serviceyears birth_name birth_place allegiance nationality service birth_date article_title name occupation alma_mater
1976 -- 97 robert booker baer los angeles us american central intelligence agency -lrb- cia -rrb- 1 july 1952 robert baer
 robert baer cia officer author commentator georgetown university university of california , berkeley
robert baer

robert booker `` bob '' baer -lrb- born july 1 , 1952 -rrb- is an american author and a former cia case officer who was primarily assigned to the middle east .
he is currently `` time '' 's intelligence columnist and has contributed to `` vanity fair '' , `` the wall street journal '' , and `` the washington post '' .
baer is a frequent commentator and author about issues related to international relations , espionage and u.s. foreign policy .
