A Time To Betray

“A Time to Betray” is a spy thriller for the ages. It reads like a novel and has the chilling impact of a skillfully written spy story. However, the author is not a fictional character; Reza Kahlili, for decades, led the double life of an undercover agent. He was both a member of the feared Iranian Republican Guard and a trusted informant for the American CIA. Of his initiation as a spy, he writes, “Duality defined me now.”

“Wally,” his CIA code name, was born in Iran and grew up during the reign of the American-backed Shah of Iran. Back in those days, Iran was a blend of ancient practices mixed with an open dialogue with the progressive social faction. Young Reza Kahlili (not his real name) led a somewhat privileged life and enjoyed the ongoing debates between the traditionalist beliefs, dating to the ancient times of Cyrus the Great, and the modern wide-eyed Iranian youth movement.

In 1972, Reza’s father, seeking the best for his son, sent young Reza to the United States to be educated at USC. For Reza, the total immersion into the computer sciences and American college life impacted him deeply. Like most students at that time, Reza became deeply involved with the Iranian on-campus student movement. He and his friends became excited about the rise of Ayatollah Khomeini and his successful overthrow of the Shah. Reza returned to Iran and offered his services to the newly established Khomeini regime. He quickly became a trusted member of the soon-to-be-feared Republican Guard.

For progressive-minded Iranians the new regime rapidly became a nightmare. The Ayatollah and his black-bearded Guard acted quickly to crush any Iranian dreams of shaping a legitimate democratic government. And they hastily instituted a rigid form of an Islamic theocracy. Even worse than the Shah’s dreaded SAVK police, the movement fielded three levels of revolutionary paramilitary armed forces: the Republican Guard, the Komati and the Basij.

The Iranian people were subjected to all forms of terror-filled abuse. Rigid dress codes were enforced, and people were repeatedly beaten and jailed for breaking a wide range of perceived anti-Islamic laws and behaviors. And any civil rights that Iranian women had enjoyed, simply vanished. The scowling religious police, spurred on by the harsh decrees of the Mullahs, publicly stoned convicted women to their death.

The time had come: Reza returned to the United States to assist his aging aunt, but he took the opportunity to offer his services to the CIA. After extensive examination, Reza was trained as a spy in London before he returned to Iran. From deep inside the government in Tehran, Wally reported on Guard activities to his CIA contact. During the eight-year Iranian-Iraq war, Wally provided the CIA with a multitude of vital wartime intelligence.

Wally’s story is the stuff of deep intrigue coupled with a need to constantly lie to his family, coworkers and dear friends. A spy is never out of danger, and Wally constantly had to check his “Six.” Reza’s CIA handler straightforwardly announced, “The United States government will deny any relationship to you. There won’t be a navy coming to your rescue.”

The volume confirms many commonly held assumptions about Iran’s connection to Hezbollah, “The Party of God,” and their aggressive meddling in Middle East politics. The book affirms Iran’s close connec­tion to Hezbollah, the Beirut bombings and their anti-American aims surrounding the Iran-Contra scandal. Wally helped the CIA codify aspects of Iran’s darker terrorist activities and involvements, including the Lockerbie, Scotland, air disaster. And Wally helped the CIA to become aware of Iran’s earliest attempts to become a nuclear state.

To this very day, Reza Kahlili argues that the United States should not attempt to negotiate with the current government of Iran. Their aim, he maintains, is to create the necessary setting for the prophesied return of a religious leader known as the “Mahdi.” However, it is believed that before the fabled Mahdi’s return, the world would be engulfed in fire, chaos and famine. Reza writes: “People like Ahmadinejad so completely believed that these conditions would hasten the return of the twelfth Imam that they were willing to foment universal war, chaos and famine to bring it about.”

Within this transfixing volume, one may experience the stress of Reza’s life when he worked as a spy for the CIA. The reader can sense Wally’s fears and frustrations as they develop with the turn of each and every page. Well written, and erupting with unexpected twists, Wally’s story is a sure bet for any enterprising movie producer. By betraying his country, Reza hopes someday to save it from the horrors of Islamic fundamentalists’ madness.

Reza is optimistic that one day Iran will rise from the shadows and become a shining example of a democratically governed Islamic nation state.

Editor’s note: This book was recommended to Leatherneck by Colonel Tim Geraghty, USMC (Ret), commander of the 24th Marine Amphibious Unit, part of the Multi-National Peacekeeping Force, in Beirut, Lebanon, in October 1983 when the Marine barracks was destroyed by ter­rorists, killing 241 Marines, sailors and soldiers.

With this review, Bob Loring, a voracious reader of Marine-related books, marks his 75th review for Leatherneck readers. He has opened new doors for the professional development of our readers, and we appreciate his efforts. Those who have read his reviews also know that he is a tireless worker for the Marine Corps League and the Marine Toys for Tots Foun­dation. Congratulations, Bob.

A TIME TO BETRAY: The Astounding Double Life of a CIA Agent Inside the Revolutionary Guards of Iran.
By Reza Kahlili.
Published by Threshold Editions.
340 pages.
Stock #143918903.
$23.40 MCA Members. $26 Regular Price.