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Daniele Ganser

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Daniele Ganser
Ganser in 2018
Born (1972-08-29) 29 August 1972 (age 52)
Lugano, canton Ticino, Switzerland
Alma materUniversity of Basel
Occupation(s)Historian, author
Known forNATO's Secret Armies
SpouseBea Schwarz[1]
Children2[1]
Websitedanieleganser.ch

Daniele Ganser (born 29 August 1972, in Lugano[2]) is a Swiss author and conspiracy theorist.[3] He is best known for his 2005 book NATO's Secret Armies.

Background

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His father Gottfried Ganser-Bosshart (1922–2014), whose parents were Germans, was a Protestant pastor of the Federation of Swiss Protestant Churches (SEK).[4][5][6][7] His mother Jeannette Ganser was a nurse.[8][9] He has a sister named Tea.[9]

Daniele Ganser was a senior researcher at the ETH Zurich, Center for Security Studies (CSS).[10] He was president (2006–2012) of the Swiss branch of the "Association for the Study of Peak Oil and Gas" (ASPO),[11] and taught a course (2012–2017) titled History and Future of Energy Systems at the University of St. Gallen.[2][12]

Writing career

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NATO's Secret Armies

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See also: Operation Gladio

In 2004, Ganser published NATO's Secret Armies: Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Western Europe. In this book, Ganser states that Gladio units were in close cooperation with NATO and the CIA and that Gladio in Italy was responsible for terrorist attacks against the Italian civilian population.[13] Security analyst John Prados observed that Ganser presented evidence that Gladio networks amounted to anti-democratic elements across many nations.[14]

Beatrice Heuser praised the book while also commenting Ganser's book would have been improved by the author using a less polemical tone and had occasionally conceded problems with the Soviets.[15] The political scientist Markus Linden said that Ganser fostered anti-Americanism under the label of Peace Research, while he unilaterally presented Russia positively.[16]

Critics charged that the book failed to provide proof or an in-depth explanation of a conspiracy between NATO, the United States, and European countries. Peer Henrik Hansen criticized Ganser for basing his claim on the US Army Field Manual 30-31B which members of the intelligence community claim is a "Cold War era hoax document."[17][18] Philip H.J. Davies concluded that the book is marred by imagined conspiracies, exaggerated notions and misunderstandings of covert activities and operations within and between the countries, and a failure to place their decisions and actions in the appropriate historical context. Davies argued that Ganser did not perform the most basic necessary research to be able to discuss them effectively.[19] Olav Riste of the Norwegian Institute for Defence Studies mentions several instances where his own research on the stay-behind network in Norway was twisted by Ganser.[20] Riste and Leopoldo Nuti concluded that the book's "ambitious conclusions do not seem to be entirely corroborated by a sound evaluation of the sources available."[21] Lawrence Kaplan commended Ganser for making "heroic efforts to tease out the many strands that connect this interlocking right-wing conspiracy", but also argued that connecting the dots required a stretch of facts. Kaplan believes that some of Ganser's theories may be correct, but they damage the book's credibility.[22] John R. Schindler wrote: "With few exceptions, specialists in the history of intelligence considered Ganser's book to be a shoddy work of scholarship. In the first place, he made no effort to hide his biases, noting that he considered CIA covert action to be "terrorist in nature." Then there was the problem that Ganser was making incendiary assertions he could not prove, as he himself admitted to "not being able to find any official sources to support his charges of the CIA's or any Western European government's involvement with GLADIO.""[23]

Daniele Ganser was shown as expert in the German TV documentary film Stay Behind: Die Schattenkrieger der NATO by Ulrich Stoll about stay-behind armies which was broadcast on ZDFinfo in 2014.[24][25]

Later work

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Ganser calls into question the conclusions of the 9/11 Commission.[26] [27] He also promotes skepticism of the COVID-19 pandemic.[28][29] Americanist Michael Butter calls Ganser the "best-known conspiracy theorist in the German-speaking world". His public doubts about the "official version" of the 9/11 attacks had led to the termination of his university employment.[30] Ganser stated that the Russian invasion of Ukraine is illegal. He also stated that the United States is responsible for the invasion, that Ukrainian President Volodymyr Zelensky is a pawn of the United States and that Crimea and Eastern Ukraine wanted to separate from the rest of the country.[31] Ganser believes the United States instigated the Euromaidan revolution in Ukraine in 2014 and that following the removal of pro-Russian president Yanukovych: "The US installed Arseniy Yatsenyuk as the new prime minister and Petro Poroshenko as the new president".[32]

In 2020, Ganser published Imperium USA: Die Skrupellose Weltmacht in German, a book which was republished in English in 2023 as USA: The Ruthless Empire. Jakob Kullik (of the German strategic studies magazine Zeitschrift für Strategische Analysen), criticized the book for its "one-sided" and "superficial" portrayal of the US as the sole perpetrator of global conflicts. Kullik states that Ganser ignores counter-evidence and utilizes historical revisionism and conspiracy theories to support his criticism of the US. Kullik wrote that, while the book offers a wealth of details, it "lacks analytical depth" and context. Kullik also criticizes Ganser for blaming the US for almost all the world's ills while ignoring other actors such as Russia or China. He concludes that his book falls short of even popular science standards and that Ganser does not engage critically with his sources.[33]

In 2023, Ganser’s presentations (which German public broadcaster ZDF found can bring him around 80,000 Euros of revenue per night through ticket sales alone[31] - A separate Swiss public broadcasting report mentioned he made over 100,000 Swiss Francs based on tickets at a presentation in Basel in May 2023[34]) are considered to contain anti-Americanism, historical negationism, Kremlin propaganda, alternative facts and half-truths and have an audience of over 1000 people in Germany.[35][36][37][38][39] Ganser implies that government and mainstream media would predetermine the way of thinking of the population.[40] The content of Ganser's presentations is popular with a target audience of "conspiracy theorists and democracy skeptics".[41] The director of the Institute for defence policy of the Kiel University, Joachim Krause, criticized: "Mr. Ganser is not a scientist. He's a dumbing down entrepreneur who makes his living by contaminating the brains of people with conspiracy fantasies."[42] Eva Binder and Magdalena Kaltseis from University of Innsbruck described Ganser his presentation in Magic Castle of Austrian city Seefeld in Tirol as "pseudoscientific seduction".[43]

Publications

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English

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Articles

  • "Terrorism in Western Europe: An Approach to NATO's Secret Stay-behind Armies." Whitehead Journal of Diplomacy and International Relations, vol. 6, no. 1. pp. 69–97.
  • "Fear As A Weapon: The Effects Psychological Warfare on Domestic and International Politics." World Affairs: The Journal of International Issues, vol. 9, no. 4 (2005), pp. 24–40. JSTOR 48531828.
  • "The British Secret Service in Neutral Switzerland: An Unfinished Debate on NATO's Cold War Stay-behind Armies." Intelligence and National Security, vol. 20, no. 5 (2005). pp. 553–580.doi:10.1080/02684520500425083.
  • "The Ghost of Machiavelli: An Approach to Operation Gladio and Terrorism in Cold War Italy." Crime, Law and Social Change, vol. 45, no. 2 (Mar. 2006), pp. 111–154. doi:10.3929/ethz-b-000036044.
  • "The CIA in Western Europe and the Abuse of Human Rights." Intelligence and National Security, vol. 21, no. 5 (Oct. 2006), pp. 760–781. doi:10.1080/02684520600957712.

Books

Book contributions

Other languages

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Articles

  • "L'OTAN Menace Notre Sécurité," with Hans von Sponeck and Gabriel Galice. Le Temps [Genèva] (3 April 2017), pp. 6+.

Books

English: "Going it Alone—Switzerland 10 Years After the EWR-Nein."
English: "Europe in the Oil Frenzy: The Consequences of Dangerous Addiction."
English: "Illegal Wars: How the NATO Countries Sabotage the UN. A Chronicle from Cuba to Syria."

Book contributions

English: "Peak Oil: Crude oil in the Field of Tension Between War and Peace." In: "Energy."

References

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  1. ^ a b obituary notice of Ganser's father, 14 March 2014
  2. ^ a b "Daniele Ganser". .csfd.sk (in Slovak). Retrieved 31 March 2023.
  3. ^ Frasch (Text), Dennis (8 April 2023). "Alles, nur nicht die Wahrheit: Ein Abend unter Verschwörungstheoretikern". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German).
  4. ^ Gottfried Ganser-Bosshart, portraitarchiv.ch (Swiss German)
  5. ^ Gottfried Ganser, obituary, pfarrverein.ch
  6. ^ death note Gottfried Ganser, todesanzeigenportal.ch
  7. ^ "gottfried+ganser"+"daniele+ganser"&pg=PT10 Imperium USA: Die skrupellose Weltmacht, p. 10
  8. ^ Rico Bandle: Daniele Ganser: Missionar des Misstrauens. Die Weltwoche 21, 24 May 2017, p. 30–32; DIGITALSAT
  9. ^ a b Illegale Kriege: Wie die NATO-Länder die UNO sabotieren. Eine Chronik von Kuba bis Syrien, p. 6
  10. ^ "sciencelife:ETH Life - ETH Zurich's weekly web journal". Archiv.ethlife.ethz.ch. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  11. ^ "ASPO Switzerland – Association for the Study of Peak Oil". Aspo.ch. 24 November 2015. Archived from the original on 2 March 2021. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  12. ^ "University of St.Gallen | EGI-HSG | Teaching and Executive Education at EGI". Egi.unisg.ch. Archived from the original on 29 May 2016. Retrieved 18 July 2016.
  13. ^ Anton, Andreas, and Michael Schetsche, Michael K. Walter. Konspiration. p. 175, Springer VS 2014. ISBN 978-3531193243.
  14. ^ Prados, John (2006). Safe for Democracy: The Secret Wars of the CIA. p. 95. ISBN 978-1615780112.
  15. ^ Geyser, Beatrice (Nov. 2006). Review of NATO's Secret Armies . Cold War History. pp. 567-568.
  16. ^ L'historien Daniele Ganser ravi des complots, Die Welt, 8 June 2018
  17. ^ Hansen, Peer Henrik (Summer 2005).Review of NATO's Secret Armies. Journal of Intelligence History.
  18. ^ Hansen, Peer Henrik (Jan. 2006). "Falling Flat on the Stay-Behinds." International Journal of Intelligence and CounterIntelligence. pp. 182-186.
  19. ^ Davies, Philip H.J. (Dec. 2005). Review of NATO's Secret Armies. Journal of Strategic Studies. pp. 1064-1068.
  20. ^ Riste, Olav (Sep. 2005). Review of NATO's Secret Armies." Intelligence and National Security. pp. 550-551.
  21. ^ Riste, Olav and Leopoldo Nuti (Dec. 2007). "Introduction: Strategy of 'Stay-Behind'." Journal of Strategic Studies. p. 930.
  22. ^ Kaplan, Lawrence (Sep. 2006). Review of NATO's Secret Armies. International History Review. pp. 685-686.
  23. ^ Diamonds (and Disinformation) Are Forever. John R. Schindler on Ganser's NATO's Secret Armies
  24. ^ Schattenkrieger der NATO (German) ZDF (Public Service Television) 25 March 2014 (Mediathek) featuring Ganser and others Video on YouTube(40 seconds); Video on YouTube (26 seconds); Video on YouTube (47 seconds); Video on YouTube (18 seconds)(
  25. ^ Stay Behind: Die Schattenkrieger der NATO at IMDb
  26. ^ All of the theories about 9/11 are conspiracy theories comment by Kristin Aalen, aftenbladet.no 21 April 2008
  27. ^ Jakob Lindenmeyer: 9/11: Terror, Lug und Trug. ETH Life, 27 September 2005; Daniele Ganser: Der erbitterte Streit um den 11. September. Tages-Anzeiger, 9 September 2006 (PDF at Siper.ch)
  28. ^ Fulterer, Ruth (29 January 2020). "Gansers Jünger". Neue Zürcher Zeitung (in German). Retrieved 23 February 2020.
  29. ^ Anina Ritscher (23 April 2021). "Daniele Ganser: Der Mann, dem die Menschen ihr Misstrauen anvertrauen: Niemand hat die Kraft des Zweifels so geschickt zur persönlichen Erfolgsgesschichte gemacht, wie der Basler Daniele Ganser. Auch die Welle der Corona-Leugner surft er souverän". bajour.ch (in German). Retrieved 13 September 2021.
  30. ^ Butter, Michael (2018). "Nichts ist, wie es scheint". Über Verschwörungstheorien (in German). Berlin: Suhrkamp. pp. 58, 83–93. ISBN 978-3-518-07360-5.
  31. ^ a b "Historiker Daniele Ganser: Gutes Geschäft mit Ukraine-Mythen". ZDFheute (in German). 10 March 2023. Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  32. ^ Ganser, Daniele (2023). "2013: The New Silk Road". USA: The Ruthless Empire. Simon and Schuster. pp. 314-315 (Google Books version). ISBN 9781510776838.
  33. ^ Kullik, Jakob (1 September 2020). "Daniele Ganser: Imperium USA. Die skrupellose Weltmacht. Zürich: Orell Füssli Verlag 2020, 400 Seiten". SIRIUS – Zeitschrift für Strategische Analysen. 4 (3): 381–383. doi:10.1515/sirius-2020-3028. ISSN 2510-2648.
  34. ^ Wyl, Benjamin von (8 May 2023). "Daniele Ganser vermittelt Fake News zum Krieg in der Ukraine – und ein gutes Gefühl". SWI swissinfo.ch (in Swiss High German). Retrieved 9 July 2024.
  35. ^ "Krieg in der Ukraine: Viel Aufmerksamkeit für fragwürdige Experten". tagesschau.de (in German). 24 March 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023. Ein dezidierter Antiamerikanismus zieht sich wie ein roter Faden durch seine gesamten Arbeiten.
  36. ^ "Daniele Ganser in Aachen: Als würden Putins Trolle Regie führen". aachener-zeitung.de. 29 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023. Inszeniert sich als Friedensforscher: Der Schweizer Publizist Daniele Ganser sprach vor gut 1600 Menschen im Aachener Eurogress. Der Schweizer Publizist Daniele Ganser spricht in Aachen vor einer eingeschworenen Fangemeinde und inszeniert sich als Friedensbewegter. Zu hören gibt es Halbwahrheiten und klassische Kreml-Propaganda.
  37. ^ Georg Thanscheidt (28 March 2023). "Daniele Ganser in der Westfalenhalle Popcorn, Bier und Putin-Propaganda - ein Selbsterfahrungsbericht". ruhrnachrichten.de. Retrieved 31 March 2023. "Alternative Fakten" zum Ukraine-Krieg
  38. ^ Thomas Ludwig (28 March 2023). "Reportage vom Ukraine-Vortrag des Historikers, Radikal oder ganz normal? Eine Annäherung an das Phänomen Daniele Ganser" (in German). Vor 2000 Zuschauern lässt der Nato-kritische Historiker Daniele Ganser kein gutes Haar an den Alliierten im Ukraine-Krieg - und die Zuhörer danken es ihm mit Ovationen.
  39. ^ Oliver Deuker, Hannover (10 March 2023). "Umstrittener Historiker :Daniele Gansers gutes Geschäft mit den Mythen" (in German). Retrieved 31 March 2023. Gut zweieinhalb Stunden redet Ganser im Saal, betreibt Geschichtsklitterung, eines Historikers nicht würdig.
  40. ^ Ronald Meyer-Arlt (13 March 2023). "Gegen "die Regierung" und "die Medien": Auftritt des Verschwörungsrauners: So war der Vortrag von Daniele Ganser im Kuppelsaal" (in German). Archived from the original on 24 March 2023. Retrieved 31 March 2023. Die Regierung" und "die Medien" würden dem Volk die Denkweisen vorgeben, sagte Daniele Ganser im Kuppelsaal in Hannover. 2800 Menschen hörten sich seinen Vortrag über die Ursachen des Krieges in der Ukraine an.
  41. ^ "Wie gefährlich ist der Schweizer Historiker Daniele Ganser?". NDR Fernsehen, Hallo Niedersachen. ndr.de. 9 March 2023. Retrieved 1 April 2023. Die Inhalte des selbst ernannten "Friedensforschers" sind bei Verschwörungstheoretikern und Demokratieskeptikern beliebt.
  42. ^ Florian Sötje (11 February 2023). "Geplanter Vortrag in Kiel: Kritik an Ganser: "Er verhöhnt die Opfer des Holocaust"". kn-online.de (in German). Retrieved 1 April 2023. Herr Ganser ist kein Wissenschaftler. Er ist ein Verdummungsunternehmer, der sein Geld damit verdient, dass er die Gehirne der Menschen mit Verschwörungsfantasien verjaucht", sagt Prof. Joachim Krause, Direktor des Instituts für Sicherheitspolitik der CAU Kiel.
  43. ^ Eva Binder and Magdalena Kaltseis (28 February 2023). "Pseudowissenschaftliche Verführung oder warum wir Daniele Ganser nicht einfach ignorieren sollten". uibk.ac.at (in Austrian German). Retrieved 1 April 2023.
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