Robert Baer was born in Los Angeles, California on July 1, 1952. He graduated from the Georgetown University School of Foreign Service and in 1976, decided to join the CIA's Directorate of Operations. He worked for the CIA for 20 years as a case officer assigned to the Middle East. He has written several books including Sleeping with the Devil: How Washington Sold Our Soul for Saudi Crude, The Devil We Know: Dealing with the New Iranian Superpower, and The Company We Keep: A Husband-and-Wife True-Life Spy Story. His book See No Evil: The True Story of a Ground Soldier in the CIA's War on Terrorism was the basis for the acclaimed film Syriana. He writes regularly for Time.com and has… contributed to Vanity Fair, the Wall Street Journal, and the Washington Post.