On 11/3/2007 at the "9/11 Symposium" in West Hartford, CT, 9/11 family members Patty Casazza, and Bob McIlvaine took part in a Q&A session regarding the 9/11 Commission, and their findings. Part of the discussion focused on FBI Whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds. Here is part of what Patty said regarding Sibel:

"Sibel came to, actually, the four widows, and asked us if she could get a hearing with the Commission because nobody of the Commission was responding to her requests to testify. And part of the problem with testifying, um… as someone who’s working for one of the agencies, is that, they have to be careful with state secrets, what they reveal. And, in order to be a whistle-blower, and not be retaliated against, most whistle-blowers need to be subpoenaed, cause then their co-workers, and those who might retaliate against them, know that under penalty of, ya know, law, they could be… um… ya know, accused of being traitors and what not, and put in jail, or executed. So, most whistle-blowers were… did not come forward on the basis of what happened to Sibel Edmonds. Um, Sibel brought us many whistle-blowers, and I submitted them personally to Governor Kean, who was the Chairman of the Commission. And I said, “these people are not being subpoenaed. They will not come before the Commission voluntarily unless they are subpoenaed.” And, he promised me… to my face that “every whistle-blower would be… indeed heard.” And, most were not heard. Sibel was only heard because we dragged her in and surprised the Commission on one of the days we were meeting with them… that we had her with us. Um, we met other whistle-blowers on the side of the road in Maryland, ya know, to hear what they could tell us. None of them revealed state secrets to us by the way (laughs)… um, but, they had information… and basically, the Government knew… ya know, other than the exact moment… they knew the date, and the method of which the attacks were supposed to come. (pauses) And none of this made it to mainstream media. None of it made it into the Commission. And yet, again, all of your Representatives, on the day that the Commission book came out, were on their pulpits saying, “What a fabulous job this Commission has done. A real service to this nation.” And it was anything but a service. It was a complete fabrication."

Sibel has issued a statement for Patty, and Bob, and for everyone else:

I salute Patty Casazza; for not giving up. You see, the government counts on it: most people-whether whistleblowers, 9/11 family members, or activists-can not and will not endure the length of this journey; they get exhausted and let the pessimism and hopelessness set in. Foot-Dragging quasi investigations mounting to 'zilch,' tedious lengthy court cases depleting the financial resources of whistleblowers and alike, classification-gag orders & secrecy, hushing and manipulating the MSM puppets...These roadblocks are all designed for one purpose: discourage the most and have them give up. Just look around you; how many whistleblowers are still in the fight? How many new whistleblowers are joining the fight? How many 9/11 family members are pushing for answers to those questions that were never answered? As you see, not many, and, this is exactly what 'they' wanted to achieve.

I don't hold myself above those I mentioned above. In the past 6 years, I too, many times in fact, go through those days, time periods, when I think, 'what's the point? It's hopeless, and there's no where else left to pursue...' But our founding fathers phrased it appropriately: 'Eternal Vigilance.' That's what it takes, and I am proud of Patty and Bob for doing just that.

Best,

Sibel

Thank you Sibel, Patty, and Bob for your "Eternal Vigilance."

Source: dailykos.com

Luke Ryland
Fri Nov 09, 2007 at 08:22:05 AM PST

Last week, former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, announced that she was willing to tell everything that she knows if any of the major networks are willing to give her airtime, without airbrushing the essence of her case. Bradblog will have an update on the progress, or lack of it, next week.

Of course, Sibel would prefer to testify under oath in congress, but apparently our Democratic Congresscritters (I'm looking at you, Waxman) don't care about the treason, bribery, and corruption that has hijacked US foreign policy.

Meanwhile, last week we learnt that the judge in the AIPAC case has allowed subpoenas to be issued to 15 current and former high-level officials. Many of us are excited about the prospect of the trial - but Sibel assures us that the case, as it stands, is just the tip of the iceberg.

'AIPAC' is at the core of Sibel's case, and Sibel’s story needs to be heard - either in Congress, or in the media.

I've just written a piece with the above title. Feel free to spread it around, put it on digg, or whatever. I'm passing the torch. For now, I feel like I've done what I can on Sibel's story. If you want to send a message to National Security Whistleblowers (current AND future) and the media, I would suggest that you not let this issue die off in the blogosphere at least.

Full article (with links) @

http://wecanchangetheworld.wordpress.com/2007/11/08/the-sibel-edmonds-blockbuster-exclusive-the-news-story-that-wasnt/

Have you read Brad Blog’s exclusive blockbuster news yet? The story that says that Sibel Edmonds, “the most gagged person in US history” is now ready to risk prison in order to tell the American public what she knows? You know, the one which made her name a hot trend in a few places (however mild) before practically never being heard of again. Yeah, that one.

Now, I’m writing this for all you people who are aware that 70% of the 9/11 victims families (you know, the ones who pushed the 9/11 Commission into actually happening at all) questions remained unaddressed.

She's Prepared to Name Names, Including Those of Two 'Well-Known' Congress Members Involved in Criminal Corruption... The 'Most Gagged Person in U.S. History' Tells The BRAD BLOG She's Now Exhausted All Other Channels...

Source: bradblog.com

By Brad Friedman
10/29/2007

Attention CBS 60 Minutes: we've got a huge scoop for you. If you want it.

Remember the exclusive story you aired on Sibel Edmonds, originally on October 27th, 2002, when she was not allowed to tell you everything that she heard while serving as an FBI translator after 9/11 because she was gagged by the rarely-invoked "States Secret Privilege"? Well, she's still gagged. In fact, as the ACLU first described her, she's "the most gagged person in the history of the United States of America".

But if you'll sit down and talk with her for an unedited interview, she has now told The BRAD BLOG during an exclusive interview, she will now tell you everything she knows.

An article about Sibel Edmonds and the film, Kill the Messenger, appeared today on the French version of Yahoo news:
http://fr.news.yahoo.com/agoravox/20070920/tot-l-affaire-sibel-edmonds-89f340e_1.html

The article says that the film will air tonight (Thursday, Sept. 20) on RTBF1 in Belgium at 21h55. Although the film aired last year in France and in Belgium, most folks have still never heard of her. Tonight, the people of Belgium, Luxembourg & northern France will have another opportunity to learn about her story. The article tells about how Sibel was treated after she blew the whistle on what she saw happening at the FBI. It also mentions that, although she testified for the 911 Commission, her testimony was not mentioned in their report.

A trailer of the film can be seen here:
http://www.justacitizen.com/KillTheMessenger.html

SD

Thanks to www.cooperativeresearch.org, and many many thanks to Lorie Van Auken

Lorie Van Auken
9/20/2007

Sibel Edmonds tried her best, to speak with the 9/11 Commissioners regarding the information that she had, which she felt was relevant to the 9/11 investigation. The Commissioners didn't respond to her, so having heard about us, the 9/11 widows from New Jersey, she contacted us.

Sibel asked to meet with us in order to discuss why she wanted to testify. She couldn't speak completely freely, having been gagged, but we were none the less appalled by what she told us, and were able to glean the importance of having her information put before the 9/11 Commission.

I want to thank Michael Wolsey for first bringing this to my attention, and Luke Ryland has an excellent write-up on this. - Jon

GOVERNMENT REVEALS ITS OWN ABUSE OF STATE SECRETS PRIVILEGE
Department of Justice, Which Claimed State Secrets Required Termination of Whistleblower Suit, Now Relies on Same "Secrets" to Avoid Tort Liability

Source: nswbc.org

8/23/2007

Department of Justice and FBI attorneys, during recent depositions taken in FBI whistleblower Sibel Edmonds’ Federal Tort Claims case, Civil Action NO. 1:05-CV-540 (RMC), questioned witnesses regarding information previously designated "state secrets" by the Attorney General.

Here's a video of a recent appearance by Sibel Edmonds at the annual conference of the American Library Association. Please note the announcement that Sibel is co-authoring a book to appear this Fall; it will be titled Kill the Messenger.

http://www.blip.tv/file/314908/

Here is the video description: "Sibel Edmonds, President, National Security Whistleblowers Coalition, will discuss being fired by the FBI in March 2002 for reporting shoddy work and security breaches that may have prevented the 9/11 attacks. She will explain firsthand how government secrecy can be abusive and why defending whistleblowing is a free speech issue. Cosponsored by the Intellectual Freedom Committee and the Committee on Legislation this program is entitled "Paul Reveres or Benedict Arnolds?: Whistleblowing in the Post 9/11 Age"."

MPEG4 Download
http://blip.tv/file/get/Alawash-PalReveresOrBenedictArnoldsWhistleblowingInThePost911Ag621.mp4

Flash Download
http://blip.tv/file/get/Alawash-PalReveresOrBenedictArnoldsWhistleblowingInThePost911Ag621.flv

Note: The download at the end of this post appears to be somewhat slow, requires Internet Explorer, as well as the installation of some download accelerator software, therefore, we have provided a local mirror here:
http://www.911podcasts.com/files/video/Kill.The.Messenger.WS.PDTV.XviD-WPi.avi

I will try to get an iPod compatible version as well as WMV version available later today. -sbg

This approximately one hour documentary uploaded here for your edification and interest.

QUOTE
Out of love for her newly-adopted country, Sibel Edmonds agreed to join the FBI as a translator in the wake of 9/11. But her world gets turned upside-down when Sibel reports wrongdoings to her supervisors: one of her colleagues from the Translation Unit is secretly working for the same Turkish officials who are “targetted” by the top-secret FBI investigations that Sibel is working on. As a “reward” for her whistle-blowing, Sibel is fired from the FBI. Today, she is fighting for the very ideals that American democracy relies on, and is facing, against overwhelming odds, some of the most reckless and powerful officials in the U.S. government.

Source: dailykos.com

Luke Ryland
Thu Aug 09, 2007 at 06:17:06 AM PDT

For months we have been trying to get Henry Waxman to hold hearings into the case of former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds but we have been met with a stony silence.

Until now!

The Hollywood Liberal snagged an interview with Henry Waxman and asked about Sibel's case.

The full interview is 25 mins long. I've posted the relevant 3-minute audio snippet here.

Transcript:

Sibel Edmonds has been silenced by a Justice Department “State Secrets” gag order for years from dispensing her deep knowledge of what she has openly described as treason and other big-time criminality at the highest levels of the government. All she has wanted is her day in court. So we need to help give it to her.

The way to do it is to press charges of misprision of treason against her with a federal judiciary. She has wanted someone to press the issue for all these years so she could release the healing poison of deep political truth corked and bottled within her by Patriot Act Enforcer Man himself, John Ashcroft. She is in a very difficult place in that she clearly feels a serious compunction to uphold her oath to the constitution and out the treasonous activities, but is stifled by the gag order and will potentially nullify the legal impact of her revelations if she breaks said order.

Lukery posted this over at Daily Kos.

In a recent speech, Sibel again emphasized that the reason that she has been gagged is not for reasons of national security, but rather to cover-up criminality, treason, by high level US officials.

As evidence for this claim, Sibel explained that for the three months prior to Ashcroft blanket-gagging her case, the FBI was conducting unclassified briefings for Congress on the case.

In other words, from the beginning, neither Congress, nor the FBI, even considered that this information might be classified, let alone a 'national security' issue.

As Michael Ostrolenk, National Director of the Liberty Coalition, said: "The excuse of protecting national security is fallacious."

Video
Click Here (GooTube)

By lukery
Fri Jul 20, 2007 at 09:06:03 AM PDT

Washington Post:

"(Sibel) Edmonds's story has been almost uniformly ignored in the U.S. daily press."

That's certainly true. Why?

WaPo:

One possible explanation is that the heart of Edmonds's story remains unconfirmed.

That's not true. Senator Charles Grassley said:

"Absolutely, she's credible. And the reason I feel she's very credible is because people within the FBI have corroborated a lot of her story."

Grassley made that statement in 2002. The WaPo article is from 2004. And we've learnt a lot since then.

The WaPo article, published in the "World Opinion Roundup" section, April 8 2004, began thusly:

Take a look at this very interesting speech by investment banker Karl Schwartz:

http://investigate911.se/why_afghanistan.html

The Caspian Sea Basin (Kazakstan, Turkmenistan etc.) holds between 11 and
12 trillion dollars in oil and gas resources. There are only three ways to
get it out:

- East to China
- West through Iran, Russia, and Turkey to Europe
- South through Afghanistan and Pakistan

The Taliban who controlled Afghanistan before 9/11 made pipeline deals
with non-US companies and refused to change them to give control of the
region's resources to the US.

Thanks to Brasscheck TV (www.brasschecktv.com)

UK Guardian Comment is Free section has an apology of sorts from arch-neocon Richard Perle entitled "We had the very best of intentions".

Comments by well-informed Americans, who can see past the neocon propaganda would be welcome.

Sample of Perle's wisdom :

"After the attacks of 9/11, the dreaded Bush administration asked itself what other act of terror might be in store for us. Little was known about the extent of al-Qaida's ambition, but it was believed that al-Qaida's planning cycle was 18 to 24 months so preparations for further attacks might well already be underway.
Not surprisingly, the greatest concern was that the next attack might include the use of chemical or biological weapons or nuclear material. So it seemed reasonable to draw up a list of how such an attack might be undertaken, with an emphasis on identifying the sources of weapons of mass destruction from among those states which had ties to or harbored terrorists and who hated the United States.
Saddam Hussein's Iraq topped the list".

http://commentisfree.guardian.co.uk/richard_perle/2007/05/it_doesnt_matter_how_we_got_he.html