Governing through Fake News

International Conflicts: 30 years of fake news exploited by western countries¹

by Gabriel Galice*

Jacques Baud, the author of this book, was a General Staff Colonel of the Swiss strategic Intelligence. His academic background includes studying political science and econometrics. Expert in chemical and nuclear weapons, he was on-site (Sudan, Democratic Republic of Congo) and in Intelligence Rooms (for the U.N. in New York, for NATO in Brussels). The "Encyclopédie du Renseignement et des Services Secrets" is among his first publications.

"Governing through Fake News" is the most substantial of his recent books (400 pages). The first lines explain the intention: "Put end-to-end, my notes and analyses over 35 years spent in the field of international security on three continents, supporting security and peace, in national and international frameworks, would have permitted to save over 470 000 human lives. But we didn't move. Fear of diverging from mainstream views, prejudices, refusing to see a problem under a different angle, have been practical escape routes, often hiding incompetency and lack of curiosity.

[…] I mixed with soldiers from all countries. I witnessed the weakness of the higher ranks of command: the inability to understand the logic of the enemy, the deficiency in general culture, the absence of response to the holistic side of the wars and a total lack of imagination to find alternatives to the use of force. […] The diplomats are no better. Generally, more cultivated, they are often corrupt and need to be more courageous and imaginative."

"A total lack of imagination to find alternatives to the use of force"

Baud reviews the theatres of war, open or undeclared, our mishaps and the lies of our leaders and servile journalists. In Syria, he did justice to the "moderate rebels" praised by Laurent Fabius and of the "peaceful nature of the first demonstrations". "During the Syrian presidential election on June 3rd, 2014, France, Germany and Switzerland banned Syrian citizens from voting in the embassies." (p. 122)

He highlights the relation between our military operations and terrorist retaliation, no offence to Manuel Valls. Baud shows up the inconsistency of numerous accusations against Putin and Russia. "The accusations against Putin are systematically vague and unfounded. […] So, in June 2017, the broadcasting of Oliver Stone’s documentary about Putin, on France 3, triggered the ire of journalist Vincent Jauvert, who judges the film 'scandalous' and condemns the 'many lies' it contains. He, nevertheless, brings no factual element proving any lie or allowing to re-establish the truth." (p. 287)

Baud analyzed the improbabilities of the narrative of the Skirpal affair. "The European Union’s fact checker has become a real site of disinformation directed against Russia." (p. 387) Concerning Venezuela: "The main problem here in Europe, like in Switzerland (who joined in Europe’s sanctions) is the absence of analytical competencies of independent information." (p. 384)

This book breathes intelligence and integrity, it is a mine of information, correction of fake news and an invitation to reflect, to see the world in all it's complexity.

1 Temporary English Title

(Translation «Swiss Viewpoint»)

* Dr. Gabriel Galice is a French economist and political scientist living in Switzerland. He is President of the Geneva International Peace Research Institute (GIPRI)