the world.
The US, SA & other countries took self-serving actions &
ignored the world-wide implications of the rest?? Many US
leaders looked weak & gullible in this book.
Revised.
book had too much info to absorb.
Robert Baer, a CIA operative x 25 yrs, mostly in the
Middle East wrote this. He resigned in 1997. He stated
the CIA's main focus for years was to prevent the spread
of Communism. The CIA placed the author in the CIA's
new (1985) Counter-Terrorism Center.
Baer relayed that in 1945 President Franklin Roosevelt
offered to provide US troops to defend Saudi Arabia (here-
after 'SA' & US Navy in the Persian Gulf) in exchange for
discounted oil. SA accepted. (Baer noted that the SA army
was last utilized in the 1930s.) Our 2 countries shared de-
fense contractors, builders, arms deals, banks, etc. The
Saudis held: $1 Trillion in US banks per President Reagan's
initiative (funneled to offset the US budget deficit!) and
$ 1 Trill in the US stock market. The Saudis contributed
money toward select US election candidates, toward all
Presidential libraries, the Kennedy (cultural) Center, Just
Say No (Nancy Reagan's project) etc.
The House of Sa'ud included the Saudi King and Queen &
princes & so on. Yrs ago the Saudi royal family started a
joint, lucrative oil venture with a US company called Saudi
Aramco. They classified the co. as SA state owned. Saudi
oil & security became intertwined. Per the author, some
poor or (of shrinking) middle class Saudis resented the
royals.
The author alleged, while the US & SA were strong allies,
SA royals absorbed cost of providing free Qur'ans, & build-
ing mosques & schools, to encourage/ support terrorism.
They allegedly funneled $ to the Muslim Brotherhood &
charities (some fronts for terrorist groups). The author
explained US Presidents & members of Congress over-
looked this illegal activity (terrorist murder, maiming) w/
Saudi Arabia support, in order to keep the peace. And keep
the oil.
Richard Perle, chair of the US Defense Policy Board, said of
Saudi Arabia "The Saudis are active in every level of the
terror chain from planners to financiers, cadre to foot soldiers...."
Baer, once retired from the CIA, in 1997, learned that Khalid
Sheikh Muhammad planned to blow up US passenger planes.
He passed this info on to a friend in the CIA. The CIA had no
intention in investigating this. The irony!
Baer held the Muslim Brotherhood responsible for planning/
carrying out 09/11/01 terrorist attacks on NYC & DC & a PA.
plane crash (intended for the White House). MB reportedly
caused death/ destruction in other cities in the world.
The US, SA & other countries took self-serving actions &
ignored the world-wide implications of the rest?? Many US
leaders looked weak & gullible in this book.
Revised.
September 5, 2012
The experience of reading this book is a lot like the experience of living in Saudi Arabia as a foreigner—When you first arrive and talk to other ex-pats, the stories seem so sensational and the rhetoric is so clearly biased, you assume it can't possibly be true. You might resolve to keep a clear head and stay above the prejudice, but if you live in the KSA long enough or have bad enough luck, you'll witness some of those almost unbelievable events yourself. Then you'll start thinking about all those other tales, wondering just how crazy this oil-mad world really is.
This isn't the book to read if you're looking for a balanced view of Saudi Arabia, and you shouldn't come here for any pro-USA rhetoric, either. In fact, this is basically nightmare-fodder for grownups. Some readers might want to keep a Roald Dahl story handy as a kind of literary chaser for this book.
This isn't the book to read if you're looking for a balanced view of Saudi Arabia, and you shouldn't come here for any pro-USA rhetoric, either. In fact, this is basically nightmare-fodder for grownups. Some readers might want to keep a Roald Dahl story handy as a kind of literary chaser for this book.
March 4, 2013
(3.0) Mixture of personal exploits within (and after) the CIA, and lots of info on relationships between US government and Saudi Royal Family...but mostly a rant.
He got pretty ranty in this, and it seemed less than professional. I think it hurts his message. He's not the worst in this regard though (I think No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller takes the cake).
That aside, the bits revealing ties between US industry and government to Saudis; how the Saudi royal family (mis-)runs the state, leading to the Western world indirectly funding terrorism against themselves are all enlightening (disturbing, frightening, though altogether not that surprising).
He likes to interweave his own spy exploits, some of which were on a freelancing basis after leaving the CIA (get the feeling he was 'asked' to leave? was it over September 11th?). It felt like two books crammed together a bit.
Overall good, but could be far better organized and the tone could be fixed.
He got pretty ranty in this, and it seemed less than professional. I think it hurts his message. He's not the worst in this regard though (I think No One Would Listen: A True Financial Thriller takes the cake).
That aside, the bits revealing ties between US industry and government to Saudis; how the Saudi royal family (mis-)runs the state, leading to the Western world indirectly funding terrorism against themselves are all enlightening (disturbing, frightening, though altogether not that surprising).
He likes to interweave his own spy exploits, some of which were on a freelancing basis after leaving the CIA (get the feeling he was 'asked' to leave? was it over September 11th?). It felt like two books crammed together a bit.
Overall good, but could be far better organized and the tone could be fixed.
March 2, 2017
As you can guess from the title, neither the US government or the Saudis come out looking good in this. Baer is a former CIA case officer, one of his later books was turned into the movie Syriana, it was very loosely adapted. I heard Baer speak once and he said he didn't even understand the movie. Baer maintains that the Saudis are much more involved in terrorism then they have been letting on and no one in Washington will call them on it because no one wants to upset the flow of cheap oil (the book was written in 2003 when there was cheap oil) or the chance of a Saudi funded job when they leave office. If you believe him, we're screwed. His ideas blend well with Michael Scheuer's in his book Osama Bin Laden, in that Scheuer credits the Saudis with "creating" bin Laden, while Baer explains why they did it. A little dated but a interesting book, not as good as his others though.
January 28, 2012
The only reason I say this book was ok is because it was exciting to read as it adopts a very mystery-like-spy-novel tone, which is bound to make it exciting.
This book has some interesting insights on the US-Saudi reltionship but it is not from proven sources. So one can never really know the validity of what the author has stated.
However, this book is also so politically incorrect and racist against the Saudis. I don't want to spoil the ludicrous conclusions reached by this "madman" of an author but all I can say is that they make George W. Bush look like a saint compared to what this author would like to happen.
This book has some interesting insights on the US-Saudi reltionship but it is not from proven sources. So one can never really know the validity of what the author has stated.
However, this book is also so politically incorrect and racist against the Saudis. I don't want to spoil the ludicrous conclusions reached by this "madman" of an author but all I can say is that they make George W. Bush look like a saint compared to what this author would like to happen.
August 6, 2015
Scary.
January 25, 2020
An excellent punchy read. Very enjoyable. Added to my now growing knowledge of the middle east. Having just finished reading this in 2020 (17 years since it was published) Baer's observations, opinions and arguments still carry a lot of weight.
August 25, 2017
This is my second memoir/book written by Robert Baer but it is poorly written/constructed as compared to 'Seen No Evil' which I had read earlier. Robert Baer was associated with CIA for a number of years and worked out of different stations prominently the Middle East and witnessed Islamic terror grow and later blow.
This book is actually just a rant. It talks about how Saudi Arabia has an influence over US politics with oil dollars corrupting the whole world through a network of charities funded by eminent Saudi princes and Sheikhs. Then it diverges into details of how Baer preempted this threat, tried to do something about it but could not. How he was disgusted with supposed stories of million dollar briefcases left in White House as bribes and what went through his mind when he found out Prince Bandar was being given official escorts in Washington (the only Ambassador to have received such an honor). Then he looses the plot and pins everything on Muslim Brotherhood which may be a terrorist sympathizing organisation but is not Al-Qaeda or ISIS. Since the book was written in early 2000s therefore Baer is going with a lot of data which is unsubstantiated. Majority of stories in the book come with disclaimers like he was told by a source or how he heard something but no one confirmed etc.
He sounded sane when he emphasized that the US should reduce her oil dependency and invest on natural energy sources but then there is a cuckoo in head moment when in the end he talks about invading the Saudi oil fields & strategic assets and claim them for USA to reduce dependency on Saudi oil. He believes it is a better alternative to those assets falling into wrong 'terrorist' hands. And there is my 'aaah' moment, the root of American arrogance which is to invade anything or everything if the natives do not want to share or give access to. Disappointing end.
This book is actually just a rant. It talks about how Saudi Arabia has an influence over US politics with oil dollars corrupting the whole world through a network of charities funded by eminent Saudi princes and Sheikhs. Then it diverges into details of how Baer preempted this threat, tried to do something about it but could not. How he was disgusted with supposed stories of million dollar briefcases left in White House as bribes and what went through his mind when he found out Prince Bandar was being given official escorts in Washington (the only Ambassador to have received such an honor). Then he looses the plot and pins everything on Muslim Brotherhood which may be a terrorist sympathizing organisation but is not Al-Qaeda or ISIS. Since the book was written in early 2000s therefore Baer is going with a lot of data which is unsubstantiated. Majority of stories in the book come with disclaimers like he was told by a source or how he heard something but no one confirmed etc.
He sounded sane when he emphasized that the US should reduce her oil dependency and invest on natural energy sources but then there is a cuckoo in head moment when in the end he talks about invading the Saudi oil fields & strategic assets and claim them for USA to reduce dependency on Saudi oil. He believes it is a better alternative to those assets falling into wrong 'terrorist' hands. And there is my 'aaah' moment, the root of American arrogance which is to invade anything or everything if the natives do not want to share or give access to. Disappointing end.
April 10, 2010
I visited Saudi Arabia in 2000 and thought the stories I heard from our host (in a moving car at night where he felt safe from being recorded) were a bit paranoid if not outright fanciful. This book proved that they were slightly understated if anything. I had trouble in 2000 reconciling my (false) impression of endless oil dollars flowing in the streets with the obvious poverty (including numerous street beggars) and general undercurrent of discontent among the citizenry.
This book explains how the growing royal family (6,000 princes in 2000 -- even more now) is absorbing all of the wealth while the rest of the country suffers, aided and abetted by not only Western oil companies but other multinationals particularly in defense, and various governments. It also explains why it should come as no surprise that Saudi Arabia is behind so much of the terrorism in the Middle East, including supplying 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers.
I downgrade the book only slightly because while this is obviously a topic the author feels strongly about, he slips into a slightly repetitive 'rant' mode at times that tends to reinforce his points, but are a bit tiresome to read over and over.
Still, this is an informative and useful book -- I will never look at an official statement from Saudi Arabia or anything that Washington has to say about or to Saudi Arabia again without putting it through the filter of this book's perspective.
This book explains how the growing royal family (6,000 princes in 2000 -- even more now) is absorbing all of the wealth while the rest of the country suffers, aided and abetted by not only Western oil companies but other multinationals particularly in defense, and various governments. It also explains why it should come as no surprise that Saudi Arabia is behind so much of the terrorism in the Middle East, including supplying 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers.
I downgrade the book only slightly because while this is obviously a topic the author feels strongly about, he slips into a slightly repetitive 'rant' mode at times that tends to reinforce his points, but are a bit tiresome to read over and over.
Still, this is an informative and useful book -- I will never look at an official statement from Saudi Arabia or anything that Washington has to say about or to Saudi Arabia again without putting it through the filter of this book's perspective.
October 16, 2017
With plenty of crass language and very much left of the main stream political sphere, it was full of examples of how Washington operates for Riyadh oil and how it responds to their wishes. Most importantly of all, Baer argued that even with Saudi Arabia harboring some of the most dangerous militant fundamentalists (terrorists) in the world, Washington simply ignores it in exchange for oil it receives.
Also, the book illustrated what the Sa’ud family, the Saudi dictators, do with all that money they get for their oil. Their opulent lifestyle finances their palaces, “a 5000 acre estate in the Spanish Riviera as well as real estate in Paris, Cannes, Madrid, Rome, Beirut, Monte Carlo, Kenya and a 30 million dollar apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York”. (p.42). Oh, and to get there they have their own “private commercial size DC 8 jets, a 280 foot yacht, 12 Mercedes stretch limo’s,” (p.42) sports cars and lots and lots of wives (with even some prostitutes on the side).
All this looks fine and rosy on the outside (if you ignore the prostitution and also female servants who are always scared of being raped. Oh, and don’t forget that it’s a country which still has public beheadings, women who aren’t allowed to drive and only five percent of them seem to find work. Ignore all that and you’ll be fine. Washington, Baer argued, does it quite very well). Baer also argued that Washington certainly gets a lot of cut price oil from Saudi Arabia, but there’s quite an unexpected cost to it.
Put bluntly, the US (with the CIA being the main culprit), have employed some of the most violent and dangerous Islamic militant fundamentalists that roam the planet! In the interests of fighting communism, the CIA have on their books the Muslim Brotherhood, the Wahhabi’s and even some of the Taliban! (The CIA even knew about the two brothers who flew the planes into the twin towers in New York and tried to recruit them before it all went horribly wrong!).
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent decline of communism some two years later, these often brutal barbaric groups have now turned their guns towards the US and US backed Israel (who were the ones who gave them the guns in the first place). It was partly because, given their color of their skin, they are non-Muslim and non-Arab in a very Islamic part of the world). You could even argue that Israel is more an army first and a state second. Islam, they believe, is the one true religion and can’t be tainted by Christian infidels (Israeli’s and the like)!
Anyway, these Islamic militant fundamentalists have made public comment that they will rage Jihad not only against the US, but even towards the western world in general! They see Christians as infidels who deserve death simply because they participated in the Crusades!? The Muslim Brotherhood reckoned that to be a true believer of Islam, a Muslim, “should only refer to the original texts”. P.116. They believe in a pure clean religion founded on scripture. This specific belief comes from a guy who wrote something way back in the thirteenth century. It was by a Syrian cleric by the name of Ibn Taymiyah. Can you believe it?!
But this isn’t a view held by mainstream Muslims (thank God). Not surprisingly, the Muslim Brotherhood isn’t a large crowd of people that congregate out in the open or openly in public places. No, they are almost the opposite. They are a small fundamental radical militant sects that can be found in small pockets not only in Saudi Arabia, but also in many ‘hot spots’ around the world such as Syria, Kuwait, Afghanistan and even in re-united Germany where they have had more lenient immigration laws. They may be only a small radical group, but they are quite deadly and very sinister in nature. Baer argued that “they had their fingers all over 9/11”. The Muslim Brotherhood should not be taken lightly.
Critically and most importantly of all, Baer argued that some of the finances from the Sa’ud family that were ‘donated’ to less fortunate, (low and behold) ended up in the hands of terrorists. (You don’t say!) There were at least four Saudi based charities that were anything but, and these served as organizations not for charity but for terrorism. He noted that SAAR Foundation, the IIIT (the International Institute for Islamic Thought), the IIRO (the International Islamic Relief Organization) and the Muslim World League “were an umbrella group funded by the Saudi government which sent money and weapons to Bin Laden”. p.68. Later in the book, we were to find out that the IIRO was in fact a “Saudi government organization institution, fully under the control of the royal family”. p.140. But, it was anything but a charitable organization because it had a direct link between the Saudi government and militant Islam. Baer categorically stated that Saudi Arabian government was and still is involved in state sponsored terrorism! A truly unbelievable statement to bring to the table, but given the connections between the government and these fake charities, its a fair and correct matter to say!
Baer’s writing, however, wasn’t without fault. It seemed that we were constantly reminded that some of Princess Haifa’s ‘donations’ to charities that ended up in the hands of terrorists who contributed directly to fall of the Twin Towers on 9/11. It was okay to mention it at the appropriate time, give examples of where some of Sa’ud’s money ended up (which was done quite well), but then author needed to move on and not keep reminding the reader over and over again. It began to annoy this reader by the end (and a few others seem to agree as well, after reading a few other online reviews that were published).
Nonetheless, it was a pretty good effort explaining the relationship between Riyadh, the royal family and Washington to a semi-learned non-American reader about Saudi politics. Since this person has written almost a two page review about it and went back and read many parts two, three and even four times, he highly recommends this short, but very provocative read!
Also, the book illustrated what the Sa’ud family, the Saudi dictators, do with all that money they get for their oil. Their opulent lifestyle finances their palaces, “a 5000 acre estate in the Spanish Riviera as well as real estate in Paris, Cannes, Madrid, Rome, Beirut, Monte Carlo, Kenya and a 30 million dollar apartment on Fifth Avenue in New York”. (p.42). Oh, and to get there they have their own “private commercial size DC 8 jets, a 280 foot yacht, 12 Mercedes stretch limo’s,” (p.42) sports cars and lots and lots of wives (with even some prostitutes on the side).
All this looks fine and rosy on the outside (if you ignore the prostitution and also female servants who are always scared of being raped. Oh, and don’t forget that it’s a country which still has public beheadings, women who aren’t allowed to drive and only five percent of them seem to find work. Ignore all that and you’ll be fine. Washington, Baer argued, does it quite very well). Baer also argued that Washington certainly gets a lot of cut price oil from Saudi Arabia, but there’s quite an unexpected cost to it.
Put bluntly, the US (with the CIA being the main culprit), have employed some of the most violent and dangerous Islamic militant fundamentalists that roam the planet! In the interests of fighting communism, the CIA have on their books the Muslim Brotherhood, the Wahhabi’s and even some of the Taliban! (The CIA even knew about the two brothers who flew the planes into the twin towers in New York and tried to recruit them before it all went horribly wrong!).
Since the fall of the Berlin Wall in 1989 and the subsequent decline of communism some two years later, these often brutal barbaric groups have now turned their guns towards the US and US backed Israel (who were the ones who gave them the guns in the first place). It was partly because, given their color of their skin, they are non-Muslim and non-Arab in a very Islamic part of the world). You could even argue that Israel is more an army first and a state second. Islam, they believe, is the one true religion and can’t be tainted by Christian infidels (Israeli’s and the like)!
Anyway, these Islamic militant fundamentalists have made public comment that they will rage Jihad not only against the US, but even towards the western world in general! They see Christians as infidels who deserve death simply because they participated in the Crusades!? The Muslim Brotherhood reckoned that to be a true believer of Islam, a Muslim, “should only refer to the original texts”. P.116. They believe in a pure clean religion founded on scripture. This specific belief comes from a guy who wrote something way back in the thirteenth century. It was by a Syrian cleric by the name of Ibn Taymiyah. Can you believe it?!
But this isn’t a view held by mainstream Muslims (thank God). Not surprisingly, the Muslim Brotherhood isn’t a large crowd of people that congregate out in the open or openly in public places. No, they are almost the opposite. They are a small fundamental radical militant sects that can be found in small pockets not only in Saudi Arabia, but also in many ‘hot spots’ around the world such as Syria, Kuwait, Afghanistan and even in re-united Germany where they have had more lenient immigration laws. They may be only a small radical group, but they are quite deadly and very sinister in nature. Baer argued that “they had their fingers all over 9/11”. The Muslim Brotherhood should not be taken lightly.
Critically and most importantly of all, Baer argued that some of the finances from the Sa’ud family that were ‘donated’ to less fortunate, (low and behold) ended up in the hands of terrorists. (You don’t say!) There were at least four Saudi based charities that were anything but, and these served as organizations not for charity but for terrorism. He noted that SAAR Foundation, the IIIT (the International Institute for Islamic Thought), the IIRO (the International Islamic Relief Organization) and the Muslim World League “were an umbrella group funded by the Saudi government which sent money and weapons to Bin Laden”. p.68. Later in the book, we were to find out that the IIRO was in fact a “Saudi government organization institution, fully under the control of the royal family”. p.140. But, it was anything but a charitable organization because it had a direct link between the Saudi government and militant Islam. Baer categorically stated that Saudi Arabian government was and still is involved in state sponsored terrorism! A truly unbelievable statement to bring to the table, but given the connections between the government and these fake charities, its a fair and correct matter to say!
Baer’s writing, however, wasn’t without fault. It seemed that we were constantly reminded that some of Princess Haifa’s ‘donations’ to charities that ended up in the hands of terrorists who contributed directly to fall of the Twin Towers on 9/11. It was okay to mention it at the appropriate time, give examples of where some of Sa’ud’s money ended up (which was done quite well), but then author needed to move on and not keep reminding the reader over and over again. It began to annoy this reader by the end (and a few others seem to agree as well, after reading a few other online reviews that were published).
Nonetheless, it was a pretty good effort explaining the relationship between Riyadh, the royal family and Washington to a semi-learned non-American reader about Saudi politics. Since this person has written almost a two page review about it and went back and read many parts two, three and even four times, he highly recommends this short, but very provocative read!
November 13, 2012
Now usually I am not a fan of non-fiction but this is a pretty good and easily understood book about the relationship between the US and Saudi Arabia. It spells out why the political relationship was important and how oil played a big part in the relationship. It also shows how America lost face to it's populace when many of the 9/11 terrorists were Saudi. Baer also outs how the US tried to save itself by ruining secret CIA investigations and actually outing agents and putting their lives at risk. This is a part of history that I lived through and this was a understandable book about the background of the War on Terror. This book does lean to the left and certainly has some criticisms of Bush and his administration for their action. 3 stars!
September 24, 2007
This book is for conspiracy theorists who need a second opinion. Baer establishes credibility in his first book, See No Evil. In this book, he goes on to expose America's intimate relationship with the Saudis and simultaneously helps the reader to lose all hope for humanity. Get ready to throw something through a window.
June 18, 2016
An interesting book, but left far to many questions. There are no citations on anything. Obviously, Baer being in the CIA he couldn't cite certain material, but nothing on historical or religious items addressed in the book? Seriously. It makes you wonder how much of this book is dung and truthful. It does make you think, and I'm sure there is more truth than fiction here.
January 9, 2023
Baer has moments of anti-American sentiment integrated with moments that seem Islamophobic/xenophobic sentiments and I'm sure he's going to offend everyone reading the book in some way or another because of his left- and right-leaning opinions. It's an interesting blend and one that I don't particularly mind, but I wonder why he'd go that route when he's sure to turn everyone off.
I hope he's better at his CIA job than he is at writing because the beginning of this book is a bit dense and very boring. Not that you have to make it interesting to be factual or true, but it's a slog to get to the "good stuff". Not only that, but the book is more of an opinion piece than a well-researched book. There are a lot of "rumor has it" parts that make it hard to know if he heard it through the grapevine and wants to be sensational, or if it truly did happen and he's just not giving us a valid source for some reason.
Wish I could have given a better rating, because I do think it's important to ask ourselves how vulnerable we are and whether this is a wise route to go (and I believe it's not a wise route, so I'm with him on that), but the way he goes about proving his point seemed weak and unsubstantiated.
I'm willing to give it another go and reread it, though, and may come back in the future to rewrite my review, so don't get your undies in a bunch over my opinions.
I hope he's better at his CIA job than he is at writing because the beginning of this book is a bit dense and very boring. Not that you have to make it interesting to be factual or true, but it's a slog to get to the "good stuff". Not only that, but the book is more of an opinion piece than a well-researched book. There are a lot of "rumor has it" parts that make it hard to know if he heard it through the grapevine and wants to be sensational, or if it truly did happen and he's just not giving us a valid source for some reason.
Wish I could have given a better rating, because I do think it's important to ask ourselves how vulnerable we are and whether this is a wise route to go (and I believe it's not a wise route, so I'm with him on that), but the way he goes about proving his point seemed weak and unsubstantiated.
I'm willing to give it another go and reread it, though, and may come back in the future to rewrite my review, so don't get your undies in a bunch over my opinions.
September 28, 2021
Recommended as an colourful introduction to the very questionable long-standing relationship between the US and the Saudis.
No, it’s not an unbiased treatise on the subject (the title immediately alerts us to this fact) for which the author neither denies nor makes excuses for. This is a ‘view from the trenches’ expose by a man whose job it was further America’s interests (the author is ex-CIA) in a region that he felt compelled to go back to and even write a book about long after he had finished drawing government checks for being a G-man.
This is Bauer’s rather self-centred yet jadedly eloquent accounting of what seems to him to have been an ongoing pact with the devil, the other fiendish parties, whose souls where used as collateral in the bargain, being of course, the politicians inhabiting Washington along with anyone who drives up to a pump in a service station. He questions the moral ambiguity of dealing so consult with a country who furnished a majority of the individuals responsible for 9-11 and many other terrorists acts over the last 30 years.
A little dated(published in 2003), still a book worth reading.
No, it’s not an unbiased treatise on the subject (the title immediately alerts us to this fact) for which the author neither denies nor makes excuses for. This is a ‘view from the trenches’ expose by a man whose job it was further America’s interests (the author is ex-CIA) in a region that he felt compelled to go back to and even write a book about long after he had finished drawing government checks for being a G-man.
This is Bauer’s rather self-centred yet jadedly eloquent accounting of what seems to him to have been an ongoing pact with the devil, the other fiendish parties, whose souls where used as collateral in the bargain, being of course, the politicians inhabiting Washington along with anyone who drives up to a pump in a service station. He questions the moral ambiguity of dealing so consult with a country who furnished a majority of the individuals responsible for 9-11 and many other terrorists acts over the last 30 years.
A little dated(published in 2003), still a book worth reading.
December 29, 2022
The book "Sleeping with the Devil" discusses the flawed and corrupt nature of the US political system, intelligence and counterintelligence apparatus, defense industry, energy economy, and policy towards the Middle East. The author, a former intelligence officer, asserts that wealthy Arab officials have made large defense contracts with the US and have manipulated oil prices to stay in power, while also funding terrorists and taking bribes to maintain a lavish lifestyle. The US has inserted its military into the region to maintain this status quo and has used agencies like the FBI to cover up corruption and impropriety in both the US and Arabia. The book suggests self-reform by politicians and corporate elites and the invasion of a 400-mile stretch of oil-rich territory including Qatar, Kuwait, and Saudi Arabia as potential solutions. However, the invasion is now impossible as it would incite further anger and opposition from Muslims, and the politicians do not have the incentive to reform. The author predicts that the House of Saud will eventually fall, leading to a rise in oil prices and a decline in the US economy.
February 15, 2020
Fascinating look into the politics of oil and Saudi Arabia - hard to believe this country's rise to power in the 20th century due to oil. The intertwining of world politics and money and oil is accepted as one of the facts of the 20th century, but this look is very disconcerting in the details of money thrown around by all sorts to all sorts of suposedly reputable people. US politicians especially, and the US government as a whole, and their willingness to overlook blatantly immoral and illegal acts of the Saudi royal family, have been an issue since the beginning. Interesting to read this book now, in the time of Trump and Iran and the endless wars in the region, the book was written in 2004 (ish), so considers the role of Saudis in 9/11. Regardless, it highlights that nothing new is going on, and the US has always been in bed with nefarious operators in the region.
July 24, 2025
Baer is so close to naming the actual source of his consternation, American Capitalism, but is too much of an Islamophobe and CIA apologist to accurately diagnose the root cause of his frustrations. He blames “Washington” for its cravenness for Saudi Petrodollars and in the same breath calls for US seizure of middle eastern oil reserves in order to reform graft and corruption.
He also conveniently fails to mention the CIA’s overthrow of democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh to protect US oil interests and yet claims any democratic reforms in the Middle East would surely lead to a radical Islamist ruling party.
He also conveniently fails to mention the CIA’s overthrow of democratically elected Iranian Prime Minister Mossadegh to protect US oil interests and yet claims any democratic reforms in the Middle East would surely lead to a radical Islamist ruling party.
December 25, 2025
The book reads a little too politically driven one way and weaves a clear bias into the somewhat inaccurate narrative. The author sounds egotistical in his writing where it seems like a lot of it is him reveling in his glory days. I also thought the use of blacking out/redacting words was tacky and meant to garner an audience to make it sound way more enticing than necessary, when in reality, there's always a way to write something in an unclassifoed format - these things have to go through a post-classification scrub after all. Two stars because it still had some interesting view points and stories.
March 24, 2018
Despite being written 14 years ago, Sleeping with the Devil was very timely and informative. I wanted to read this book to better understand the United States' connection to Saudi Arabia and how 15 of the 19 9/11 hijackers could come from a country and it not be on our list for retaliation. The US relationship with Saudi Arabia is much more of a mess than I could have imagined and this book shed light on that connection and discussion about the wider middle east. Makes me want to learn more.
December 31, 2020
(Audio) The author of this book is a former CIA agent who worked in the Middle East. He reveals the absolute corruptness of the House of Saud and predicts that it will fall in short order, throwing the West into another Great Depression. The US has supported and protected the House of Saud since the beginning: so we are just as guilty as they are. This is just one more reason to leave this country as soon as it's feasible. 8/25/03
December 4, 2019
It is simply terrifying how the US dollars that go to Saudi Arabia for oil is in turn sent to the the terrorists that we have been fighting for over 15 years. A blind eye is turned by the US government (Republican and Democrat administrations) all due to oil. We are helping to fund the very terrorists we are fighting. Insane.
July 6, 2023
Despite being published in 2004, this book delves deep into the intricate history of the Saudi Arabia-United States relationship. It provides a comprehensive account of the past, shedding light on the corruption and shortcomings of both US and European governments in facing the realities of the Middle East, dating back even before World War II.
April 19, 2019
Great book from the great author, this is before he started writing fiction. Here’s the interesting look on Americas dependency on oil and political climate in relations to world events with the Saudis..
August 16, 2019
This is a good read and it just shows how greed can lead to those involved with decision making simply lie and deceive the people.
The American government’s support to such tyrants will only result in something that will throw back the negativity to where it came from.
The American government’s support to such tyrants will only result in something that will throw back the negativity to where it came from.
February 2, 2023
Interesting and at times very entertaining read, despite one of the author's main theses (Saudi Arabia being doomed to spectacular collapse) having not been borne out in the 20 years since publication.
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