Early Warnings
Alexis Debat's credentials had been called into question once.
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.
Read more about this topic: Alexis Debat
Famous quotes containing the words early and/or warnings:
““next to of course god america i
love you land of the pilgrims” and so forth oh
say can you see by the dawn’s early my
country ‘tis of centuries come and go
and are no more what of it we should worry
in every language even deafanddumb
thy sons acclaim your glorious name by gorry
by jing by gee by gosh by gum”
—E.E. (Edward Estlin)
“Along the highway, all but lost among blatant neon lights flashing ‘Whiskey’ and ‘Dance and Dine,’ are crudely daubed warnings erected by itinerant evangelists, announcing that ‘Jesus is soon coming,’ or exhorting the traveler to ‘prepare to meet thy God.’”
—For the State of Florida, U.S. public relief program (1935-1943)