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 " &mdash; according to '' Rue 89 '' , he did make a brief passage at the '' Délégation aux Affaires stratégiques '' ( Delegation of Strategic Affairs )
September 11 attacks
September 11 attacks
Alexis Debat