Daniele Ganser

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Daniele Ganser

Daniele Ganser, born on 29 August 1972, is a Swiss historian, director of the Swiss Institute for Peace and Energy Research (SIPER) and former Assistant Lecturer at the University of Basel.[1]

Background

Ganser was born in Lugano, Switzerland. He received his PhD from the University of Basel in September 2001.[2] He is president of the Swiss branch of the Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas.[3]

NATO's Secret Armies

In 2004 Ganser published the book, NATO's Secret Armies, a comprehensive treatment, based particularly off information from parliamentary inquiries in Italy and Belgium, of Europe's secret stay-behind networks collectively called Operation Gladio. This study, which was translated into 9 languages, details how after World War II the United States organized underground cells throughout Europe intended to organize resistance movements in case of a Soviet invasion. Ganser believes that these cells were behind a number of terrorist attacks attributed to left-wing extremists in a political attempt to discredit left-wing parties in the eyes of voters and the populace at large.

Ganser's book received a number of negative reviews from academic journals. Peer Henrik Hansen, a scholar at Roskilde University, wrote two scathing criticisms of the book for the International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence and the Journal of Intelligence History, describing Ganser's work as "a journalistic book with a big spoonful of conspiracy theories" that "fails to present proof of and an in-depth explanation of the claimed conspiracy between USA, CIA, NATO and the European countries." He also criticized Ganser for basing some of his conclusions off the US Army Field Manual 30-31B which he claims to be a Soviet forgery.[4][5]

Dr. Philip HJ Davies of the Brunel University Centre for Intelligence and Security Studies likewise concludes that the book is "marred by imagined conspiracies, exaggerated notions of the scale and impact of covert activities, misunderstandings of the management and coordination of operations within and between national governments, and... an almost complete failure to place the actions and decisions in question in the appropriate historical context." According to Davies, "The underlying problem is that Ganser has not really undertaken the most basic necessary research to be able to discuss covert action and special operations effectively."[6]

Olav Riste of the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies, writing for the journal Intelligence and National Security, mentions several instances where his own research on the stay-behind network in Norway was twisted by Ganser and concludes that "A detailed refutation of the many unfounded allegations that Ganser accepts as historical findings would fill an entire book."[7] In a later joint article with Leopoldo Nuti of the University of Rome, the two concluded that the book's "ambitious conclusions do not seem to be entirely corroborated by a sound evaluation of the sources available."[8]

By contrast, Lawrence Kaplan wrote a mixed review commending Ganser for making "heroic efforts to tease out the many strands that connect this interlocking right-wing conspiracy", but also arguing that "Connecting the dots between terrorist organizations in NATO countries and a master plan centred in NATO's military headquarters requires a stretch of facts that Ganser cannot manage." Kaplan believes that some of Ganser's conspiracy theories "may be correct", but that "they do damage to the book's credibility."[9] Also, in a mostly positive review for the journal Cold War History, Beatrice Heuser praises Ganser's "fascinating study" while also noting that "It would definitely have improved the work if Ganser had used a less polemical tone, and had occasionally conceded that the Soviet Empire was by no means nicer."[10]

The CIA and the State Department are, for their part, also critical of Ganser's research and conclusions.[11][12]

Critical Perspectives on 9/11

Ganser is a notable advocate of 9/11 conspiracy theories. In the same way that the strategy of tension, which Ganser links to Operation Gladio, sought to pin right-wing terrorist attacks on the political left in order to inspire fear among the citizenry, Ganser likewise contends that Islamic terrorism is a false threat used by the United States as a cover for war to acquire oil.[13] Ganser contributed to an edited volume calling into question the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission.[14] He believes that "the official story about September 11th, the conclusions of the commission, are not credible."[13][15]

Works

  • Nato's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe. Cass, London, 2004.

References

  1. ↑ Biography at Ganser's official website
  2. ↑ Switzerland and the European Union a close, contradictory and misunderstood relationship, edited by Clive H. Church (London : Routledge, 2007), xi.
  3. ↑
  4. ↑ Peer Henrik Hansen, "Review of NATO’s Secret Armies," Journal of Intelligence History, Summer 2005.
  5. ↑ Peer Henrik Hansen, "Falling Flat on the Stay-Behinds," International Journal of Intelligence and Counterintelligence, January 2006, 182-186.
  6. ↑ Philip HJ Davies, "Review of NATO’s Secret Armies," The Journal of Strategic Studies, December 2005, 1064-1068.
  7. ↑ Olav Riste, "Review of NATO’s Secret Armies," Intelligence and National Security, September 2005, 550-551.
  8. ↑ Olav Riste and Leopoldo Nuti, "Introduction: Strategy of 'Stay-Behind'," The Journal of Strategic Studies, December 2007, 930.
  9. ↑ Lawrence Kaplan, "Review of NATO’s Secret Armies," The International History Review, September 2006, 685-686.
  10. ↑ Beatrice Heuser, "Review of NATO’s Secret Armies," Cold War History, November 2006, 567-568.
  11. ↑
  12. ↑
  13. ↑ 13.0 13.1 « Le terrorisme non revendiqué de l’OTAN », interview by Silvia Cattori for Voltaire Network
  14. ↑ David Ray Griffin (dir), 9/11 American Empire : Intellectual speaks out, Olive Branch Press, 2006
  15. ↑ "9/11 Commission Report questioned by 100 professors," News & Politics Examiner, September 2, 2009.

External links

This article is issued from Wikipedia. The text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution/Share Alike; additional terms may apply for the media files.