Terrorism “expert” faked his credentials - and his interviews
Terrorism “expert” faked his
credentials - and his interviews
American and French media are taking a second look at the work of a so-called terrorism expert who faked his academic credentials - and entire interviews with some of the world’s most prominent figures.
For six years Alexis Debat, who falsely claimed to have earned a PhD at the Sorbonne and worked as an adviser to the French defence ministry, operated as an expert on national security in the world of Washington thinktanks, US network television and French intellectual journals.
He was a consultant to ABC television, which sent him on trips to Pakistan, Iraq and Iran to guide their coverage on al-Qaida; a senior fellow on terrorism at the conservative thinktank the Nixon Centre; and a regular contributor to the magazine National Interest, whose honorary chairman is Henry Kissinger.
Mr Debat not only lacked the credentials he claimed, he fabricated interviews with such figures as the UN secretary general Kofi Annan, Microsoft’s chairman Bill Gates, New York’s mayor Michael Bloomberg, the former chairman of the US Federal Reserve Alan Greenspan, and Democrat presidential candidates Barack Obama and Hillary Clinton.
The UN pointed out this nutjob was a liar in 2005 - after his non-interview with Kofi Annan. It took everyone else 2 more years to catch on?
Posted: Sat - September 15, 2007 at 05:45 AM