Philosopher claims Gulf war never happened
A controversial French philosopher has reiterated claims that the Gulf War never happened.
He has angered New Zealand military officers during a visit there by saying the public should not believe everything they see on TV.
A senior New Zealand Army official says he is sure a team of medics sent from New Zealand definitely took part in something resembling a war.
Captain Hugh McAslan said: "I think there's sufficient evidence to suggest that it did happen."
Jean Baudrillard, based at the University of California, was lecturing at Auckland Town Hall when he made the controversial comments.
He shot to fame 10 years ago when he first predicted the war would not happen and then, after it did, said that it hadn't.
The 71-year-old's ideas are based on the idea that technology and consumerism have killed traditional belief systems such as religion and that we live in a state of "hyper-reality" in which people are increasingly divorced from the truth.
He says the sights and sounds of the Gulf War relayed by TV, radio and newspapers showed something that was not real. He also claims the year 2000 never happened and Disneyland conceals the "unreality of America".
