The Secret War with Iran: The 30-Year Clandestine Struggle Against the World's Most Dangerous Terrorist Power [Hardcover]

Ronen Bergman Ph.D. (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 2008

In the years since 9/11, the U.S. war on terror has focused on al-Qaeda, Afghanistan, and Iraq. Coverage of Iran has been devoted almost exclusively to its nuclear ambitions. Yet, as Ronen Bergman's groundbreaking reporting in this vital investigative history reveals, for thirty years, Iran has been the world's leading sponsor of global terror and stands as the most formidable sponsor of terror in the world today.Bergman, one of Israel's top investigative reporters, gained unprecedented access to extraordinary sources from top to bottom in the Mossad and intelligence agencies around the world. Based on over ten years of research and more than 300 exclusive interviews with key intelligence figures, he reveals that Iranian terrorist masterminds have crisscrossed the globe, conducting bombings and assassinations with impunity-even renting apartments and planning bombing attacks in New York City. Iran's proxy, Hizballah, has virtually taken over southern Lebanon and threatens Israel with high-powered weaponry supplied by Iran. Iran and Hizballah worked closely with al-Qaeda and other Sunni terrorist groups in developing their terrorist operations, and Iranian commandos trained Iraqi insurgents in the crafts of suicide bombing and the building of the roadside bombs that have killed so many U.S. troops in Iraq.In response, and largely beneath the public's radar, a vast clandestine war has been fought with Iran and Hizballah on one side and the CIA, Israel's Mossad, and their European counterparts on the other. The full story of that secret war, told for the first time here, will fundamentally change the debate about U.S. national security priorities.A new axis of evil is emerging from Iran and spreading around the world, and Bergman shows that the CIA and the Mossad have so far been unable to thwart it. The Secret War with Iran is riveting and urgent.

--This text refers to the Audio CD edition.

Editorial Reviews

From Publishers Weekly

Drawing on an astonishing amount of research, Israeli journalist Bergman describes in fascinating detail the three-decade intelligence struggle between Iran and the West. It is a grim history dominated by a series of failures, including the rise of Iranian proxy Hezbollah in Lebanon, Iran's alliance with Syria and the regime's success in shielding its nuclear program from international scrutiny. Despite some recent Iranian setbacks—e.g., the 2007 Israeli Ghost Raid against a suspected Syrian nuclear reactor—Bergman concludes that Middle Eastern skies have not looked so gloomy for a long time. Among the revelations certain to resonate in the U.S. is Bergman's contention that a secret file exists that proves unequivocally that George H.W. Bush surely knew about all the illegal goings-on in the Iran-Contra scandal—something Bush has always denied. Bergman stops short of recommending a course of action, but he makes a convincing case that Iran is not only a terrorist state but also the greatest security challenge the U.S. is facing. Thoroughly researched and persuasively argued, Bergman's brief against Iran adds a powerful voice to a contentious debate. (Sept.)
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From Booklist

The oft-repeated claim that Iran is the “foremost” state sponsor of terrorism has been met with skepticism, perhaps engendered by the intelligence failures preceding the invasion of Iraq. This provocative, disturbing book will give ample ammunition to those who accept that claim. Israeli investigative reporter Bergman’s rather sensational account relies on classified documents and his ties with supposedly reliable sources within the American and Israeli intelligence communities. He describes a murky but ongoing struggle between Iran and its primary surrogate, Hizbullah, on one side, and the U.S. and Israel on the other. Some of the actions covered are well known, such as the attacks upon American institutions in Lebanon. Some of the revelations here are startling, including Israeli cooperation with the regime of the late shah. Many, but not all, of Bergman’s assertions seem credible. He is clearly pursuing an agenda to warn the public of the emerging threat of a nuclear Iran. At a minimum, he proves the case that the world is a dangerous place, and the Middle East is the most dangerous place of all. --Jay Freeman

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Product Details

• Hardcover: 432 pages
• Publisher: Free Press; 1 edition (September 9, 2008)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 141655839X
• ISBN-13: 978-1416558392
• Product Dimensions: 9 x 6.4 x 1.3 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.2 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #524,364 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)

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Most Helpful Customer Reviews

12 of 13 people found the following review helpful

4.0 out of 5 stars (Almost) Everything You Ever Wanted to Know About Iran, But Were Afraid to Ask November 9, 2009

By Man of La Book

Format:Hardcover

Review about the original version in Hebrew.

This book could almost be subtitled "everything you ever wanted to know about Iran but were afraid to ask". Ronen Bergman, an Israeli journalist, uncovers secret documents, dirty deals and manipulations across decades which have gotten us to the point of where we are today.

Unlike other commentators who haven't read the book and are quick to judge about the "right wing slant", I have read the book completely and even though I don't agree with some of the analysis I think the history is fascinating and that by itself is worth the price of admission.

The text I read, which is in the original Hebrew, reads like a clandestine novel and is hard to put down. I thought the book's bias was to the right of center, however my right wing friends thought it was too far to the left. So I guess the author did a good job.

The book starts with a page-turner relationship between Iran and Israel, before and after the Khomeini revolution. This sets the stage for things to come as well as gives the reader a basic understanding of current events as well as the animosity Iran feels towards Israel for supporting the Shah.

Continuing with a journey that spans generations and continents Mr. Bergman takes the reader to lawless South American towns and into secret intelligence meetings as well as dirty dealings among contractors.
So dirty in fact that I felt like taking a shower after reading several passages.

Offering the readers strategic analysis and several anecdotes along the history lesson (whose history it remains to be seen), Mr. Bergman also analyzes the Iranian political system including the current administration, as well as the Iranian nuclear efforts and the country's role in arming and training Hezbollah

The only downfall of the book, admitted by the author, is the inability to cover some issues completely due to either censorship or lack of documentation of paperwork.

If you get the impression from previous posters that this book is a love letter to Israel, you will be sorely disappointed. The author takes a stab at Israeli intelligence almost every other page, the brutal literary blows shatter the image of the "all knowing" Mossad and exposes the inner fighting, lies and the grim price paid by the Israeli people for those shenanigans.

17 of 23 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Investigative Journalism at its best- Iran's War with the West September 22, 2008

By Shalom Freedman HALL OF FAMETOP 1000 REVIEWER

Format:Audio CD

This is an extremely important book. It describes in a detailed, richly documented, and clearly - argued way the thirty year secret war between Iran and the West, primarily, the United States and Israel. It opens with a description of the twilight of the Iranian monarchy, and tells the story of Khomeini's coming to power. It shows the blindness of American Intelligence services, and their failure to have a full grasp of what was going on in Iran. The theme of the failure of Intelligence, both of U.S. and Israeli sources, and the element of denial in that failure is one central theme of the book.
The book also details operational decisions which at the time seemed a choice of the lesser of two - evils but in the long run proved critically wrong. One of these was the Israeli decision and this with American approval to arm Iran against the growing power of Saddam Hussein. This decision helped save the Islamic Republic from collapse. The book illuminates the whole Iran- contra affair and provides clear evidence of knowledge of the affair at the highest U.S. government levels.
If the mistakes of the U.S. and Israel are one central theme, the other is the determination, comprehensiveness, and ruthlessness of Iran's war of terror against the West. Bergman claims that time and again Iran and its surrogate Hizbollah outsmarted and dealt telling blows to Israel and the U.S. Successful terror bombings such as two in Beirut on the American Embassy in April 18, 1983, and on the Marine contingent at the Beirut Airport October 23, 1983- on the Israel intelligence service facility at Tyre in Southern Lebanon November 1982 , or the US. Army installation at Khobar in Saudi Arabia were devastating tactical and strategic successes. The terror drove the U.S. from Lebanon, and it put Israeli intelligence services into a process of denial which was no doubt part of the unpreparedness which led to the failures of the 2006 War with Hizbollah.
Bergman gives a lot of credit for Hizbollah's terror successes to one operative Imad Mougniyeh who was behind most of the spectacular operations. He was responsible for more American deaths than any terror force before 9/11. Another surprising revelation of this work is that despite the stereotypical conception of Shiite- Sunnite enmity in the matter of terror the Shiite operatives of Mougniyeh and the Sunni operatives of Al-Quaeda have trained and worked together.
This book traces how Hizbollah rose to power in Lebanon. It tells the story of how an Israeli arms- dealer and traitor supplied Nachum Manber supplied Iran with the basis for its chemical WMD. It tells the story of Iran's dealings with Russia in regard to acquiring technology for a nuclear weapon, and shows how it thwarted in that route found a way to the technology through Pakistani nuclear scientist Abdul Kadeer Khan. It gives convincing evidence as to how Iran has fooled the IAEA and the world and continued to progress towards nuclear weapons.
More than any book I have seen it traces through affair after affair the battle of wits and intelligences between the two sides, and shows how far too often the Iranians have had the upper hand.
It concludes with a description of the successful Israel operation against Iran's strongest state ally, Syria's nuclear facility. It also briefly describes the July 2008 assassination of Imad Moughniyeh, which came too late to save hundreds he had been responsible for the death of.
It concludes by connecting the failures of intelligence in the United States and Israel with larger social trends , including a loss of confidence in government. It suggests that Iran and Hizbollah have proven more sophisticated adversaries than the U.S. and Israel have ever known before in the Middle East. It points out that the failures of the 2006 war have led to a tightening of the Iranian- Syrian alliance. And it warns that Iran is not simply interested in protecting its own regime but is rather an aggressive exporter of its own revolution, determined to acquire nuclear weapons. He points to recent successes of the U.S. and Israel , the defection of General Askari, the Israeli stealth attack on the Syrian nuclear facility, the `mishap' at the VX gas facility at al- Safir as a sign of improvement in the functioning of Western intelligence. But Bergman points out also that the Iranians have in supporting terrorist forces in Iraq through the patronage of the Iranian revolutionary guards done great damage there. The Iranians and Syrians have rearmed Hizbollah and taught Hamas in Gaza its war tactics in anticipation of their next round with Israel.
This book shows how if there is one power in the world central to the campaign of terror being waged against the West, it is Iran. And the book concludes with Iran on the verge of attaining the nuclear capability which will increase exponentially its capacity for inflicting horror.
The book traces the historical record, and does not as it might have go into the possible scenarios which are to come in the war.
This book is solid, factual, the very best type of investigative journalism. I recommend it to anyone who really wants to know what has been going in the Middle East, or part of it, in the past thirty years.

7 of 9 people found the following review helpful

5.0 out of 5 stars Written by an Israeli journalist who had access to secret Mossad documents October 17, 2008

By Frederick Dungan

Format:Hardcover

Written by an Israeli journalist with access to secret Mossad documents and insider knowledge about what has, is, and will be happening inside Iran. The author's painstaking research and attention to detail is very much in evidence. In an age when hack journalists and armchair generals give birth to 2 or 3 books a year off the tops of their heads in pretty much the same way that Zeus gave birth to Athena, it is reassuring to know that there are still a few writers like Bergman who have the integrity to do the job right. Bergman sets a standard for political analysis that others will find hard to follow. If you want to know how the Ayatollah and the mullahs came to power and what they intend to do with it, this book is a must read.