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.
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]
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 filmStay Behind: Die Schattenkrieger der NATO by Ulrich Stoll about stay-behind armies which was broadcast on ZDFinfo in 2014.[24][25]
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]
Reckless Gamble—The Sabotage of the United Nations in the Cuban Conflict and the Missile Crisis of 1962. New Orleans: University Press of the South (Dec. 2000). ISBN978-1889431727.
^Ganser, Daniele (2023). "2013: The New Silk Road". USA: The Ruthless Empire. Simon and Schuster. pp. 314-315 (Google Books version). ISBN9781510776838.
^"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.
^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.
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