The Iran Agenda Today: The Real Story Inside Iran and What’s Wrong with US Policy
Based on frequent, first-hand reporting in Iran and the United States, The Iran Agenda Today explores the turbulent recent history between the two countries and reveals how it has led to a misguided showdown over nuclear technology. Foreign correspondent Reese Erlich notes that all the major U.S. intelligence agencies agree Iran has not had a nuclear weapons program since at least 2003. He explores why Washington nonetheless continues saber rattling, and he provides a detailed critique of mainstream media coverage of Iran. The book further details the popular protests that have rocked Tehran despite repression by the country’s own Deep State. Erlich offers insights on Iran’s domestic politics, popular culture, and diverse populations over this recent era. His analysis draws on past interviews with high-ranking Iranian officials, the former shah’s son, Reza Pahlavi, and Iranian exiles in Los Angeles, as well as his trip to Tehran with actor Sean Penn.Erlich’s book Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn’t Tell You, co-authored with Norman Solomon was a best seller in 2003. His fifth book, Inside Syria: the Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect (foreword by Noam Chomsky) was published in 2014. In a starred review of Inside Syria, Publisher’s Weekly wrote that Erlich’s “insights and conclusions are objective and valuable… essential reading for understanding the current turmoil in the Middle East.
Reese Erlich has been a freelance print and broadcast correspondent for over 40 years. A Peabody Award-winning journalist, Erlich has authored five books on foreign affairs, most recently, “The Iran Agenda Today: The Real Story Inside Iran and What’s Wrong with U.S. Policy,” now in production for release in September 2018. He taught journalism for ten years in the California State University system and continues to lecture frequently on college campuses throughout the country.
His book “The Iran Agenda: The Real Story of US Policy and the Middle East Crisis” was published in 2007. San Francisco Chronicle book reviewer Ruth Rosen said, “Some people are treated as pariahs when they tell the truth; later, history lauds them for their courage and convictions. Reese Erlich is one of those truth tellers.”
His other books include, “Inside Syria: The Backstory of Their Civil War and What the World Can Expect” (Foreword by Noam Chomsky – 2016), “Conversations with Terrorists: Politics, Violence and Empire” (2010) , “Dateline Havana: The Real Story of US Policy and the Future of Cuba” (2009), and “Target Iraq: What the News Media Didn’t Tell You” (co-authored with Norman Solomon in 2003).
In 2001, he produced a one-hour public radio documentary “The Struggle for Iran,” and in 2002 he produced a two-hour documentary, “The Russia Project,” both hosted by Walter Cronkite. The specials were independently distributed to more than 200 public radio stations throughout the United States, Europe, and Asia. “Children of War,” hosted by Charlayne Hunter Gault, aired in 2003. The radio documentary “Reaching for Peace in the Holy Land,” hosted by Walter Cronkite aired on Public Radio International stations in 2004. “Lessons from Hiroshima 60 Years Later,” a one-hour documentary was hosted by Walter Cronkite (2005 – PRI).
Norman Solomon is the author of a dozen books including “War Made Easy: How Presidents and Pundits Keep Spinning Us to Death. He is also the Founder and Executive Director of the Institute for Public Accuracy, where he coordinates the ExposeFacts.orgprogram for whistleblowers and press freedom, and co-founder of RootsAction.org.
