Michael Ledeen
Michael Ledeen | |
---|---|
Born | Michael Arthur Ledeen August 1, 1941 |
Nationality | American |
Alma mater | University of Wisconsin–Madison |
Occupation(s) | Historian and Foreign Policy Analyst |
Michael Arthur Ledeen (
Academic career
Ledeen holds a Ph.D. in History and Philosophy from the University of Wisconsin–Madison where he studied under the historian George Mosse. His doctoral dissertation eventually became Universal Fascism: The Theory and Practice of the Fascist International, 1928–1936, first published in 1972. The book explored Italian leader Benito Mussolini's efforts to create a Fascist international in the late 1920s and early 1930s. Ledeen taught at Washington University in St. Louis but left after being denied tenure. Some faculty indicated that questions about the "quality of his scholarship" and about whether or not Ledeen had "used the work of somebody else without proper credit" were issues, although some also noted that "the 'quasi-irregularity' at issue didn't warrant the negative vote on tenure."[5]
Ledeen subsequently moved to
Billygate
In the 1980 lead up to the US presidential election, Ledeen, along with
Five years later, in 1985, a Wall Street Journal investigation suggested that the series of
The Bulgarian connection
Ledeen worked for the Italian military intelligence agency
Work in the United States
In the early 1980s, Ledeen appeared before the newly established Senate Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism alongside former CIA director William Colby, author Claire Sterling, and former Newsweek editor Arnaud de Borchgrave. Both Ledeen and de Borchgrave worked for the Center for Strategic and International Studies at Georgetown University at the time.[15] All four testified that they believed the Soviet Union had provided material support, training and inspiration for various terrorist groupings.[16]
Ledeen was involved in the
Ledeen vouched for Iranian intermediary
Yellowcake forgery allegations
During the summer of 2001,
According to a September 2004 article by
Colleagues Andrew McCarthy and Mark R. Levin have defended Ledeen, writing: "Up until now, the fiction recklessly spewed by disgruntled intelligence-community retirees and their media enablers—some of whom have conceded that the claim is based on zero evidence—has been that Michael had something to do with the forged Italian documents that, according to the Left's narrative, were the basis for President Bush's "lie" in the 2003 State of the Union Address that Saddam Hussein had obtained yellowcake uranium (for nuclear-weapons construction) in Africa."[24]
Iraq War advocacy
During the 1990s, Ledeen was active in supporting the ousting of Saddam Hussein from Iraq. He was known as one of The Vulcans who also included John Bolton, Douglas Feith, Richard Perle, Paul Wolfowitz, Donald Rumsfeld, and David Wurmser who signed an "An Open Letter to the President" to lobby Bill Clinton to remove Hussein from office.[25]
Regarding the "pre-emptive" invasion of Iraq, in 2002 Ledeen criticized the views of former National Security Adviser Brent Scowcroft, writing:[26]
Scowcroft has managed to get one thing half right, even though he misdescribes it. He fears that if we attack Iraq "I think we could have an explosion in the Middle East. It could turn the whole region into a caldron and destroy the War on Terror." One can only hope that we turn the region into a cauldron, and faster, please. If ever there were a region that richly deserved being cauldronized, it is the Middle East today. If we wage the war effectively, we will bring down the terror regimes in Iraq, Iran, and Syria, and either bring down the Saudi monarchy or force it to abandon its global assembly line to indoctrinate young terrorists. That's our mission in the war against terror.
— Michael Ledeen
Ledeen's statements prior to the start of the Iraq war such as "desperately needed and long overdue war against Saddam Hussein" and "dire need to invade Iraq" caused Glenn Greenwald to label his later statement that he "opposed the military invasion of Iraq before it took place" to be an "outright lie".[27] However, Ledeen maintains these statements are consistent since: "I opposed the military invasion of Iraq before it took place and I advocated—as I still do—support for political revolution in Iran as the logical and necessary first step in the war against the terror masters."[28]
Views on Iran
Ledeen is a long-time foe of the Islamic regime of Iran. He believed that invading the country and regime change in Iran should have been the first priority in the "
According to Justin Raimondo, Ledeen "holds up Bill Clinton and Madeleine Albright as patsies for Khomeini—who supposedly believed that the Ayatollah overthrew Shah Reza Pahlavi because the Iranian government was 'excessively repressive and intolerant.' While it would not do to come right out and deny the savagery of the Shah's legendary SAVAK secret police, Ledeen informs us that, under the monarch's beneficent rule, 'Iran had become too modern, too tolerant—especially of women and of other religious faiths—and too self-indulgent. The shah had Westernized Iran'—except, perhaps, in his prisons, where the ancient methods of torture were routinely employed on dissidents of all sorts."[31]
Ledeen is currently against both an invasion of Iran or air-strikes within the country.[30][32] He has argued that the latter may eventually become necessary if negotiations with the Iranian government fail, but it would only be the least bad option of many options and it would lead to many negative unforeseen consequences.[32] The New York Times has called Ledeen's skepticism towards military action against Iran surprising given his opposition to the regime.[29]
In July 2016 Ledeen co-authored with Lt. General
Controversial theories
Ledeen also believed that Iran is the main backer of the
Ledeen was a board member of the "Coalition for Democracy in Iran" (CDI), founded by
Following the February 2003 speech by French Minister for Foreign Affairs
Jonah Goldberg, Ledeen's colleague at National Review, coined the term "Ledeen Doctrine" in a 2002 column. This tongue-in-cheek "doctrine" is usually summarized as "Every ten years or so, the United States needs to pick up some small crappy little country and throw it against the wall, just to show the world we mean business," which Goldberg remembered Ledeen saying in an early 1990s speech.[38]
Ledeen has also advocated that U.S. leaders take a stronger rhetorical stance in wars on Islamic regimes and militant groups. For instance he has recommended in public talks that U.S. leaders question or challenge defeated Islamic militaries or forces regarding the apparent failure of Allah to assure their victory.[39]
Personal life
Ledeen was born in
Ledeen is an accomplished
His first wife was Jenny Ledeen of St. Louis, Mo. Ledeen has three children: Simone, Gabriel, and Daniel. Simone has worked both in Iraq and Afghanistan for the Department of Defense; Gabriel is currently a lieutenant in the United States Marines Corps serving his second tour in Iraq; Daniel too is currently a lieutenant in the USMC.[42]
He is married to his second wife, Barbara, who was a longtime staffer for Senator
Missing Clinton emails
Barbara Ledeen sparked controversy in 2015 when she tried to launch her own investigation into Hillary Clinton's emails, while a staffer for Senator Chuck Grassley on the Senate Judiciary Committee which was looking into Trump's Russia issue.[44] According to FBI notes, she requested the assistance of both a defense contractor and Newt Gingrich who asked Judicial Watch for financial assistance for her efforts.[44] Judicial Watch requested another contractor to access the "deep web and dark web".[44] Matt Tate, a former British intelligence official, was approached by Peter W. Smith, an aid close to Gingrich and who was also working with Michael Flynn who is a confidant of Barbara Ledeen's husband, who Tate said Smith was obtaining Clinton's emails independently of Barbara Ledeen's efforts which Grassley had told her to stop.[44][45][46][b]
Project Veritas
To support
Bibliography
- Universal Fascism; the Theory and Practice of the Fascist International, 1928–1936, New York, H. Fertig, 1972
- co-written with ISBN 0-87855-190-5.
- "Renzo De Felice and the Controversy over Italian Fascism", pages 269–283 from Journal of Contemporary History, Volume 11, 1976.
- The First Duce: D'Annunzio at Fiume, Baltimore; London: Johns Hopkins University Press, 1977 ISBN 0-8018-1860-5.
- Italy In Crisis, Beverly Hills [Calif.]: Sage publications, 1977 ISBN 0-8039-0792-3.
- co-written with George Mosse: Intervista sul Nazismo, Rome-Bari, Laterza, 1977
- co-written with William Lewis: Debacle, The American Failure in Iran, Vintage Books; 1st Vintage Books ed edition (1982) ISBN 0-394-75182-5
- Grave New World, New York: Oxford University Press, 1985 ISBN 0-19-503491-0.
- West European Communism and American Foreign Policy, New Brunswick, N.J., U.S.A.: Transaction Books, 1987 ISBN 0-88738-140-5.
- Perilous Statecraft: An Insider's Account of the Iran-Contra Affair, New York: Scribner, 1988 ISBN 0-684-18994-1.
- Superpower Dilemmas: the U.S. and the U.S.S.R. at Century's End, New Brunswick, U.S.A.: Transaction Publishers, 1992 ISBN 0-88738-891-4.
- Freedom Betrayed: How America Led a Global Democratic Revolution, Won the Cold War, and Walked Away, Washington, D.C.: AEI Press, 1996 ISBN 0-8447-3992-8.
- Machiavelli on Modern Leadership: Why Machiavelli's Iron Rules Are As Timely and Important Today as Five Centuries Ago, New York: Truman Talley Books/St. Martin's Press, 1999 ISBN 0-312-20471-X.
- The War against The Terror Masters: Why It Happened, Where We Are Now, How We'll Win, New York: St. Martin's Press, 2002 ISBN 0-312-30644-X.
- The Iranian Time Bomb: The Mullah Zealots' Quest for Destruction. Truman Talley Books, 2007. ISBN 978-0-312-37655-0.
- Obama's Betrayal of Israel, New York: Encounter Broadsides, 2010 ISBN 978-1594034626
- ISBN 978-1-25010-622-3.
See also
- Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections
- Timeline of Russian interference in the 2016 United States elections (July 2016 – election day)
Notes
- ^ According to both Boris Yuzhin and Oleg Gordievsky, the KGB conducted a large disinformation campaign in support of Republicans and Ronald Reagan to discredit Democrats and Jimmy Carter during the 1980 elections.[13]
- ^ On September 10, 2019, at Venice, Italy during the 58th Venice Biennale which was directed by the Hayward Gallery in London's curator Ralph Rugoff, Hillary Clinton visited the Kenneth Goldsmith work "Hillary: The Hillary Clinton Emails," a work on display in a balcony jutting out over a supermarket at the Despar Teatro Italia.[47] During her appearance, she said that the attention given to her emails was one of the "strangest" and most "absurd" events in U.S. political history, adding, "Anyone can go in and look at them. There is nothing there. There is nothing that should have been so controversial."[47] During the 2019 Venice Biennale which was glamorous with a joie de vivre and contained art of historical importance, the emails were exhibited from May 9, 2019, until November 24, 2019, during which Goldsmith promoted them as "the most important political documents of our times."[47][48] Even though Attorney General Loretta Lynch had closed the Hillary Clinton email investigation case during summer of 2016 without criminal charges, during his campaign on October 28, 2016, Trump commented about Clinton's emails as "This is bigger than Watergate. This is bigger than Watergate. In my opinion. This is bigger than Watergate."[47][49][50][51] After Trump's statement, James Comey publicly stated that he had the FBI open another investigation into Clinton just days before the November 8, 2016, elections which Clinton felt buried her hopes of becoming President.[52]
References
- ^ "Michael Ledeen: How We Can Win"
- ISBN 978-9004212558.
- ^ A. Danchev 'Ed., The Iraq war and Democratic politics, Routledge, 2004, p.38.
- ^ Unger, Craig (July 2006). "The War They Wanted, The Lies They Needed: The Bush administration invaded Iraq claiming Saddam Hussein had tried to buy yellowcake uranium in Niger. As much of Washington knew, and the world soon learned, the charge was false. Worse, it appears to have been the cornerstone of a highly successful "black propaganda" campaign with links to the White House. (page 7)". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ a b "Ledeen Seems To Relish Iran Insider's Role," Charles R. Babcock. The Washington Post. Washington, D.C.: February 2, 1987. p. A1.
- ^ "Flirting with Fascism" Archived 2009-01-05 at the Wayback Machine, John Laughland, The American Conservative, 30 June 2003.
- ^ A Theory, Michael Ledeen, National Review Online, March 10, 2003.
- ^ Michael Ledeen; Arnaud de Borchgrave (1980-11-01). "Qaddafi, Arafat, and Billy Carter". The New Republic. pp. 19–21.
- ^ Kwitny, Jonathan (August 8, 1985). "Tale of Intrigue: Why an Italian Spy Got Closely Involved In the Billygate Affair". The Wall Street Journal.
- ^ Gabanelli, Milena (January 30, 2009). "Il personaggio: Dopo 13 anni di carcere parla Francesco Pazienza. L'uomo dei misteri d'Italia rivela: lingotti per aiutare Walesa. "Io, Gelli e la strage di Bologna": Ecco le verità della super-spia" [The character: After 13 years in prison Francesco Pazienza speaks. The man of the mysteries of Italy reveals: ingots to help Walesa. "Me, Gelli and the Bologna massacre": Here are the truths of the super spy]. la Repubblica (in Italian). Archived from the original on March 9, 2021. Retrieved September 8, 2021.
- ^ "ALTO TRADIMENTO -- GLI INTRIGHI DEL SEGRETO SERVIZI" [HIGH TREASON -- THE INTRIGUES OF THE SECRET SERVICES]. L'Espresso (in Italian). November 5, 1984. Archived from the original on 2005-04-29. Retrieved September 9, 2021.
- ^ Unger, Craig (July 2006). "The War They Wanted, the Lies They Needed". Vanity Fair. Retrieved 5 August 2013.
A 1985 investigation by Jonathan Kwitny in The Wall Street Journal reported that the New Republic article was part of a larger disinformation scam run by Ledeen and SISMI to tilt the election, and that "Billy Carter wasn't the only one allegedly getting money from a foreign government." According to Pazienza, Kwitny reported, Michael Ledeen had received at least $120,000 from SISMI in 1980 or 1981 for his work on Billygate and other projects. Ledeen even had a coded identity, Z-3, and had money sent to him in a Bermuda bank account, Pazienza said. Ledeen told the Journal that a consulting firm he owned, I.S.I., worked for SISMI and may have received the money. He said he did not recall whether he had a coded identity. Pazienza was subsequently convicted in absentia on multiple charges, including having used extortion and fraud to obtain embarrassing facts about Billy Carter. Ledeen was never charged with any crime, but he was cited in Pazienza's indictment, which read, "With the illicit support of the SISMI and in collaboration with the well-known American 'Italianist' Michael Ledeen, Pazienza succeeded in extorting, also using fraudulent means, information ... on the Libyan business of Billy Carter, the brother of the then President of the United States."
- ^ Fenyvesi, Charles; Pope, Victoria; Strobel, Warren P.; Caryl, Christian (October 10, 1999). "Cold warriors' untold tales". U.S. News & World Report. Archived from the original on May 24, 2011. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ a b The War They Wanted, The Lies They Needed, Craig Unger, Vanity Fair, July 2006.
- ^ U.S. Senate. Hearing before the Subcommittee on Security and Terrorism. Terrorism: Origins, Direction and Support. 97th Congress, 1st session. April 24, 1981.
- ^ Mohr, C (1981-04-25). "Hearing on terror opens with warning on Soviet". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-12-17.
- ^ Walsh, LE (1993-08-04). "Final Report of the Independent Counsel for Iran/Contra Matters; volume I: "Investigations and Prosecution"". Washington, D.C.
- ISBN 0-684-18994-1.
- ^ Brumley, Brian (February 1, 1987). "Senate Report Calls Iranian Middleman in Arms Sales A 'Suspect Character'". Associated Press. Archived from the original on March 5, 2016. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ Brumley, Bryan (February 1, 1987). "Senate Report Calls Iranian Middleman in Arms Sales A 'Suspect Character'". AP News. Retrieved April 4, 2023.
- ^ Grier, Peter (August 26, 1987). "Iran-contra affair began with Iran, says former NSC official". The Christian Science Monitor. Retrieved April 5, 2023.
- ^ a b c d Bonini, Carlo [in Italian]; D'Avanzo, Giuseppe [in Italian] (December 1, 2005). "Alain Chouet, ex numero 2 dei servizi segreti transalpini racconta il ruolo di Parigi nell'affare del falso traffico di uranio: Nigergate, lo 007 francese che smonta la tesi del Sismi" [Alain Chouet, former number 2 of the transalpine secret services, talks about the role of Paris in the affair of the false uranium trafficking: Nigergate, the French 007 that dismantles the thesis of the SISMI]. la Repubblica (in Italian). Archived from the original on December 3, 2005. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- ^ Joshua Micah Marshall, Laura Rozen & Paul Glastris (September 2004). "'Iran-Contra II?". Washington Monthly. Archived from the original on 2004-08-30.
- National Review Online. Archived from the originalon 19 August 2006.
- ^ Unger, Craig (July 2006). "The War They Wanted, The Lies They Needed: The Bush administration invaded Iraq claiming Saddam Hussein had tried to buy yellowcake uranium in Niger. As much of Washington knew, and the world soon learned, the charge was false. Worse, it appears to have been the cornerstone of a highly successful "black propaganda" campaign with links to the White House. (page 5)". Vanity Fair. Archived from the original on March 6, 2008. Retrieved September 2, 2021.
- National Review Online, August 6, 2002.
- ^ Glenn Greenwald: What do National Review, Rich Lowry, and the AEI have to say about Michael Ledeen's lie, Unclaimed Territory, November 5, 2006
- National Review Online, November 4, 2006
- ^ a b c Books on the Mideast. By Peter Beinart. The New York Times. Published September 9, 2007.
- ^ a b Iran with the Bomb, or Bomb Iran: The Need for Regime Change. Michael A. Ledeen. Encyclopædia Britannica Blog. Published October 9, 2007.
- ^ Raimondo, Justin (2002-11-18) The War Against the World[permanent dead link], The American Conservative
- ^ a b United States Policy toward Iran. Michael A. Ledeen. American Enterprise Institute. Posted March 8, 2006
- ^ Philip Giraldi: Iran Hawks Take the White House | The American Conservative, 9 February 2017
- ^ National Review Online, June 9, 2006
- ^ "Veteran neo-con advisor moves on Iran". Asia Times. June 26, 2003. Archived from the original on June 28, 2003. Retrieved 2006-05-02.
{{cite news}}
: CS1 maint: unfit URL (link) - National Review Online, March 10, 2003
- Eurabia
- ^ Goldberg, Jonah (April 23, 2002). "Baghdad Delenda Est, Part Two". National Review.
- ^ "[The Field of Fight] | C-SPAN.org". www.c-span.org. Retrieved 2021-10-24.
- ISBN 978-0-939460-99-1.
- ^ "Salvaging a Prudent Name". Landon Thomas, Jr. The New York Times. June 29, 2007. Retrieved 2014-05-20.
- ^ In Iraq, the Job Opportunity of a Lifetime Ariana Eunjung Cha The Washington Post, May 23, 2004
- ^ a b c Goldman, Adam; Mazzetti, Mark (13 May 2021). "Activists and Ex-Spy Said to Have Plotted to Discredit Trump 'Enemies' in Government". The New York Times.
- ^ TheGuardian.com. Retrieved 19 December 2017.
- ^ The_War_Economy (18 March 2019). "Spygate, Part #14: Peter W. Smith". Medium. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ Tait, Matt (30 June 2017). "The Time I Got Recruited to Collude with the Russians". lawfaremedia.org. Retrieved 23 June 2021.
- ^ New York Times.
- ^ Morris, Jane (May 1, 2019). "Why is the Venice Biennale still so important? Historical importance, glamour, big spenders—it continues to be an art festival like no other". The Art Newspaper. Archived from the original on May 1, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ Schreckinger, Ben (October 28, 2016). "Trump hails new Clinton FBI review as 'bigger than Watergate': The GOP nominee cheers the decision to look at new information in probe of the Democrat". Politico. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ Lee, Michelle Ye Hee (October 30, 2016). "Trump's bizarre claim that the Clinton email controversy is 'bigger than Watergate'". The Washington Post. Archived from the original on October 30, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ Koh, Elizabeth (October 28, 2016). "Trump calls Clinton email investigation 'bigger than Watergate'". Miami Herald. Archived from the original on October 29, 2016. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- ^ Apuzzo, Matt; Goldman, Adam; Fandos, Nicholas (May 16, 2018). "Code Name Crossfire Hurricane: The Secret Origins of the Trump Investigation". The New York Times. Archived from the original on May 2, 2019. Retrieved September 21, 2021.
- Star-Advertiser.
- ^ Harriet, Alexander (14 May 2021). "British spy recruited by Erik Prince ran 'honeypot ops' with female spies to discredit Trump enemies". Archived from the original on 2021-05-14.
- ISBN 9781933633275.
External links
- Profile at International Analyst Network
- Appearances on C-SPAN
- A film clip "The Open Mind – An Insiders Account of the Iran-Contra Affair (1988)" is available for viewing at the Internet Archive
- Michael Arthur Ledeen at Library of Congress, with 23 library catalog records