Sibel Edmonds 9/11 testimony on prior specific intel contrary to Rice

democracy now ^ | 3/31/04 | sibel edmonds

[FreeFireBorderZone]

We speak with former FBI translator, Sibel Edmonds, who was hired shortly after Sept. 11 to translate intelligence gathered over the previous year related to the 9/11 attacks. She says the FBI had information that an attack using airplanes was being planned before Sept. 11 and calls Condoleezza Rice's claim the White House had no specific information on a domestic threat or one involving planes "an outrageous lie."

[FreeFireBorderZone]

this woman has a gag order against her and has been denied a Freedom of information request for 1500 documents some of which she retranslated after Sept 11 that she claims proves prior specific intel. Also says FBI dept deliberately delayed tramslations after 9/11 in order to justify big budget increases. Has given several testimonies to various investigations none of which have been made public. Judge yourself.

[Tijeras_Slim]

Democracy now is highly suspect as a source.

[rhombus]

Here we go, they want to press a purjury charge against Rice. Hillary wants her gone.

[xusafflyer]

Its a Public Radio and Television group. They even have Robert Fisk on the front page.

Suspect no more. Guilty as charged.

[dixierat]

SO that she doesn't have to run against a BRF (black Republican Female) in '08!!!

[OXENinFLA]

I suggest everyone read this article.

http://frontpagemag.com/Articles/ReadArticle.asp?ID=12758

[js1138]

So that would mean that the FBI, run by a clinton holdover, deliberately allowed 911 to happen.

[MNJohnnie]

Ok do you have any CREDIBLE source to back this story up? Citing a hard left Anti-war propaganda website as your source raises serious question about the intellectual honesty and the credibility of this story. If this is true, why does only the Hysteric Left with their hyper partisan anti-war agenda have the story? Where is the corroboration? OH that's right, the evil Government is preventing her from getting it. Sorry, as far as we know this is just another wacko like Clarke feeding off her 15 minutes of fame.

[an amused spectator]

So how much is the DNC paying her for "speaking out"?

Is it 6 figures, 7 figures, or what?

[js1138]

Ok do you have any CREDIBLE source to back this story up?

Read the carefully reasoned article linked in #6.

This woman was hired after 911, most likely to help with a backlog of translations. If she saw the warnings she claims, they would not have been available befor 911.

Another disgruntled former employee. This one more toxic than Clarke.

[an amused spectator]

From the article:

"Third, Edmonds went to work for the FBI after September 11. They put her to work translating documents, and as far as the public record shows, that is all she ever did. Documents indicating a plot to use airplanes as weapons would be relevant only if they were translated before September 11; there was, we know, a large backlog of documents, wiretap intercepts and so on that were translated after that time even though they may have been collected prior to the attacks. While it is possible that Edmonds could have seen previously-translated materials, reviewing such materials was not part of her job, and she has given no explanation of how and why she allegedly came across them."

================

I notice that Paul "The Forehead" Begala is pumping up this woman's stuff. Anything that Begala says is a lie, until proven otherwise.

[an amused spectator]

If Paul Begala read my name off a name tag on my shirt, and greeted me, I'd check my driver's license just to be sure he hadn't spun my name somehow.

[FreeFireBorderZone]

she was retranslating wiretaps and documents to check accuracy of original translations which she says were mostly very good. this is not a case of wise after the fact. She has not just spoken out now she has been very vocal for 2 years. she was terminated after whistleblowing about existence of docs. That led to FBI inspector general investigation which was supposed to be published in 2002 but has now been sealed. Also she gave closed testimony to 9/11 commission and previously to the Joint congressional intelligence inquiry. Don't knee jerk to the broadcaster listen to her story in her own words. she has been described by Sen Grassy as a very credible source after verifying her story with current FBI employees. She had top secret clearance and seems to be trying to fix continuing problems.

[FreeFireBorderZone]

she was retranslating wiretaps and documents to check accuracy of original translations which she says were mostly very good. this is not a case of wise after the fact. She has not just spoken out now she has been very vocal for 2 years. she was terminated after whistleblowing about existence of docs. That led to FBI inspector general investigation which was supposed to be published in 2002 but has now been sealed. Also she gave closed testimony to 9/11 commission and previously to the Joint congressional intelligence inquiry. Don't knee jerk to the broadcaster listen to her story in her own words. she has been described by Sen Grassy as a very credible source after verifying her story with current FBI employees. She had top secret clearance and seems to be trying to fix continuing problems.

[oceanview]

yes. but what this shows is that the Condi testimony is not going to be some cakewalk, the Dems have new lines of questioning planned for this.

[an amused spectator]

"...Now all they have to do is move the immovables. But they've done it before. And there is one motto shared by the Four Moms from New Jersey and the translator from Turkey: We're not going away." - Gail Sheehy

[an amused spectator]

I'm sure that Bush's team is aware that they'll have to run a Democrat/Media Jardinains gauntlet.

[ironman]

How does this translator know what documents were sent over from the FBI to the White House?

[rocklobster11]

It seems to me that just because there were some FBI documents or recordings that were translated that had some facts relating to using planes as weapons doesn't mean that the White House was aware of it.

I listened the Sibel's interview on Democracy Now, and she was brining up info like the Phoenix memo and other documents that have been widely published in the past. Lot's of stuff got stuck at middle levels, because Richard Clarke was not doing his job in helping the FBI know what to look for. If Richard Clarke had just let the FBI and CIA know that he had super powers, they might have handed over all control to him.

Condi's statement about nobody knowing planes would be used as weapons was somewhat stupid, in that it was the very plot of a Tom Clancy novel. She needed to say that there was no specific information that planes would be used as weapons on or about 9-11.

[js1138]

OK, now all you have to do is believe that the FBI knew specifically about the plan -- not just that they had 15,000 pages of miscellaneous chatter that had to be prioritized -- and deliberately let it happen. That's easy to swallow.

If all this is true it looks like a classic case of FBI CYA. Iven if the FBI could have stopped the attacks and blew it, I'd prefer that the government continued to lie about it.

The alternative is to say to the world, "Look, here's our weak spot. Hit us again, right here." this is a war of national survival, and political parties should not be Monday morning quarterbacking in public, for partisan gain. Lord knows the dems deserve to be reamed out for clinton's watch, but it isn't a good idea.

In ten or twenty years we can read all about it.