- BIG NEWS:
- Health Care
- |
- Iraq
- |
- Michele Bachmann
- |
- Barack Obama
- |
 |
||
Sibel Edmonds, the FBI whistle-blower who has been gagged for years by the Bush administration over intercepts she translated while at the bureau, was willing to go to prison to get her story told. She spent years trying to get her day in court, but the State Secrets gag against her prohibited her from telling her story even to a FISA judge. After years of trying to fight her way to through the maze of the US court system, Sibel Edmonds finally decided to tell her story no matter the consequences and offered to do so to any interested US media outlets.
Today, part of that story runs, but not in the United States, where not a single corporate outlet was willing to displease the White House and give Edmonds a platform. The Sunday Times Online, however, proved up to the task - somewhat. Here are the snips from that article:
"A WHISTLEBLOWER has made a series of extraordinary claims about how corrupt government officials allowed Pakistan and other states to steal nuclear weapons secrets.
Sibel Edmonds, a 37-year-old former Turkish language translator for the FBI, listened into hundreds of sensitive intercepted conversations while based at the agency's Washington field office.
She approached The Sunday Times last month after reading about an Al-Qaeda terrorist who had revealed his role in training some of the 9/11 hijackers while he was in Turkey.
Edmonds described how foreign intelligence agents had enlisted the support of US officials to acquire a network of moles in sensitive military and nuclear institutions.
<snip>
Among the hours of covert tape recordings, she says she heard evidence that one well-known senior official in the US State Department was being paid by Turkish agents in Washington who were selling the information on to black market buyers, including Pakistan.
The name of the official - who has held a series of top government posts - is known to The Sunday Times. He strongly denies the claims.
However, Edmonds said: "He was aiding foreign operatives against US interests by passing them highly classified information, not only from the State Department but also from the Pentagon, in exchange for money, position and political objectives."
Let me help the Times here. The person against whom these allegations are being made is Marc Grossman. The Times could have published the name and also provided the denial from Grossman's camp. I find it incredibly disturbing that they would not name the official.
"She claims that the FBI was also gathering evidence against senior Pentagon officials - including household names - who were aiding foreign agents.
"If you made public all the information that the FBI have on this case, you will see very high-level people going through criminal trials," she said.
Her story shows just how much the West was infiltrated by foreign states seeking nuclear secrets. It illustrates how western government officials turned a blind eye to, or were even helping, countries such as Pakistan acquire bomb technology."
Those senior DOD officials who are not mentioned in the Times article, all but one are no longer in government. They are alleged to be Doug Feith, Richard Perle, among others. There is also one person who is part of these allegations, still serving in a high level position at the DOD. His last name begins with an E.
I have tried getting someone in broadcast and print media to run this story. My sources did not include Edmonds, but because of the sensitive nature of the information, I was concerned that she would go to jail anyway, unless I proved she was not a source - which would require me to reveal my sources.
I thought if I approached a big enough news outlet, the pressure generated by the public response would spare Edmonds jail time and I would not be pressured to reveal sources - something I would not have done anyway. Even a former high ranking CIA officer offered to byline the article with me if that would help sell a broadcaster/publication on running the story. No one was interested.
That the Times ran these allegations (she is under a state secrets gag folks, so it is not like she is gagged for lying) is encouraging. But that they omitted all names from the allegations is unethical. The point of a free press is not to protect the powerful against the weak, but to protect the public from the powerful. The Times was willing to stick a toe in, but was not willing to risk upsetting a foreign government (This is, after all, a British paper).
There are more names, including members of Congress and people serving in the FBI. This is what happens when basic government services as well as the most sensitive government functions are outsourced to the global marketplace.
Back to the Times article, which toward the end illustrates that someone in the editorial offices located a backbone, even if temporarily:
"She has given evidence to closed sessions of Congress and the 9/11 commission, but many of the key points of her testimony have remained secret. She has now decided to divulge some of that information after becoming disillusioned with the US authorities' failure to act.
One of Edmonds's main roles in the FBI was to translate thousands of hours of conversations by Turkish diplomatic and political targets that had been covertly recorded by the agency.
<snip>
The Turks and Israelis had planted "moles" in military and academic institutions which handled nuclear technology. Edmonds says there were several transactions of nuclear material every month, with the Pakistanis being among the eventual buyers. "The network appeared to be obtaining information from every nuclear agency in the United States," she said.
They were helped, she says, by the high-ranking State Department official who provided some of their moles - mainly PhD students - with security clearance to work in sensitive nuclear research facilities. These included the Los Alamos nuclear laboratory in New Mexico, which is responsible for the security of the US nuclear deterrent.
In one conversation Edmonds heard the official arranging to pick up a $15,000 cash bribe. The package was to be dropped off at an agreed location by someone in the Turkish diplomatic community who was working for the network.
Let me again offer help to the good folks at the Times. The person in question is a Turkish military official who at that time also happened to sit on the board of a particular defense contracting firm.
"The Turks, she says, often acted as a conduit for the Inter-Services Intelligence (ISI), Pakistan's spy agency, because they were less likely to attract suspicion. Venues such as the American Turkish Council in Washington were used to drop off the cash, which was picked up by the official.
Edmonds said: "I heard at least three transactions like this over a period of 2½ years. There are almost certainly more."
The Pakistani operation was led by General Mahmoud Ahmad, then the ISI chief."
Now, who is General Mahmoud Ahmad?
"Intelligence analysts say that members of the ISI were close to Al-Qaeda before and after 9/11. Indeed, Ahmad was accused of sanctioning a $100,000 wire payment to Mohammed Atta, one of the 9/11 hijackers, immediately before the attacks."
You can see why Edmonds had to be silenced for "diplomatic reasons." As though diplomatic (read: business) relationships are more important than national security. Let me give you one more snip from this incredible article (minus the censorship):
"Khan was close to Ahmad and the ISI. While running Pakistan's nuclear programme, he became a millionaire by selling atomic secrets to Libya, Iran and North Korea. He also used a network of companies in America and Britain to obtain components for a nuclear programme.
Khan caused an alert among western intelligence agencies when his aides met Osama Bin Laden. "We were aware of contact between A Q Khan's people and Al-Qaeda," a former CIA officer said last week. "There was absolute panic when we initially discovered this, but it kind of panned out in the end."
It is likely that the nuclear secrets stolen from the United States would have been sold to a number of rogue states by Khan.
Edmonds was later to see the scope of the Pakistani connections when it was revealed that one of her fellow translators at the FBI was the daughter of a Pakistani embassy official who worked for Ahmad. The translator was given top secret clearance despite protests from FBI investigators.
Edmonds says packages containing nuclear secrets were delivered by Turkish operatives, using their cover as members of the diplomatic and military community, to contacts at the Pakistani embassy in Washington.
Following 9/11, a number of the foreign operatives were taken in for questioning by the FBI on suspicion that they knew about or somehow aided the attacks.
Edmonds said the State Department official once again proved useful. "A primary target would call the official and point to names on the list and say, 'We need to get them out of the US because we can't afford for them to spill the beans'," she said. "The official said that he would 'take care of it'."
Read the whole thing. I urge you to print it, email it, share it with everyone you know. Edmonds has said enough now that she may very likely go to prison, but she is a true patriot and she must have our support, in the media and also in the public sphere.
Follow Larisa Alexandrovna on Twitter: www.twitter.com/larisa_a
Loading comments…
Want to reply to a comment? Hint: Click "Reply" at the bottom of the comment; after being approved your comment will appear directly underneath the comment you replied to
Congratulations for your bravery, Larisa. On the other hand, it's absolutely deplorable that you're almost alone in discussing the Edmonds case at such a progressive site, let alone the wider media.
And others here have pointed out the odd editorial decision to quite nearly bury information with such potentially explosive ramifications. Huffpost or hidden post? This current focus on Hillary's tears, etc. is starting to remind me of the wall-to-wall live coverage of Anna Nicole's Smith death.
I hope the Huffpost is not succumbing to the same problem afflicting the cable news "info-tainers": lazy reporting resulting from a harried, 24hr news cycle.
(ignorance is bliss, right?)
I hope Edmonds does some time for this, that way you can have your martyr Larisa. Good thing sources aren't protected, and your ability to compromise national security limited. Keep up the good wrecking.
Rupert Murdoch published this story in his London newspaper. He can publish this story in any or all his media in the US, Australia or Britain.
Why did this disinformation specialist choose to publish this story at all? Why did he choose to publish it in England and not the US?
Hillary Clinton has publicly stated a roadblock to any withdrawal in Iraq is Edelman. He is also a person who Sibel Edmonds says has ties to those stonewalling translations after 9-11, and to people who appear to have actually trained those attackers or given them free pass to try and get closer to the resource assets those terror interests are closest identified with…
h/t whoframdedrudy
Larisa also names the photos listed:
Sibel Speaks Part II: Naming Names…
I have decided that after years of not getting anyone to publish what I have found out about the Edmonds case, I am simply going to give you folks some names. I won’t explain what the allegations are, or how these people might fit together or even if they fit together. I also don’t claim to have all the names or know the full story by any means. But I am certain, that brilliant bloggers, researchers, and journalists will finally figure it out:
Richard Perle
Doug Feith
Eric Edelman
Marc Grossman
Larry Franklin
Dennis Hastert
Roy Blunt
Dan Burton
Tom Lantos
Bob Livingston
Stephen Solarz
Graham Fuller
David Makovsky
Alan Markovsky
Enver Yusuf
Sabri Sayari
Mehmet Eymur
http://www
She also names companies associated with those persons…
Of the thirteen persons Sibel Edmonds has whistleblown over, only one of those whose pictures she presented is still working in the Bush Administration.
He’s the same man Hillary Clinton named as the person blocking the procedural existence of any legitmate official withdrawal plans or contingencies from reaching the Armed Services Committee.
"Comment by whoframedrudy | 2008-01-02 21:42:50
Clinton’s showdown with Eric Edelman(mine) is a good example of what you’re talking about.
While Obama was making speeches to court the anti-war left, Clinton had her eye on Cheney and the Pentagon. She found out contingency planning for safe troop withdrawal was being blocked — to limit the redeployment options of the next President. We know what happened next — she called Edelman on it, and put pressure on Gates. Hillary had sources in the Pentagon that alerted her to Edelman’s game, bucking Cheney in the process. A perfect example of the difference between saying ‘bring the troops home’ and making it happen.
Nixon said that, even in 1960 after 8 years as VP, he didn’t yet have the skills to make his China opening. It took him another 8 years traveling the world to get to that level."
Is this one of the persons Edmonds has named?
Comment is from an Obama/Iraq thread:
http://noq
47! Do you know what that number represents?
That is the incredibly small number of results returned by Google News when searching for: sibel edmonds. Don't believe me? Try it yourself: http://new
If you want to understand why this is the case, check out this excellent short movie called "The Story of Stuff": http://sto
Why is this story not on front pages around the world?
It's time for full exposure of these corrupt people regardless of their party affiliation or position. Congress is doing a great injustice in keeping this testimony behind closed doors. They should be serving the truth, constitution, and the people instead of shielding traitors.
When the Clinton administration swept BCCI + Iran Contra under the rug (probably thanks to his connection to Bush financier Jackson Stephens), they allowed the resurgence of BFEE which lead to the current administration. It's past time for the truth and justice to be served.
Nukes, Spooks, and the Specter of 9/11
We're in big trouble if even half of what Sibel Edmonds says is true…
http://www
This story needs attention if for no other reason that it sheds light on other ongoing scandals.
This whistleblower is risking everything to get the truth out, and it seems like no US media can find the "front page real estate" to run the story. What's up with that? What are you waiting for? Will it be news if Waxman calls a hearing? This story has been kicking around for years and Waxman has ignored right along with the American media. It's worth publishing. It's worth paying attention to. Britney Spears and the primary horserace will STILL be there after it runs. What's the problem?
I would recommend that everyone go to http://www
This was posted yesterday? How did I miss that? Why isn't it on the front page today too?
The title doesn't really hint at the contents though....
The "loose nuke" question to the Democrats raised the issue of a "scare" being used for either a Republican victory or martial law. If A.Q. Khan met with Osama bin Laden it would not be surprising.
The Bush administration is aware of these allegations and so are the People. The gag orders are evidence of the awareness.
What is the next move?
It's a disgrace that this is not posted on the front page!!!
You must be logged in to comment. Log in or connect with
