"Empire USA"

rl. The merits of Daniele Ganser's new publication "Imperium USA. Die skrupellose Weltmacht” (Empire USA. The unscrupulous world power) are evident from the criticism he receives from the mainstream press. Instead of debating over the substance, the critics blame him for the choice of his study; he would have been better off focusing on China. Such assertions whet our curiosity.

In his publication, Ganser traces the history of American military power in a clear and factual manner. For anyone interested, the account of the last 20 years of US power politics in the world is remarkable.

Ganser, a proven expert

As a historian and peace researcher for many years, Daniele Ganser is also a proven specialist in all aspects of secret and official power politics. Already with his rst book, entitled "NATO’s Secret Armies: Operation GLADIO and Terrorism in Western Europe”¹, he shed new light on post- war historiography by adressing, for example, the terrorist attacks staged in European states to in‐ uence public opinion before certain elections, particularly in Italy in the 1970s.

In “Illegale Kriege. Wie NATO Länder die UNO sabotieren. Eine Chronik von Kuba bis Syrien“ (Illegal Wars. How NATO countries sabotage the UN. A Chronicle from Cuba to Syria), he systematically demonstrated the "double standards" of NATO policy. The United States and its NATO partners constantly violate the ban on the use of force as embodied in the UN Charter. With their veto at the UN Security Council, the US, France and Great Britain can prevent any condemnation. Page after page, Ganser describes these aspects of NATO policy, always precisely documented and always clearly named. Daniele Ganser's public lectures in both Germany and Switzerland are invariably packed to full capacity, with a mostly young audience.

Ganser's clarity and honesty have had – not surprisingly – some nasty consequences. In 2018, for example, he was targeted by a media smear campaign, obviously in an attempt to silence him. As always, the string-pullers re‐ mained in the shadows. However, this did not deter Daniele Ganser. His new book "Empire USA" was published by Orell Füssli in the spring of 2020, with a print run of more than 40,000 cop‐ ies in the meantime. A French translation will appear in spring 2021.

What is an empire?

Ganser holds no resentments against the United States. Nor does he reiterate common preju‐ dices. No, he shows step by step that the United States are an empire in the historical sense of the word and that it still follows such policies. The explosive nature of the publication is due to the fact that Ganser measures such behavior against the United States' own claims – as set out in the UN Charter that is binding law for all. After demonstrating that the United States are truly an empire, Ganser rightly questions its compatibility with democracy. The fact that the United States are not a democracy is an open secret. Similar forms of government are normally classi ed as "oligarchies," the rule of a small number of in uential people.

The reader is then taken onto a historical journey through time, from the wars against the indigenous peoples of the Americas, to the war against Mexico, to slavery, to Latin American "backyard" politics, to the two World Wars, to the post-war period, to the Vietnam War, up to the present day.

It is obvious that Ganser, as a historian, is accustomed to working with sources and to corroborating his statements reliably. He manages to present the 9/11 events in a gripping way without taking a position. Based on facts, the reader is forced to form his/her own opinion.

How to explain that on September 11, 2001, in addition to the two towers of the World Trade Center (WTC-1 and WTC-2), a third skyscraper (WTC-7) collapsed – without any plane crashing in? And why was this shocking event not included in the official investigation?

And today?

The last 20 years are described in a highly topical and clear manner. In the chapter "The Digital Empire", Daniele Ganser presents the now enormous surveillance state, which Edgar Snowden has brought to the attention of the general public. The role personal data play in election campaigns is a well-known topic since the 2016 election of Donald Trump – one of the keywords is Cambridge Analytica. Ganser also does not forget to question why the US and NATO are intensifying their power politics and sanctions towards Russia and China.

Not only the richness of the facts presented, but also Daniele Ganser's uncompromising commitment to a more peaceful world make this publication an event. This book is already a bestseller and a mustread.

Ganser, Daniele. Imperium USA. Die skrupellose Weltmacht, (Empire USA. The unscrupulous world power). Zurich 2020, ISBN 978-3-280-05708-7 (To be published in French in the spring of 2021)

1 Ganser, Daniele.NATO’sSecretArmies:OperationGLA‐ DIO and Terrorism in Western Europe, 2005, ISBN 978-0- 714-68500-7