Alexis Debat
Encyclopedia
Alexis Debat is a French
commentator
on terrorism
and national security
issues, based in Washington D.C.
, USA
. He worked as a reporter, consultant, and source for ABC News
for six years, as a senior fellow at the Nixon Center
, and was a contributing editor to The National Interest
. According to Mother Jones
, he was the Director of the Terrorism and National Security Program at the Nixon Center. He was also part of the Consulting Committee of the French magazine Politique Internationale
, headed by Patrick Wajsman, and worked until September 2007 for the National Security Institute of the George Washington University
on Islamist radicalization in Afghanistan
since 2005. Since 2003, he has been called an "expert" by Time
, U.S. News & World Report
, National Journal
, the Boston Herald
, the Los Angeles Times
, Associated Press
, PBS
, etc. He also wrote op-eds in the Financial Times
and the International Herald Tribune
.
However, he resigned from ABC News in June 2007, after some ABC officials raised questions about his credentials.
An in-depth inquiry into his work as a consultant cleared his reporting, according to ABC News President David Westin. That investigation found no instances of false reporting, ABC said, but did uncover four details about operations and meetings in Pakistan that could not be confirmed. "None of these discrepancies would rise to the level of a formal, on-air retraction because none of them was material to the substance of our report," Mr. Westin wrote in an internal memo ABC has however deleted articles by Alexis Debat, replaced by the notice "This story has been removed from our Web site because of questions raised about the credibility of one of its authors, Alexis Debat."
Kerry Smith, ABC's senior vice president for editorial quality, who headed up the inquiry, described the process as "particularly sensitive" because it involved re-reporting on confidential sources, belonging not just to Mr. Debat but to other, current ABC reporters—reflecting the collective nature of investigative work. At one point, Ms. Smith sent a three-person team, which included an Urdu speaker and producer Rhonda Schwartz, to Pakistan to determine whether Mr. Debat went to the hotels he said he did, and to confirm that he met with the people he said he met with.
In an interview with The New York Observer in 2007, Debat said he felt cautiously pleased for himself and for his former colleagues by the results of the inquiry. "I'm very happy that their collective reputation is salvaged," said Mr. Debat.
In September 2007, the French news media Rue 89
alleged that two interviews, one of Barack Obama
and the other of former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
, both published in the French magazine Politique Internationale
, had been fabricated. These allegations in turn led to Debat's voluntary resignation, allegedly for "personal reasons", from The National Interest
and the Nixon Center
. Many other personalities also since stated that Politique Internationale published bogus interviews of them. The list included former US President Bill Clinton
, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell
, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
, Microsoft founder Bill Gates
, and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
.
Alexis Debat has denied Rue 89' s allegations, and claimed that he was taking steps to charge Rue 89 and Pascal Riché
, author of the story, for "slander. The trial is pending." He admitted however having made "a mistake" for Obama's interview. On the other hand, Debat also admitted he did not interview Bill Clinton
, Pelosi, Bloomberg, Gates, Greenspan or Annan, but that these "interviews" were piece together from speeches, with the consent of Patrick Wasjman, the director of Politique Internationale. He has also claimed that "a technicality" had prevented the Sorbonne University from issuing his PhD, which he had not been made aware of.
Alexis Debat does not respond anymore at his phone number, and he has left the United States.
Balochi and Sunni organisation, on the Tabligh organisation, on Iran
and many other subjects. Two days before Rue 89 's revelations, Alexis Debat was the source of a Sunday Times
article claiming that The Pentagon
had a "‘three-day blitz’ plan for Iran". In an article published by National Journal
, Laura Rozen has questioned Debat's account of alleged US support to the Jundallah in purported covert operations against Iran. This ABC report by Debat had itself been angrily denied by Pakistan
official sources, ABC later reported. ABC precised that "ABC News stands by its reporting on this story." Laura Rozen then explained that according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
, partially funded by the US government, Debat had been a paid employee of them, until the controversy lifted by Rue 89. Andrew Krepinevich
, head of the conservative think-tank, putted the blame on the competitive aspect of medias, recalling : "We had a contract with the Pentagon to do some work...We hired Alexis to support us in that work. His sole arrangement with us was as a consultant.
Debat was paid as a "consultant
" by ABC News, although he also wrote for ABC's The Blotter.
Debat presented himself as "former advisor to the French minister of Defense
on Transatlantic Affairs," "visiting lecturer at Middlebury College
" and claimed that he was at work on a manuscript on the history of the Central Intelligence Agency
.
In an interview on PBS in Autumn 2005, during the riots in the French suburbs
, he was introduced as a former social work
er, claiming he had worked in Martine Aubry
's foundation, Fondation Agir Contre l'Exclusion
(FACE). On PBS
, he claimed that "what started as isolated clashes quickly became a political opportunity for these people to put their situation at the forefront of the political debate to make headlines with their own situations," although he also underlined "a pervasive, very dark racism
in French society that associates the second generation Muslims, these second generation immigrants with trouble."
According to his (now deleted) online biography at George Washington University
's Homeland Security Policy Institute (a US governmental think tank
), Debat is additionally claimed to have worked as an analyst for the French government on the Counter-Terrorism Coordinating Committee, as an expert on Islamic finance and Islamic law for clients such as Deutsche Bank and the Japan External Trade Organization, as a contractor for the RAND
think tank, as advisor for the Business for Diplomatic Action consortium, and once again for the French government as "a desk officer for the Ministry of Defense."
According to Jeffrey Schneider from ABC, suspicions were aroused when the French government
, in May 2007, told them that they were skeptical concerning Debat's scholarship credentials. Thereafter, ABC launched an investigation which in June 2007 led to his resignation, before inspecting all of his preceding work for ABC. Rue 89, however, pointed out that according to the French government, ABC was the first to contact the French embassy, and not otherwise. The latter answered them that it was not their job to verify credentials. Thereafter, ABC requested to the French embassy the contacts of the French Minister of Defence in order to verify this point in Debat's Curriculum Vitae. This point was later confirmed by ABC itself, who declared that they had made a mistake. Rue 89 later announced that a whistleblower
inside ABC News had launched an unofficial investigation on Debat in May 2007.
Furthermore, two journalists at ABC have claimed that Debat's sensational articles were in fact supported by Brian Ross
, ABC chief investigative correspondent. AP
news agency has stated that ABC was now sending long time Ross producer Rhonda Schwartz to Pakistan to counter-check Debat's articles. Rue 89, however, questions ABC News' decision to let the control of the investigation to Brian Ross, who was Alexis Debat's direct superior. This inquiry into Debat's work as a consultant cleared his reporting, according to ABC News President David Westin (see above).
A spokesperson for the French defense Department asked Libération
in September 2002 to run a correction after the French newspaper quoted Debat, presented as an "official at the French Defense Ministry", on the role Zacarias Moussaoui
played in the September 11 attacks. The defense correspondent in Libération, Jean Dominique Merchet, then published the correction, stating that Debat was not currently a defense official, but had been in the past. The AFP news agency also contradicted ABC News on September 6, 2002 by reporting that Debat (who was then interviewed in the case concerning Zacarias Moussaoui) had never been an "official" but a "desk officer" at the French Defence Ministry.
After allegedly looking into the matter, ABC News continued to present him as "former official in the French Minister of Defense" — according to Rue 89, he did make a brief passage at the Délégation aux Affaires stratégiques (Delegation of Strategic Affairs).
Stéphane Dujarric
, chief spokesman for the UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, said he had denounced to Patrick Wajsman, head of Politique Internationale, the bogus interview in June 2005. Despite this warning, Debat continued to be cited by Politique Internationale as the author of interviews of international level personalities. When asked why he continued to work with Debat, Patrick Wajsman declared that "Everybody can be trusted once. He seemed to be well-connected in Washington, working for ABC and the Nixon center." Debat disputes this, and claims to have evidence that Wasjman asked him to piece together this interview from Annan's speeches.
, has now taken out all interviews of the website. Google cache still works for some alleged interviews. Note also that they are some discrepancies in date and issues, these come from the website itself. On its website, Politique Internationale presents itself as "the most influential Francophone journal dedicated to international questions."
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
commentator
Political consulting
Political consulting, beyond the self-evident definition of consulting in political matters, refers to a specific management consulting industry which has grown up around advising and assisting political campaigns. This article deals primarily with the development and nature of political consulting...
on terrorism
Terrorism
Terrorism is the systematic use of terror, especially as a means of coercion. In the international community, however, terrorism has no universally agreed, legally binding, criminal law definition...
and national security
National security
National security is the requirement to maintain the survival of the state through the use of economic, diplomacy, power projection and political power. The concept developed mostly in the United States of America after World War II...
issues, based in Washington D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, USA
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. He worked as a reporter, consultant, and source for ABC News
ABC News
ABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
for six years, as a senior fellow at the Nixon Center
Nixon Center
The Nixon Center was a Washington, D.C.-based public policy think tank. On March 9, 2011 it was renamed The Center for the National Interest....
, and was a contributing editor to The National Interest
The National Interest
The National Interest is a prominent conservative American bi-monthly international affairs magazine published by the Center for the National Interest. It was founded in 1985 by Irving Kristol and until 2001 was edited by Anglo-Australian Owen Harries...
. According to Mother Jones
Mother Jones (magazine)
Mother Jones is an American independent news organization, featuring investigative and breaking news reporting on politics, the environment, human rights, and culture. Mother Jones has been nominated for 23 National Magazine Awards and has won six times, including for General Excellence in 2001,...
, he was the Director of the Terrorism and National Security Program at the Nixon Center. He was also part of the Consulting Committee of the French magazine Politique Internationale
Politique internationale
Politique internationale is a French political affairs journal, dedicated in particular to international relations. Over the past 32 years, Politique Internationale has been recognized as one of the influential French-language publications addressing international issues...
, headed by Patrick Wajsman, and worked until September 2007 for the National Security Institute of the George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
on Islamist radicalization in Afghanistan
Afghanistan
Afghanistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Afghanistan, is a landlocked country located in the centre of Asia, forming South Asia, Central Asia and the Middle East. With a population of about 29 million, it has an area of , making it the 42nd most populous and 41st largest nation in the world...
since 2005. Since 2003, he has been called an "expert" by Time
Time (magazine)
Time is an American news magazine. A European edition is published from London. Time Europe covers the Middle East, Africa and, since 2003, Latin America. An Asian edition is based in Hong Kong...
, U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report
U.S. News & World Report is an American news magazine published from Washington, D.C. Along with Time and Newsweek it was for many years a leading news weekly, focusing more than its counterparts on political, economic, health and education stories...
, National Journal
National Journal
National Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
, the Boston Herald
Boston Herald
The Boston Herald is a daily newspaper that serves Boston, Massachusetts, United States, and its surrounding area. It was started in 1846 and is one of the oldest daily newspapers in the United States...
, the Los Angeles Times
Los Angeles Times
The Los Angeles Times is a daily newspaper published in Los Angeles, California, since 1881. It was the second-largest metropolitan newspaper in circulation in the United States in 2008 and the fourth most widely distributed newspaper in the country....
, Associated Press
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
, PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, etc. He also wrote op-eds in the Financial Times
Financial Times
The Financial Times is an international business newspaper. It is a morning daily newspaper published in London and printed in 24 cities around the world. Its primary rival is the Wall Street Journal, published in New York City....
and the International Herald Tribune
International Herald Tribune
The International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
.
However, he resigned from ABC News in June 2007, after some ABC officials raised questions about his credentials.
An in-depth inquiry into his work as a consultant cleared his reporting, according to ABC News President David Westin. That investigation found no instances of false reporting, ABC said, but did uncover four details about operations and meetings in Pakistan that could not be confirmed. "None of these discrepancies would rise to the level of a formal, on-air retraction because none of them was material to the substance of our report," Mr. Westin wrote in an internal memo ABC has however deleted articles by Alexis Debat, replaced by the notice "This story has been removed from our Web site because of questions raised about the credibility of one of its authors, Alexis Debat."
Kerry Smith, ABC's senior vice president for editorial quality, who headed up the inquiry, described the process as "particularly sensitive" because it involved re-reporting on confidential sources, belonging not just to Mr. Debat but to other, current ABC reporters—reflecting the collective nature of investigative work. At one point, Ms. Smith sent a three-person team, which included an Urdu speaker and producer Rhonda Schwartz, to Pakistan to determine whether Mr. Debat went to the hotels he said he did, and to confirm that he met with the people he said he met with.
In an interview with The New York Observer in 2007, Debat said he felt cautiously pleased for himself and for his former colleagues by the results of the inquiry. "I'm very happy that their collective reputation is salvaged," said Mr. Debat.
In September 2007, the French news media Rue 89
Rue 89
Rue89 is a French news website. It was officially launched on 6 May 2007, on the day of the second round of the French presidential election. Its news editor is Pascal Riché, former Op-ed editor of Libération, and its chief editor...
alleged that two interviews, one of Barack Obama
Barack Obama
Barack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
and the other of former US Federal Reserve Chairman Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan
Alan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
, both published in the French magazine Politique Internationale
Politique internationale
Politique internationale is a French political affairs journal, dedicated in particular to international relations. Over the past 32 years, Politique Internationale has been recognized as one of the influential French-language publications addressing international issues...
, had been fabricated. These allegations in turn led to Debat's voluntary resignation, allegedly for "personal reasons", from The National Interest
The National Interest
The National Interest is a prominent conservative American bi-monthly international affairs magazine published by the Center for the National Interest. It was founded in 1985 by Irving Kristol and until 2001 was edited by Anglo-Australian Owen Harries...
and the Nixon Center
Nixon Center
The Nixon Center was a Washington, D.C.-based public policy think tank. On March 9, 2011 it was renamed The Center for the National Interest....
. Many other personalities also since stated that Politique Internationale published bogus interviews of them. The list included former US President Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, US Speaker of the House Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Pelosi
Nancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
, former US Secretary of State Colin Powell
Colin Powell
Colin Luther Powell is an American statesman and a retired four-star general in the United States Army. He was the 65th United States Secretary of State, serving under President George W. Bush from 2001 to 2005. He was the first African American to serve in that position. During his military...
, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg
Michael Bloomberg
Michael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
, Microsoft founder Bill Gates
Bill Gates
William Henry "Bill" Gates III is an American business magnate, investor, philanthropist, and author. Gates is the former CEO and current chairman of Microsoft, the software company he founded with Paul Allen...
, and former U.N. Secretary-General Kofi Annan
Kofi Annan
Kofi Atta Annan is a Ghanaian diplomat who served as the seventh Secretary-General of the UN from 1 January 1997 to 31 December 2006...
.
Alexis Debat has denied Rue 89
Pascal Riché
Pascal Riché is a French journalist, co-founder of Rue 89 along with Arnaud Aubron, Laurent Mauriac, and Pierre Haski.- Life :...
, author of the story, for "slander. The trial is pending." He admitted however having made "a mistake" for Obama's interview. On the other hand, Debat also admitted he did not interview Bill Clinton
Bill Clinton
William Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
, Pelosi, Bloomberg, Gates, Greenspan or Annan, but that these "interviews" were piece together from speeches, with the consent of Patrick Wasjman, the director of Politique Internationale. He has also claimed that "a technicality" had prevented the Sorbonne University from issuing his PhD, which he had not been made aware of.
Alexis Debat does not respond anymore at his phone number, and he has left the United States.
Controversy over "expert" status
Debat was a respected expert on terrorism issues, writing for example on the JundallahJundallah
Jundallah, or Jondollah , also known as People's Resistance Movement of Iran , is an organization based in Balochistan that claims to be fighting for the rights of Sunni Muslims in Iran. It was founded by Abdolmalek Rigi who was captured and executed in Iran in 2010...
Balochi and Sunni organisation, on the Tabligh organisation, on Iran
Iran
Iran , officially the Islamic Republic of Iran , is a country in Southern and Western Asia. The name "Iran" has been in use natively since the Sassanian era and came into use internationally in 1935, before which the country was known to the Western world as Persia...
and many other subjects. Two days before Rue 89 's revelations, Alexis Debat was the source of a Sunday Times
The Sunday Times
The Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
article claiming that The Pentagon
The Pentagon
The Pentagon is the headquarters of the United States Department of Defense, located in Arlington County, Virginia. As a symbol of the U.S. military, "the Pentagon" is often used metonymically to refer to the Department of Defense rather than the building itself.Designed by the American architect...
had a "‘three-day blitz’ plan for Iran". In an article published by National Journal
National Journal
National Journal is a nonpartisan American weekly magazine that reports on the current political environment and emerging political and policy trends. National Journal was first published in 1969. Times Mirror owned the magazine from 1986 to 1997, when it was purchased by David G. Bradley...
, Laura Rozen has questioned Debat's account of alleged US support to the Jundallah in purported covert operations against Iran. This ABC report by Debat had itself been angrily denied by Pakistan
Pakistan
Pakistan , officially the Islamic Republic of Pakistan is a sovereign state in South Asia. It has a coastline along the Arabian Sea and the Gulf of Oman in the south and is bordered by Afghanistan and Iran in the west, India in the east and China in the far northeast. In the north, Tajikistan...
official sources, ABC later reported. ABC precised that "ABC News stands by its reporting on this story." Laura Rozen then explained that according to the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments
The Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments is an independent, non-profit, Washington, D.C.-based think tank specializing in US defense policy, force planning, and budgets. It is headed by Andrew Krepinevich, a West Point graduate...
, partially funded by the US government, Debat had been a paid employee of them, until the controversy lifted by Rue 89. Andrew Krepinevich
Andrew Krepinevich
Andrew F. Krepinevich, Jr. is a defense policy analyst, currently executive director of the Center for Strategic and Budgetary Assessments. His influential book, The Army and Vietnam, contends that the United States could have won the Vietnam War had the Army adopted a small-unit pacification...
, head of the conservative think-tank, putted the blame on the competitive aspect of medias, recalling : "We had a contract with the Pentagon to do some work...We hired Alexis to support us in that work. His sole arrangement with us was as a consultant.
Debat was paid as a "consultant
Consultant
A consultant is a professional who provides professional or expert advice in a particular area such as management, accountancy, the environment, entertainment, technology, law , human resources, marketing, emergency management, food production, medicine, finance, life management, economics, public...
" by ABC News, although he also wrote for ABC's The Blotter.
Debat presented himself as "former advisor to the French minister of Defense
Minister of Defence (France)
The Minister of Defense and Veterans Affairs is the French government cabinet member charged with running the military of France....
on Transatlantic Affairs," "visiting lecturer at Middlebury College
Middlebury College
Middlebury College is a private liberal arts college located in Middlebury, Vermont, USA. Founded in 1800, it is one of the oldest liberal arts colleges in the United States. Drawing 2,400 undergraduates from all 50 United States and over 70 countries, Middlebury offers 44 majors in the arts,...
" and claimed that he was at work on a manuscript on the history of the Central Intelligence Agency
Central Intelligence Agency
The Central Intelligence Agency is a civilian intelligence agency of the United States government. It is an executive agency and reports directly to the Director of National Intelligence, responsible for providing national security intelligence assessment to senior United States policymakers...
.
In an interview on PBS in Autumn 2005, during the riots in the French suburbs
2005 civil unrest in France
The 2005 civil unrest in France of October and November was a series of riots by mostly Muslim North African youths in Paris and other French cities, involving mainly the burning of cars and public buildings at night starting on 27 October 2005 in Clichy-sous-Bois...
, he was introduced as a former social work
Social work
Social Work is a professional and academic discipline that seeks to improve the quality of life and wellbeing of an individual, group, or community by intervening through research, policy, community organizing, direct practice, and teaching on behalf of those afflicted with poverty or any real or...
er, claiming he had worked in Martine Aubry
Martine Aubry
Martine Aubry is a French politician. She has been the First Secretary of the French Socialist Party since November 2008 and Mayor of Lille since March 2001...
's foundation, Fondation Agir Contre l'Exclusion
Fondation Agir Contre l'Exclusion
Fondation Agir Contre l'Exclusion is a private foundation in France. The aim is to help young people from humble backgrounds to join the private sector.-Overview:It was founded by Martine Aubry in 1993...
(FACE). On PBS
Public Broadcasting Service
The Public Broadcasting Service is an American non-profit public broadcasting television network with 354 member TV stations in the United States which hold collective ownership. Its headquarters is in Arlington, Virginia....
, he claimed that "what started as isolated clashes quickly became a political opportunity for these people to put their situation at the forefront of the political debate to make headlines with their own situations," although he also underlined "a pervasive, very dark racism
Racism
Racism is the belief that inherent different traits in human racial groups justify discrimination. In the modern English language, the term "racism" is used predominantly as a pejorative epithet. It is applied especially to the practice or advocacy of racial discrimination of a pernicious nature...
in French society that associates the second generation Muslims, these second generation immigrants with trouble."
According to his (now deleted) online biography at George Washington University
George Washington University
The George Washington University is a private, coeducational comprehensive university located in Washington, D.C. in the United States...
's Homeland Security Policy Institute (a US governmental think tank
Think tank
A think tank is an organization that conducts research and engages in advocacy in areas such as social policy, political strategy, economics, military, and technology issues. Most think tanks are non-profit organizations, which some countries such as the United States and Canada provide with tax...
), Debat is additionally claimed to have worked as an analyst for the French government on the Counter-Terrorism Coordinating Committee, as an expert on Islamic finance and Islamic law for clients such as Deutsche Bank and the Japan External Trade Organization, as a contractor for the RAND
RAND
RAND Corporation is a nonprofit global policy think tank first formed to offer research and analysis to the United States armed forces by Douglas Aircraft Company. It is currently financed by the U.S. government and private endowment, corporations including the healthcare industry, universities...
think tank, as advisor for the Business for Diplomatic Action consortium, and once again for the French government as "a desk officer for the Ministry of Defense."
According to Jeffrey Schneider from ABC, suspicions were aroused when the French government
Government of France
The government of the French Republic is a semi-presidential system determined by the French Constitution of the fifth Republic. The nation declares itself to be an "indivisible, secular, democratic, and social Republic"...
, in May 2007, told them that they were skeptical concerning Debat's scholarship credentials. Thereafter, ABC launched an investigation which in June 2007 led to his resignation, before inspecting all of his preceding work for ABC. Rue 89, however, pointed out that according to the French government, ABC was the first to contact the French embassy, and not otherwise. The latter answered them that it was not their job to verify credentials. Thereafter, ABC requested to the French embassy the contacts of the French Minister of Defence in order to verify this point in Debat's Curriculum Vitae. This point was later confirmed by ABC itself, who declared that they had made a mistake. Rue 89 later announced that a whistleblower
Whistleblower
A whistleblower is a person who tells the public or someone in authority about alleged dishonest or illegal activities occurring in a government department, a public or private organization, or a company...
inside ABC News had launched an unofficial investigation on Debat in May 2007.
Furthermore, two journalists at ABC have claimed that Debat's sensational articles were in fact supported by Brian Ross
Brian Ross (journalist)
Brian Elliot Ross is an American investigative correspondent for ABC News. He has been with ABC News since July 1994. From 1974 until 1994, Ross was a correspondent for NBC News.-Major scoops:...
, ABC chief investigative correspondent. AP
Associated Press
The Associated Press is an American news agency. The AP is a cooperative owned by its contributing newspapers, radio and television stations in the United States, which both contribute stories to the AP and use material written by its staff journalists...
news agency has stated that ABC was now sending long time Ross producer Rhonda Schwartz to Pakistan to counter-check Debat's articles. Rue 89, however, questions ABC News' decision to let the control of the investigation to Brian Ross, who was Alexis Debat's direct superior. This inquiry into Debat's work as a consultant cleared his reporting, according to ABC News President David Westin (see above).
Early warnings
Alexis Debat's credentials had been called into question once.A spokesperson for the French defense Department asked Libération
Libération
Libération is a French daily newspaper founded in Paris by Jean-Paul Sartre and Serge July in 1973 in the wake of the protest movements of May 1968. Originally a leftist newspaper, it has undergone a number of shifts during the 1980s and 1990s...
in September 2002 to run a correction after the French newspaper quoted Debat, presented as an "official at the French Defense Ministry", on the role Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui
Zacarias Moussaoui is a French citizen who was convicted of conspiring to kill citizens of the US as part of the September 11 attacks...
played in the September 11 attacks. The defense correspondent in Libération, Jean Dominique Merchet, then published the correction, stating that Debat was not currently a defense official, but had been in the past. The AFP news agency also contradicted ABC News on September 6, 2002 by reporting that Debat (who was then interviewed in the case concerning Zacarias Moussaoui) had never been an "official" but a "desk officer" at the French Defence Ministry.
After allegedly looking into the matter, ABC News continued to present him as "former official in the French Minister of Defense" — according to Rue 89, he did make a brief passage at the Délégation aux Affaires stratégiques (Delegation of Strategic Affairs).
Stéphane Dujarric
Stéphane Dujarric
Stéphane Dujarric de la Rivière better known as Stéphane Dujarric was the spokesperson under UN Secretary-General Kofi Annan since 1 July 2005 to 31 December 2006....
, chief spokesman for the UN secretary-general Kofi Annan, said he had denounced to Patrick Wajsman, head of Politique Internationale, the bogus interview in June 2005. Despite this warning, Debat continued to be cited by Politique Internationale as the author of interviews of international level personalities. When asked why he continued to work with Debat, Patrick Wajsman declared that "Everybody can be trusted once. He seemed to be well-connected in Washington, working for ABC and the Nixon center." Debat disputes this, and claims to have evidence that Wasjman asked him to piece together this interview from Annan's speeches.
Debat as a news source
Debat was cited as primary source for many US news reports on a range of topics since 2001:- "U.S. Strike Killed Al Qaeda Bomb Maker", ABC NewsABC NewsABC News is the news gathering and broadcasting division of American broadcast television network ABC, a subsidiary of The Walt Disney Company...
(January 18, 2006) - "The Secret War Against Iran", ABC News (April 3, 2007)
- "Suicide Bomb Teams Sent to U.S., Europe", ABC News (June 18, 2007). ABC has acknowledged him as a consultant on this story.
- "Pentagon three-day blitz plan for Iran", The Sunday TimesThe Sunday TimesThe Sunday Times is a British Sunday newspaper.The Sunday Times may also refer to:*The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times *The Sunday Times...
(September 2, 2007)
Debat as a news reporter
Replaced by ABC by "This Story Has Been Removed From the Site" or "This story has been removed from our Web site because of questions raised about the credibility of one of its authors, Alexis Debat."- "Why Al Qaeda Is At Home In Pakistan", ABC News (March 3, 2006)
- "Captured Zarqawi Aide Spilled the Beans", ABC News (June 9, 2006)
- "The Man Who Is Planning the Next Attack on America", ABC News (August 9, 2006)
- "Zawahiri Was Target in U.S. Attack on Religious School in Pakistan", ABC News (October 3, 2006)
- "American Passports Found on Bodies of Al Qaeda Fighters in Somalia", ABC News (June 5, 2007)
Essays and articles listed at the Nixon Center
- Retrieved from Google Search.
- "In Praise of Warlords" (PDF), The National InterestThe National InterestThe National Interest is a prominent conservative American bi-monthly international affairs magazine published by the Center for the National Interest. It was founded in 1985 by Irving Kristol and until 2001 was edited by Anglo-Australian Owen Harries...
(Summer 2006) - "America the Vulnerable" (PDF), The National Interest (September/October 2006)
- "Terror and the Fifth Republic" (PDF), The National Interest (Winter 2005/2006)
- "Channel the violence", International Herald TribuneInternational Herald TribuneThe International Herald Tribune is a widely read English language international newspaper. It combines the resources of its own correspondents with those of The New York Times and is printed at 38 sites throughout the world, for sale in more than 160 countries and territories...
(November 21, 2006) - "Hezbollah blinks; Britain leaves Iraq; NATO expansion and Russia", International Herald Tribune (February 25, 2007)
- "Vivisecting the Jihad: Part Two", The National Interest (online, October 14, 2004)
- "9/11: Not A Failure. A Choice.", The National Interest (online July 2003)
- "In Praise of Warlords" (PDF), The National Interest
Debat in Politique Internationale
Patrick Wajsman, director of Politique InternationalePolitique internationale
Politique internationale is a French political affairs journal, dedicated in particular to international relations. Over the past 32 years, Politique Internationale has been recognized as one of the influential French-language publications addressing international issues...
, has now taken out all interviews of the website. Google cache still works for some alleged interviews. Note also that they are some discrepancies in date and issues, these come from the website itself. On its website, Politique Internationale presents itself as "the most influential Francophone journal dedicated to international questions."
- "Riyad-Washington: une alliance troublée", (Alleged) Interview of Donald de Marino. Issue n°94. Winter 2001-02.
- "Voyage au-coeur du renseignement américain", article by Alexis Debat. Issue n°95.
- "Vol au-dessus d'un nid de faucons", article by Alexis Debat. Issue n°99.
- "Europe/Etats-Unis: le grand écart", (Alleged) Interview of Charles Kupchan. Issue n°99.
- "George Bush et l'Irak: une première étape?", (Alleged) Interview of William Kristol. Issue n°101.
- "CIA, FBI: Un monde presque parfait...", (Alleged) Interview of John MacGaffin. Issue n°102.
- "La Planète renseignement", article by Alexis Debat. Issue n°102.
- "Terrorisme : les années noires de la maison blanche", (Alleged) Interview of Richard ClarkeRichard A. ClarkeRichard Alan Clarke was a U.S. government employee for 30 years, 1973–2003. He worked for the State Department during the presidency of Ronald Reagan. In 1992, President George H.W. Bush appointed him to chair the Counter-terrorism Security Group and to a seat on the United States National...
. Issue n°104. - "Un Rêve américain", (Alleged) Interview of Arnold SchwarzeneggerArnold SchwarzeneggerArnold Alois Schwarzenegger is an Austrian-American former professional bodybuilder, actor, businessman, investor, and politician. Schwarzenegger served as the 38th Governor of California from 2003 until 2011....
(co-authored by Damjan de Krnjevic-Miskovic, managing editor of The National InterestThe National InterestThe National Interest is a prominent conservative American bi-monthly international affairs magazine published by the Center for the National Interest. It was founded in 1985 by Irving Kristol and until 2001 was edited by Anglo-Australian Owen Harries...
, and Alexis Debat). Issue n°105, Autumn 2004. - "Rendez-Vous en 2008", (Alleged) Interview of Hillary ClintonHillary Rodham ClintonHillary Diane Rodham Clinton is the 67th United States Secretary of State, serving in the administration of President Barack Obama. She was a United States Senator for New York from 2001 to 2009. As the wife of the 42nd President of the United States, Bill Clinton, she was the First Lady of the...
. Issue n°106, Winter 2005. - "Rebâtir l'Irak", (Alleged) Interview of Iyad Allaoui. Issue n°106, Winter 2005.
- "La Maison Blanche face au défi iranien." Article by Alexis Debat. Issue n°107,
- "L'homme qui faisait trembler Saddam Hussein...", (Alleged) Interview of Paul WolfowitzPaul WolfowitzPaul Dundes Wolfowitz is a former United States Ambassador to Indonesia, U.S. Deputy Secretary of Defense, President of the World Bank, and former dean of the Paul H. Nitze School of Advanced International Studies at Johns Hopkins University...
. Issue n°107. - "Pour une amérique sans entraves", (Alleged) Interview of John Bolton. Issue n°109, Autumn 2005.
- "Le Pakistan à la table des grands", (Alleged) Interview of Pervez MusharrafPervez MusharrafPervez Musharraf , is a retired four-star general who served as the 13th Chief of Army Staff and tenth President of Pakistan as well as tenth Chairman of the Joint Chiefs of Staff Committee. Musharraf headed and led an administrative military government from October 1999 till August 2007. He ruled...
. Issue n°109, Autumn 2005. - "New York! New York!", (Alleged) Interview of Michael BloombergMichael BloombergMichael Rubens Bloomberg is the current Mayor of New York City. With a net worth of $19.5 billion in 2011, he is also the 12th-richest person in the United States...
. Issue n°110, Winter 2005. Refuted by Bloomberg. - "Y a-t-il une vie après la Maison-Blanche?", (Alleged) Interview of Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. Issue n°110, Winter 2005. Admitted as bogus by Debat. - "La Croisade de l'homme le plus riche du monde", (Alleged) Interview of Bill ClintonBill ClintonWilliam Jefferson "Bill" Clinton is an American politician who served as the 42nd President of the United States from 1993 to 2001. Inaugurated at age 46, he was the third-youngest president. He took office at the end of the Cold War, and was the first president of the baby boomer generation...
. Issue n°111, Spring 2006. Admitted as bogus by Debat. - "Mon Année à Bagdad", (Alleged) Interview of Paul BremerL. Paul BremerLewis Paul "Jerry" Bremer III is an American diplomat. He is most notable for being the U.S. Administrator to Iraq charged with overseeing the country's occupation after the 2003 invasion. In his role as head of the Coalition Provisional Authority, he reported primarily to the U.S. Secretary of...
. Issue n°111, Spring 2006. - "La Planète Renseignement", (Alleged) Interview of John MacGaffin. Issue n°112, Summer 2006.
- "Le Magicien tire sa révérence", (Alleged) Interview of Alan GreenspanAlan GreenspanAlan Greenspan is an American economist who served as Chairman of the Federal Reserve of the United States from 1987 to 2006. He currently works as a private advisor and provides consulting for firms through his company, Greenspan Associates LLC...
. Issue n°112, Summer 2006. Refuted by Greenspan. - "Egypte: Le Prochain Rais", (Alleged) Interview of Gamal Moubarak. Issue n°114, Winter 2007.
- "La Femme la plus puissante du monde", (Alleged) Interview of Nancy PelosiNancy PelosiNancy Patricia D'Alesandro Pelosi is the Minority Leader of the United States House of Representatives and served as the 60th Speaker of the United States House of Representatives from 2007 to 2011...
. Issue n° 114, Winter 2007. Refuted by Pelosi. - "Abkhazie: le fantasme de l'indépendence", (Alleged) Interview of Serguei Bagapch (president of self-proclaimed AbkhaziaAbkhaziaAbkhazia is a disputed political entity on the eastern coast of the Black Sea and the south-western flank of the Caucasus.Abkhazia considers itself an independent state, called the Republic of Abkhazia or Apsny...
), co-signed by Alexis Debat and Nathalie Ouvaroff. Issue n°114, Winter 2007. - "De New York à Washington", (Alleged) Interview of Rudolph GiulianiRudy GiulianiRudolph William Louis "Rudy" Giuliani KBE is an American lawyer, businessman, and politician from New York. He served as Mayor of New York City from 1994 to 2001....
. Issue n°115, Spring 2007. - "Objectif Maison-Blanche", (Alleged) Interview of Barack ObamaBarack ObamaBarack Hussein Obama II is the 44th and current President of the United States. He is the first African American to hold the office. Obama previously served as a United States Senator from Illinois, from January 2005 until he resigned following his victory in the 2008 presidential election.Born in...
, co-signed by Alexis Debat and Thérèse DelpechThérèse DelpechThérèse Delpech has been director of strategic studies at the French Atomic Energy Commission since 1997. She is also a researcher with CERI at Sciences Po, commissioner with the United Nations Monitoring, Verification and Inspection Commission, and international adviser to the International...
. Issue n°115, Spring 2007. Refuted by Obama.
Debat in Libération
- "A Langley, pas plus de deux experts parlent pashtoun" (in Langley, "No More Than Two Experts Speak Pachtoun"), Libération, September 20, 2001 (mirrored here)
- "Moussaoui impliqué dans un autre attentat ?", September 7, 2002
- "Espionnage: puissant mais pas devin", February 6, 2003
- "Le nucléaire français surveillé de près", March 23, 2003
- "La France à la recherche du fantôme de l'aéroport", August 1, 2004
- "La colère des espions", July 6, 2003