Tuesday, August 14, 2007
Sibel Edmonds: I assumed the enemy was foreign
I've put together a quick 5 minute highlight reel of a recent speech by former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds from the American Library Association conference
The intro is:
The video isn't supposed to be representative of Sibel's entire speech (which you can see here) but rather I've just captured a few snippets about the efforts that Sibel has gone to in the past 6 years to get some accountability.
The FBI repeatedly investigated Sibel's claims (Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)) and found them to be valid ("Confirmed all, denied none") therefore the Executive Branch simply gagged her.
Sibel then went to Congress which also investigated her case. They found all her claims to be valid, supported by FBI agents and documents, therefore the Executive Branch gagged Congress.
The senators who had investigated, and confirmed, Sibel's case were outraged, and then complied with the gag order.
Sibel then went to the courts. Sibel and her attorneys were kicked out of court so the government could argue it's case in secrecy - where they were free to tell the most outrageous of lies if they so chose. Sibel and her legal team presume that is exactly what happened. The judge said:
But as I wrote last week:
It's now August, 2007, folks. Sibel was the canary in the coalmine. 70% of the population now, finally, understand that the Justice Department is corrupt from top to bottom, thanks to Alberto Gonzales' latest shenanigans. 70% now understand that 'national security' is a fraud. 70% now realize, thanks to Pat Tillman and other cases, that 'Executive Privilege' means 'This stuff is too embarrassing.' 70% will soon realize that there is little difference between 'Executive Privilege' and 'State Secrets Privilege.' Sibel has been saying for years that her case has been gagged to cover up criminal wrong-doing and that it has nothing to do with national security. In fact, in an alternate universe, if her story was to break for the first time today, it'd probably be front-page news all across the country, for weeks. For years, there have been many reasons to think that Sibel is crazy - but now only the 28%ers think that those reasons are legitimate.
Watch the video - and tell me which elements don't comport with everything that we now know to be true.
(Here is the same video, without the annoying music.)
Let Sibel Edmonds Speak
Call Embarrass Waxman. Demand public open hearings:
DC phone: (202) 225-3976
LA phone: 323 651-1040
Capitol switchboard phone: 800-828-0498
(let me know if you want to be added to my email list which announces whenever I have a new Sibel-related post. Subject: 'Sibel email list')
The intro is:
"I had taken the oath to protect my new country, against all enemies, and this was my chance to serve my country. I assumed the enemy was foreign...
Within a few months, i came across some serious issues. Wrongdoing. Some of those would be considered criminal, within the FBI. Some of those involved security breaches, 911 related cover-ups, and sabotaged intelligence operations. In one case, due to the pressure of the State Dept and Pentagon, the FBI was prevented from criminally investigating certain US officials who were engaged in actions against our national security, having loyalties to other governments."
The video isn't supposed to be representative of Sibel's entire speech (which you can see here) but rather I've just captured a few snippets about the efforts that Sibel has gone to in the past 6 years to get some accountability.
The FBI repeatedly investigated Sibel's claims (Office of Inspector General (OIG), Office of Special Counsel (OSC), Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR)) and found them to be valid ("Confirmed all, denied none") therefore the Executive Branch simply gagged her.
Sibel then went to Congress which also investigated her case. They found all her claims to be valid, supported by FBI agents and documents, therefore the Executive Branch gagged Congress.
The senators who had investigated, and confirmed, Sibel's case were outraged, and then complied with the gag order.
Sibel then went to the courts. Sibel and her attorneys were kicked out of court so the government could argue it's case in secrecy - where they were free to tell the most outrageous of lies if they so chose. Sibel and her legal team presume that is exactly what happened. The judge said:
"I know this is draconian, but who am I to argue with the government on matters related to national security?"
But as I wrote last week:
"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."
It's now August, 2007, folks. Sibel was the canary in the coalmine. 70% of the population now, finally, understand that the Justice Department is corrupt from top to bottom, thanks to Alberto Gonzales' latest shenanigans. 70% now understand that 'national security' is a fraud. 70% now realize, thanks to Pat Tillman and other cases, that 'Executive Privilege' means 'This stuff is too embarrassing.' 70% will soon realize that there is little difference between 'Executive Privilege' and 'State Secrets Privilege.' Sibel has been saying for years that her case has been gagged to cover up criminal wrong-doing and that it has nothing to do with national security. In fact, in an alternate universe, if her story was to break for the first time today, it'd probably be front-page news all across the country, for weeks. For years, there have been many reasons to think that Sibel is crazy - but now only the 28%ers think that those reasons are legitimate.
Watch the video - and tell me which elements don't comport with everything that we now know to be true.
(Here is the same video, without the annoying music.)
Let Sibel Edmonds Speak
DC phone: (202) 225-3976
LA phone: 323 651-1040
Capitol switchboard phone: 800-828-0498
(let me know if you want to be added to my email list which announces whenever I have a new Sibel-related post. Subject: 'Sibel email list')
