Alexis Debat

Alexis Debat (b. 1972 Nicolas Bourcier et Corine Lesnes, [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3236,36-958294@51-953038,0.html L'"affaire Debat", un bluff américain] , "Le Monde", 22 September 2007 fr icon] ) 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 Laura Rozen, [http://www.motherjones.com/washington_dispatch/2007/09/abc-debat.html Subject to Debat: Did ABC Know About Its Expert's Sourcing Problem?] , "Mother Jones", September 14, 2007 en icon] . He was also part of the Consulting Committee of the French magazine "Politique internationale", headed by Patrick Wajsman [ According to [http://www.politiqueinternationale.com/ Politique internationale's website] , acceeded on 15 September 2007 ] , and worked until September 2007 for the National Security Institute of the George Washington University on Islamist radicalization in Afghanistan since 2005 Philippe Grangereau, « Alexis Debat, indiscutable expert en bobards » in "Libération", 21 September 2007 [http://www.liberation.fr/actualite/monde/279931.FR.php on-line] fr icon] Since 2003, he has been called as an "expert" by the "Time, U.S. News and World Report, The 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 ABC officials discovered that he did not have a Ph.D from the Sorbonne University, as he had claimed on his resume Howard Kurtz, [http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2007/09/12/AR2007091202333.html?sub=AR Consultant Probed in Bogus Interview] , "The Washington Post", September 13, 2007 en icon] .

In September 2007, the French news media "Rue 89" revealed that he had fabricated 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" Pascal Riché, [http://www.rue89.com/2007/09/07/a-fake-interview-with-barack-obama-in-a-french-well-regarded-review A fake interview with Barack Obama in a French well-regarded review] [http://www.rue89.com/2007/09/05/une-fausse-interview-dobama-dans-politique-internationale French original article] , "Rue 89", 5 September 2007 en icon ] Pascal Riché, [http://www.rue89.com/2007/09/13/apres-la-fausse-interview-dobama-celle-de-greenspan Après la fausse interview d'Obama, celle de Greenspan] , "Rue 89", September 13, 2007 fr icon] [ Brian Ross and Justin Rood [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/09/obama-claims-in.html Obama Claims Interview in French Magazine Faked] , ABC News, September 12, 2007 en icon] . These revelations in turn forced Debat's resignation, allegedly for "personal reasons" , from "The National Interest" and the Nixon Center. Many other personalities also since stated that Debat had made 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 Brian Ross: [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/09/pelosi-greenspa.html Clinton, Pelosi, Greenspan, Powell, Bloomberg, Gates, Annan Also Say Interviews 'Fakes'] , ABC News, September 13, 2007 en icon] ).

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. [http://talkingpointsmemo.com/news/2007/09/alexis_debat_responds.php Alexis Debat Respond] , "Talking Points Memo", September 2007 en icon] " 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 . Patrick Wajsman, the director of "Politique internationale", also said he was preparing to sue Debat, and that it was removing all articles signed by Debat .

Alexis Debat does not respond anymore at his phone number, and he allegedly left the United States without leaving any address.. Some sources in Washington state that he may have gone to the Middle-East Nicolas Bourcier et Corine Lesnes, [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/article/0,1-0@2-3236,36-958294@51-953038,0.html L'"affaire Debat", un bluff américain] , "Le Monde", 22 September 2007 fr icon] .

An alleged expert?

Debat presented himself as a consultant on terrorism issues, writing for example on the Jundallah Balochi and Sunni organisation [ Alexis Debat, [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/04/crackdown_in_th.html Crackdown on the Secret War Against Iran] , ABC News, April 13, 2007 en icon] , on the Tabligh organisation, on Iran and [http://abcnews.go.com/search?searchtext=%22alexis%20debat%22&type= 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" [ Sarah Baxter, [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2369001.ece Pentagon ‘three-day blitz’ plan for Iran] , "The Sunday Times", 2 September 2007 en icon] . 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 [ Laura Rozen, [http://www.warandpiece.com/blogdirs/006241.html "Keeping Iran Off Balance"] , "National Journal", June 8, 2007 en icon] . This ABC report by Debat had itself been angrily denied by Pakistan official sources, ABC later reported Justin Rood and Gretchen Peters, [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/04/pakistan_denoun.html Pakistan Denounces ABC News Report on Backing Iran Radicals] , ABC News, April 5, 2007 ] . ABC precised that "ABC News stands by its reporting on this story ."

Debat was paid as a "consultant" by ABC News , although he also wrote for ABC's "The Blotter." "Rue 89" also revealed that an inside ABC whistleblower had attempted to alert his direction, without success .

Debat has claimed in the past having a degree from Edenvale University in Great-Britain, an institution which does not exist. He once presented himself as "former advisor to the French minister of Defense on Transatlantic Affairs," "visiting professor at Middlebury College, Director of the Scientific Committee for the Institut Montaigne (Paris)" and claimed that he was "at work on the largest manuscript ever written on the history of the Central Intelligence Agency." [ Alexis Debat, [http://www.inthenationalinterest.com/Articles/Vol2Issue30/Vol2Issue30Debat.html 9/11: Not A Failure. A Choice.] , "The National Interest", vol. 2, issue 30 en icon] . But the responsibles of the Institut Montaigne denied this credential .

In Autumn 2005, during the riots in the French suburbs, he presented himself as a social worker, claiming he had worked in Martine Aubry's foundation, "Agir contre l'exclusion" . On PBS, he went as far as claiming 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." [ [http://www.pbs.org/newshour/bb/europe/july-dec05/france_11-07.html Rioting continues in France] , PBS, November 7, 2005 en icon] . At other times, he claimed having been part of the commandos tracking down Serbian soldiers .

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 for: the UN Relief and Works Agency for Palestine Refugees in the Near East (allegedly in 1997) [http://web.archive.org/web/20070311233036/http://www.gwumc.edu/hspi/fellows/Debat_bio.htm Online biography] of Debat at George Washington University's Homeland Security Policy Institute, archived by the Internet Archive en icon] ; the French governmenton the Counter-Terrorism Coordinating Committee; Deutsche Bank and the Japan External Trade Organization as an advisor on Islamic finance ; the RAND think tank ; the Business for Diplomatic Action consortium [http://www.businessfordiplomaticaction.com/] ; and once again as "a senior desk officer for the Ministry of Defense." The biography states that he settled in the United States in 2003 .

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 Guillemette Faure, [http://www.rue89.com/2007/09/12/abc-news-investigates-one-of-its-terrorism-experts ABC NEWS investigates one of its terrorism experts] , "Rue 89", 12 September 2007 en icon [http://www.rue89.com/2007/09/12/abc-news-enquete-sur-les-scoops-de-son-expert French original article] ] . Thereafter, ABC launched an investigation and then required in June 2007 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 Pascal Riché, [http://www.rue89.com/2007/09/14/a-whistleblower-alerted-abc-news-about-the-reliability-of-its-consultant A whistleblower alerted ABC News about the reliability of its consultant] , "Rue 89", 14 September 2007 en icon] .

Furthermore, two journalists at ABC have claimed that Debat's sensational articles were in fact supported by Brian Ross, ABC chief investigative correspondent . They also alleged that, if ABC claimed to have now vetted Debat's articles, in fact no serious investigation has been carried out . 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 .

Early warnings

Prior to the 2007 scandal Alexis Debat's credentials had been called into question multiple times.

A spokesperson for the French defense Department asked "Libération" in September 2002 to run a correction after the French newspaper quoted Debat, presented as "official at the French Defense Ministry", on the role Zacarias Moussaoui played in the September 11, 2001 attacks. "Libération" then published the correction, stating that Debat was not a defense official . 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 at the French Defence Ministry" [ AFP, "French ministry denies source named in US TV terror report is ex-official", September 6, 2002. [http://nl.newsbank.com/nl-search/we/Archives?p_product=NewsLibrary&p_multi=BBAB&d_place=BBAB&p_theme=newslibrary2&p_action=search&p_maxdocs=200&p_topdoc=1&p_text_direct-0=0F97E79AD8C6E41E&p_field_direct-0=document_id&p_perpage=10&p_sort=YMD_date:D&s_trackval=GooglePM] .en icon ] In February 2003, he once again presented himself on ABC News as "desk officer at the French Minister of Defense" [ Brian Ross, [http://abcnews.go.com/2020/Story?id=123751 Is Saddam's Son More Brutal Than His Dad?] , ABC News, February 14, 2003 en icon] — according to "Rue 89", he only made a brief passage at the "Délégation générale des affaires stratégiques" (General Delegation of Strategic Affairs) .

Stephane 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 Guillemette Faure and Pascal Riché, [http://www.rue89.com/2007/09/15/how-alexis-debat-managed-to-cheat-everyone-in-washington How Alexis Debat managed to cheat everyone in Washington] , "Rue 89", 15 September 2007 en icon] . 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."

Furthermore, Debat was also suspected as unreliable by some scholars in Washington .

Debat's work

Debat as a news source

Debat was cited as primary source for many US news reports on a range of topics since 2001 [http://news.google.com/archivesearch?q=%22alexis+debat%22&hl=en&sa=N&lnav=m&scoring=t] :
*" [http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/Investigation/story?id=1517986 U.S. Strike Killed Al Qaeda Bomb Maker] ", "ABC News" (January 18, 2006)
*" [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/04/abc_news_exclus.html The Secret War Against Iran] ", "ABC News" (April 3, 2007)
*" [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/06/exclusive_suici.html Suicide Bomb Teams Sent to U.S., Europe] " "ABC News" (June 18, 2007). ABC has acknowledged him as a consultant on this story.
*" [http://www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/news/world/asia/article2369001.ece Pentagon three-day blitz plan for Iran] " "The Sunday Times" (September 2, 2007)

Debat as a news reporter

*" [http://abcnews.go.com/WNT/print?id=1682152 Why Al Qaeda Is At Home In Pakistan] ", "ABC News" (March 3, 2006)
*" [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/06/captured_zarqaw.html Captured Zarqawi Aide Spilled the Beans] " "ABC News" (June 9, 2006)
*" [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/08/the_man_who_is_.html The Man Who Is Planning the Next Attack on America] ", "ABC News" (August 9, 2006)
*" [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2006/10/zawahiri_was_ta.html Zawahiri Was Target in U.S. Attack on Religious School in Pakistan] ", "ABC News" (October 3, 2006)
*" [http://blogs.abcnews.com/theblotter/2007/01/american_passpo.html 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 [http://64.233.167.104/search?q=cache:wHP0DlLJv3QJ:www.nixoncenter.org/index.cfm%3Faction%3Dshowpage%26page%3Ddebat+site:nixoncenter.org+terrorism Google Search] ."
*" [http://www.nixoncenter.org/publications/Hulsman_Debat_TNI_84.pdf In Praise of Warlords] " (PDF) "The National Interest" (Summer 2006)
*" [http://www.nixoncenter.org/publications/Debat-Gvosdev.pdf America the Vulnerable] " (PDF) "The National Interest" (September/October 2006)
*" [http://www.nixoncenter.org/publications/Debat_TNI__82%5B1%5D.pdf Terror and the Fifth Republic] " (PDF) "The National Interest" (Winter 2005/2006 )
*" [http://www.iht.com/articles/2006/11/21/opinion/edgvosdev.php Channel the violence] " "The International Herald Tribune" (November 21, 2006)
*" [http://www.iht.com/articles/2007/02/25/opinion/edletmon.php Hezbollah blinks; Britain leaves Iraq; NATO expansion and Russia] " "International Herald Tribune" (February 25, 2007)
*" [http://www.inthenationalinterest.com/Articles/October2004/October2004Debat.html Vivisecting the Jihad: Part Two] " "The National Interest" (online, October 14, 2004)
*" [http://www.inthenationalinterest.com/Articles/Vol2Issue30/Vol2Issue30Debat.html 9/11: Not A Failure. A Choice.] " "The National Interest" (online July 2003)

Debat in "Politique Internationale"

"Patrick Wajsman, director of "Politique Internationale", 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 [ [http://www.lemonde.fr/web/depeches/0,14-0,39-32356939@7-58,0.html Politique Internationale piégé par une fausse interview de Barack Obama] , AFP, September 10, 2007 fr icon] ."
*"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 MacGafin. 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 Clarke. Issue n°104.
*"Un Rêve américain", (Alleged) Interview of Arnold Schwarzenegger (co-authored by Damjan de Krnjevic-Miskovic, managing editor of "The National Interest", and Alexis Debat). Issue n°105, Autumn 2004.
*"Rendez-Vous en 2008", (Alleged) Interview of Hillary Clinton. 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 Wolfowitz. 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 Musharraf. Issue n°109, Autumn 2005.
*"New York! New York!", (Alleged) Interview of Michael Bloomberg. Issue n°110, Winter 2005. Refuted by Bloomberg.
*"Y a-t-il une vie après la Maison-Blanche?", (Alleged) Interview of Bill Clinton. Issue n°110, Winter 2005. Admitted as bogus by Debat.
*"La Croisade de l'homme le plus riche du monde", (Alleged) Interview of Bill Clinton. Issue n°111, Spring 2006. Admitted as bogus by Debat.
*"Mon Année à Bagdad", (Alleged) Interview of Paul Bremer. Issue n°111, Spring 2006.
*"La Planète Renseignement", (Alleged) Interview of John Mac Gafin. Issue n°112, Summer 2006.
*"Le Magicien tire sa révérence", (Alleged) Interview of Alan Greenspan. 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 Pelosi. Issue n° 114, Winter 2007. Refuted by Pelosi.
*"Abkhazie: le fantasme de l'indépendence", (Alleged) Interview of Serguei Bagapch (president of self-proclaimed Abkhazia), co-signed by Alexis Debat and Nathalie Ouvaroff. Issue n°114, Winter 2007.
*"De New York à Washington", (Alleged) Interview of Rudolph Giuliani. Issue n°115, Spring 2007.
*"Objectif Maison-Blanche", (Alleged) Interview of Barack Obama, co-signed by Alexis Debat and Thérèse Delpech. 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", 20 September 2001 ( [http://www.confidentiel.net/article.php3?id_article=2 mirrored here] )
*"Moussaoui impliqué dans un autre attentat ?", 7 September 2002
*"Espionnage: puissant mais pas devin", 6 February 2003
*"Le nucléaire français surveillé de près", 23 March 2003
*"La France à la recherche du fantôme de l'aéroport", 1 August 2004
*"La colère des espions", 6 July 2003

References

ee also

*Journalism ethics and standards