Sibel Edmonds, a Turkish-American, was hired by the FBI shortly after the September 11 attacks. They needed somebody to transcribe for them, in English, wiretaps targetting Turkish nationals in the U.S. Sibel, fluent in several languages including Turkish and Persian, was called in, and although she had never considered such a career, she thought her country needed her and she immediately made herself available.
During her short stint at the FBI's Translation Wing, she realised that it was the FBI's inefficiency and corruption that completely missed out or chose to ignore clear evidence, which could most certainly have prevented the attacks. For one, the FBI was deliberately asking its translators to slow down, so that they could attract more budget allocations, sighting resource shortages; and for another, some FBI officials had been bought over by moles in the State Department (having sold their country for its green paper) who were deliberately ignoring wiretaps from the American-Turkish council (ATC) - a front for sinister activities.
Turkey is a country strategically located. It connects two continents and a lot of business crosses through its harbors and borders. But instead of becoming trade giants in overt ways, they seemed to have chosen covert, illegal means, Sibel alleges. With all the money, they buy over officials in the State Department, the Pentagon and the FBI. They've even penetrated sensitive laboratories by installing their scientists there, stealing nuclear secrets and selling those to the highest bidder on the nuclear black-market. While our "national hero", A. Q. Khan did something like that in the 70s - stealing nuclear fusion prints from labs in the Netherlands - he was among the buyers (and later, a seller) many of these times.
Among other crimes discovered, were drugs-trafficking, money-laundering and more... A couple of months after Sibel started blowing the whistle, she was fired. She went to the courts; she went to the Congress; but only ended up receiving a slap because people who wanted to help were rendered impotent. Bush's Attorney General, Ashcroft, slapped the State Secrets Privilege on her. This means that Sibel is not allowed to talk about her case, the evidence she has (which was corroborated by many patriots in the FBI and the Congress) because discussing those could be detrimental to the security of the U.S! Interestingly, law experts say that her case doesn't deserve the State Secrets Privilege. If anything, letting crooks infiltrate areas bustling with sensitive information, will only harm the entire world - not just the U.S.
Sibel says that she's the most gagged person in U.S. history.
Knowledge of her case has completely changed the way in which I understand government and politics. Hers is not just another conspiracy theory, because she's got evidence which important people have confirmed, but which cannot be made public due to Ashcroft's slap. Cover-ups like those projected in The Prison Break or State of Play do not seem like fiction anymore.
To end, officials in the Obama administration haven't acted to award Sibel a hearing either - not a single hearing, which is all she asks for!
I leave you with an excellent documentary made on Sibel's case, called "Kill the Messenger":
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6 comments:
She was quite a sensation when this story exploded here in the USA, but as is with every whistle blowing operation, this too ended up with book writing and movie making deals. When that happens it somehow makes me suspicious...she has generated a lot of support and a lot of money as a result of her whistle blowing venture. I may be completely misguided on this but I'm wary of the likes of these one shot celebrity phenomenons.
:)
I distinctly remember putting a comment here....whatever happened..??
You should see both your comments now. I was in the process of rectifying some internet connectivity problems here, hence the delay...
It is interesting to me, what you think about Sibel. Is there a large number of people who doubt her integrity? The reason why I feel convinced it is that she has lost a lot in the process. For one, they've put her passport and personal information (like date of birth etc.) under the State Secrets Privilege act as well. She's been banned from her country of origin. And there are some very powerful people that she has named and she claims there is evidence behind everything she claims/says. And of course, one must also ask: if this is just a publicity stunt, why don't they just grant her a hearing and snub the movement right there?
...no smoke without fire!
Id it is:
"but as is with every whistle blowing operation, this too ended up with book writing and movie making deals."
This is certainly an inflammatory statement. Sibel has, as of yet, written no book and made no money that I am aware of from any movie. If you have any evidence of these claims, please provide your source. You may be confusing her with Joseph Wilson and Valerie Plame. Sibel is unlikely to be able to write a book since she signed an agreement with the FBI which allows them to basically edit out just about anything of substance.
Secondly, it is an insult to whistleblowers to imply that most of them are getting rich. On the contrary, most of them end up making headlines for a day or two, then are completely forgotten. It is true that there are faux whistleblowers like Richard Clarke and Joseph Wilson who do make money. But very few of the real patriots get anything for their trouble. Most of them end up with shattered personal lives and finances.
Saadia,
To answer your question, most people really don't know or remember Sibel Edmonds because the government has done such a good job of suppressing her information using government classification powers. The people in the blogosphere who try to pin her with the 'conspiracy theory' label often have an agenda.
One key reason that certain bloggers like to tarnish her with this label, I believe, is that she has knowledge that implicates members of both Republican and Democratic Parties, as well as officials connected not just with Turkey but also with Israel. If you know anything about the Israeli Lobby in the U.S., it is that it is virtually untouchable.
Any member of Congress who implies, for example, that the American Israeli Public Affairs Committee (AIPAC)is not really an "American" entity but is a foreign agent for the government of Israel, can instantly be smeared and tarnished as an "anti-Semite". AIPAC's power is such that it not only influences politicians, but even media, mainstream and alternative alike.
So there are many good people who don't want to touch Sibel's case simply because it opens up the can of worms of honestly discussing the unwarranted power of the Israeli Lobby (as well as the up and coming Turkish Lobby) in America. And if you're a Republican, you don't like Sibel because she implicates a number of Republican Congressmen in public corruption. If you're a Democrat, you may not like her because she implicates a few Democrats in the same, as well as an official in the Clinton Administration (Marc Grossman).
I had not heard about Sibel's case. I found the account quite informative.
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