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This test consists of 5 short answer questions, 10 short essay questions, and 1 (of 3) essay topics.

Short Answer Questions

1. Which nation holds the largest reserves of oil in the world?

2. Who is Victor Bout?

3. How does Baer characterize the Saudi royal family under King Fahd?

4. Baer compares Washington D.C. officials to ___________.

5. What does the State Department proclaim about Saudi Arabia, in Baer's account?

Short Essay Questions

1. Who is Yuri and when and where did Baer meet him?

2. What threats of violence does Baer describe in Saudi Arabia?

3. How specifically does Saudi money buy influence in Washington D.C.?

4. What information did Baer fish for in his conversation with Yuri, and what was Yuri's response?

5. What protection does Baer say the United States government offers the Saudis?

6. How does Baer characterize Adnan Khashoggi?

7. What other vulnerabilities does Baer describe in the Saudi oil system?

8. In what way does Baer say his observations contradict the official United States statements about Saudi's anti-terrorism efforts?

9. How does Baer characterize smuggling into Saudi Arabia?

10. What was the context for Baer's first sight of Bandar bin Sultan's estate in Washington D.C.?

Essay Topics

Write an essay for ONE of the following topics:

Essay Topic 1

Where does terrorism rank among the threats to world security in Baer's view? What greater threats are there? What other threats are comparable to terrorism? How does Baer approach these other problems? Are his insights and observations equally useful in other areas beside terrorism?

Essay Topic 2

Evaluate the case for democracy in Saudi Arabia and the Middle East based on Baer's observations. What are the main challenges to democracy in the Middle East? What are the benefits it might offer? What problems might democracy solve?

Essay Topic 3

Israel is a minor character in Baer's tale of Middle East politics, but Israel's presence has always been one of the central galvanizing points for Muslim fundamentalists. Why do you think Baer minimized the importance of Israel in his book?

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