What’s the Deal With Sibel Edmonds?

[shance]

Feds, Supreme Court silence an FBI translator who knew too much

by James Ridgeway

WASHINGTON, D.C.--The latest rebuke to Sibel Edmonds, the former FBI translator who has been trying unsuccessfully to make public what she knows about the FBI’s 9-11-related operations, comes from the Supreme Court.
It has declined to hear her court case, thereby letting stand decisions of the lower courts that enforce a silence imposed upon her by the federal government.

The ACLU represented Edmonds. “Sibel Edmonds is a true patriot who deserved her day in court," said ACLU Associate Legal Director Ann Beeson, in an official statement. "We are disappointed that the Supreme Court did not see the ongoing danger of allowing the FBI to hide its blunders behind the 'states secrets' privilege."

(snip)

Here are some of the revelations the government is trying to cover up, gleaned from earlier interviews:


When she was hired by the FBI as a translator after 9-11, Edmonds, a Turkish American born in Iran and fluent in Farsi and Turkish among other languages, discovered an odd network within the FBI where, among other things, relatives of foreign diplomats were working as interpreters. They were translating FBI wiretaps of foreign diplomats suspected of spying. As it turned out, these suspect family members were relatives of the translators--in other words moles working in the translation section.


Edmonds found her own initials forged on improper translations of documents--translations she had never seen before.

Edmonds was startled when what she considered ill-trained and incompetent interpreters were sent to Guantanamo Bay to translate detainee interviews. For example, one Turkish Kurd was dispatched to interpret Farsi, a language he did not speak.

Edmonds learned that a longtime reliable FBI asset who reported on Afghanistan, told FBI agents in April 2001 of al Qaeda’s plans to attack the U.S.

In the course of her work, Edmonds discovered Islamic terrorists might well have become entangled in ongoing international drug and money laundering. She suspects that this knowledge was one of the reasons the Justice Department classified everything in her case.

When Edmonds sought to protest these and other irregularities to her superiors in the FBI, she was called a “whore” by her supervising agent, who told her he would next see her in jail. She was dismissed and escorted out of the FBI building. Edmonds never got a hearing before the 9-11 Commission, though she did have a chance to tell her story, sort of, on the side. A recent federal appeals court hearing on her case was made secret in the interest of national security. All in all, she was cast out as an enemy of the state. To fight back, she has launched a new organization to protect other government whistleblowers.

http://villagevoice.com/news/0548,ridgeway,70491,2.html

[madfloridian]

1. Vanity Fair, September 2005...An Inconvenient Patriot.

I have the magazine, but I also found the whole article at this site.

http://www.informationclearinghouse.info/article9774.htm

It is very long, but this one paragraph is telling.

"Edmonds has given confidential testimony inside a secure Sensitive Compartmented Information facility on several occasions: to congressional staffers, to investigators from the O.I.G., and to the staff from the 9/11 commission. Sources familiar with this testimony say that, in addition to her allegations about the Dickersons, she reported hearing Turkish wiretap targets boast that they had a covert relationship with a very senior politician indeed—Dennis Hastert, Republican congressman from Illinois and Speaker of the House since 1999. The targets reportedly discussed giving Hastert tens of thousands of dollars in surreptitious payments in exchange for political favors and information. “The Dickersons,” says one official familiar with the case, “are only the tip of the iceberg.” "

[MelissaB]

2. .

:kick:

[lovuian]

3. I think Sibel should write a fiction story change the names

but based on a true story!!!

[shance]

4. There you go Lov***a very good idea.

Perhaps she's working on that "novel" right now.

:)

[lovuian]

12. Yes she should make Millions and still tell her story and not

reveal state secrets!!!

[0007]

15. That's the ticket. I'm in the process of reading

Richard A. Clarke's book, "The Scorpion's Gate" which is indeed great.

I think Sible could shove it right up the Supreme Courts wa-zoo.

[cascadiance]

26. One thing she's probably brooding over on doing a book...

... is that she's told me herself that she doesn't want to fall into the same traps that folks like Richard Clarke, Bob Woodward, etc. have fallen into, and give a weapon to the other side that the reason she's doing all of this is to make bucks on a book or a movie, and that her story is all contrived. She's trying to keep her motivations pure.

Perhaps if she were to donate the profits to some organization that wouldn't be viewed as giving her back anything. I might see something like the ACLU, but that might be construed as a conflict of interest since I think they did some gratis work taking her case to court. Perhaps some 9/11 families' group or the like. That might also help get her more support from them to get grass roots support for her too.

Here's my grass roots efforts. I take no money from this. Any profits I make from this site go into her legal fund (on justacitizen.com). I just added a black t-shirt to refect the updated sig pic here for all of you to demand that she be heard.



http://www.cafepress.com/sibel.40085256

It's going to take a lot of grass roots efforts from all of us to help her get heard. I think especially now. She's probably questioning whether she can keep up the fight with this latest setback. We need to keep telling her that her fight's worth fighting on for to keep her confidence going!

[The Backlash Cometh]

5. I weep for Sibel. Our job is now 100x's harder without this information.

And I fear, I really fear, that this is an indication of where the Supreme Court will rule on the Abu Gharib photos after the 15th.

[90-percent]

6. Sibel

Is a true hero and I hope she eventually has her say.

As long as she's not suicided by the BFEE.

If I were her would I risk the rest of my life in jail or worse to blow the lid open on how corrupt our government really is?

She needs some courageous senator or congressman to advocate her position.

I realize courageous senator or congressman is an oxymoron, but you can always hope, can't you?

I'm amazed that the Supremes gag on her wasn't front page news throughout the entire free world!

-85% Jimmy

[shance]

7. Keep fighting BC*** You can bet Sibel is still fighting.

It's not over.

[nicknameless]

8. .

K&R

[hootinholler]

9. But she was only trying to do what * said to do:

"Now in order to be effective to challenge the status quo you've got to recognize what works and accept what works and encourage what works. If you find something not working, blow the whistle on it. Demand something different, you cannot achieve long lasting reform or big goals in our government if you're just there to accept what's not working."

Feb 13, 2002 Speech in which a number of nuggets are to be found.

-Hoot

[SupplyConcerns]

10. Off topic, but

Has anyone noticed how extraordinarily hot she is?

[Pachamama]

11. Very Beautiful Woman...

I remember the first time I saw a picture of her, I thought how incredibly beautiful she was...very exotic...

[Swamp Rat]

13. Speaking of beautiful women...

:hi: :hug:

[Pachamama]

14. Oh Swamp'r...

Youre making me blush....:blush:

[Swamp Rat]

16. You ever been to New Zealand?

I'm preparing for the possibility that the rest of America will just let my city die.

[Pachamama]

20. Love NZ and the Kiwis!

Good place to look at...I know two families looking there and Pachapapa has his sabbatical coming up next summer and we are thinking of going for a visit and "checkin things out".
I don't know what to say about NO....or about whether America will let it live or die....the sad reality my friend is that so many in this country don't see what is going on and those that do, don't know what to do and are just trying to figure out how to get thru each day.

I am sadly becoming convinced that this country is going to have to suffer so badly until it finally wakes up. I believe that the "death" of NO is where it begins...the rest of the country is to then follow....

Does the awakening begin then? I don't know...I just believe its going to have to get worse before it gets better. The question becomes where do we all want to be....

[Swamp Rat]

23. I will relocate to another hemisphere for a job...

;) ... any job that will take into account and utilise my 20 years in academia, a variety of degrees from the fine arts to the sciences, and polyglotitis. :) ... nope, there is no cure. :D

First, though, I gotta go help in New Orleans... not just my family and friends, but my city in general. I'm sick and tired of partisan bullshit! Not only do I need to, but I want to work with other Americans despite their political affiliations. For me, the political games are over. I gotta fend for my people... the rest of y'all can keep doing whatever you want to. :hi:

Namasté

[Independent_Liberal]

17. Yes, she is beautiful.

She's also somebody who's willing to fight.

[Pachamama]

21. My kinda girl....

:hi:

[nolabels]

18. Part of governments responsibilities is giving the illusion that they.....

are in control. Most anytime you really contemplate this realm of thinking you will come to understand how it is really just for your own sanity. Not the cop out you think when you realize many others might even be weaker in anticipation than you, yet may be even in some real critical position that would bring fear to most. The need for this collective illusion of government is great through the investigative shows that it is really is not possible except in illusion

[shance]

19. Perhaps. Although I would add that transparent govts are the antithesis

of illusory, corrupt governments.

I guess I would also say the qualification of a healthy government (versus a corrupt government propelled by illusion) would depend on the necessary presence of transparency and open access by all citizens.

[nolabels]

22. Looking to old institutions for change seems counter-intuitive to me

Sibel is a hero in her own. Regardless if even the whole exact story is true in the eyes of any others. The greater lesson seems to be of this entity called government that refuses to recognize, identify and examine itself. This the lesson that status in the system is more important than if system actually functions. It says law and our present government is artifact, frozen like a piece of artwork. Looking to a single rock or stone for answers of why it is seems the futility. Though the rock could remain unchanged for ions, the presence of other rocks and forces could also change that outcome, but the resting of how the rock is now is assured because we know the rock will not change on it's own.

The rigid stiffness of the rock is it's greatest compromise

[leveymg]

24. The illusion here is that there are still secrets untold.

Yes, perhaps some names remain unmentioned, but the overall picture of what Sibel saw is clear enough.

*Foreign powers have been channeling money into the pockets of American politicians, and most of this has gone to prominent Republicans. Abramoff and Wilkes are conduits, Reps. Hastert and Cunningham are just two of the recipients, and the payolla is being directed by foreign intelligence agencies to the detriment of the United States.

*The source of much of this largesse is a combination of massive drug and arms running, and the cash-cowing and raiding of US-based multinationals. Billions are unaccounted from after the dismemberment of Enron, Global Crossing, and Tyco.

*The largest commercial and merchant banks are part of it - Citicorps, Carlyle Group, along with terrorism-linked Gulf banks.

* This financial network also funds international terrorism and the proliferation of nuclear weapons, and has overlapping links to common figures, such as AQ Khan and ranking officials in the United States and numerous countries including Pakistan, Saudi Arabia, North Korea, and various European countries.

It's no secret.

[90-percent]

25. Sibel

Sibel is babe-alicious besides.

-85%

[nolabels]

27. That is just the parts that are proven, me thinks it much worse

I have been resigned to fact the truth will come out later, probably much later at any rate.

The family ties of the BFEE and corporate America with the Nazis eventually got well documented, information traveled much slower when that was all uncovered. The mountain is much bigger this time but information travels even faster in proportion.

Many people have spent years looking at certain things related to Sibel case. I found that out after just spending a few hours looking at the whole mess in this thread (along with a lot of other people of course)

State Dept. Quashed 9/11 Links To Global Drug Trade
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=610235