Wednesday, January 23, 2008

Today's Reading Assignment

Philip Giraldi in the American Conservative, on the damning allegations of virtually unknown FBI whistleblower, Sibel Edmonds. A former contract translator at the agency, Ms. Edmonds has leveled charges that are jaw-dropping, and (if confirmed) could shakes the highest reaches of our diplomatic and security establishments. As Giraldi writes...

[She] tells a chilling story of corruption at Washington’s highest levels—sale of nuclear secrets, shielding of terrorist suspects, illegal arms transfers, narcotics trafficking, money laundering, espionage. She may be a first-rate fabulist, but Edmonds’s account is full of dates, places, and names. And if she is to be believed, a treasonous plot to embed moles in American military and nuclear installations and pass sensitive intelligence to Israeli, Pakistani, and Turkish sources was facilitated by figures in the upper echelons of the State and Defense Departments.

Mr. Giraldi notes that Edmonds' claims have attracted little interest in Congress, and the Justice Department has shrouded its inquiry in secrecy. Yet, the charges could be easily affirmed (or refuted) by simply releasing available files on the case--something else the government appears hesitant to do.

H/T: The Belmont Club

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Ms. Edmonds' accusations sound intriguing, to say the least. Still, you've got to wonder how a single contract translator could uncover so much incriminating information, during a limited tenure with the FBI.

5 comments:

Chris Mayhew said...

I'll read the link you posted but I've seen this before. It was posted at PJ Country. What I read ended up being a huge Caryle Group-esque melange of everyone you've ever heard of being involved in a conspiracy. Additionally, it was covered extensively on a Kos-like blog. Based on those facts alone I am very skeptical.

Ismail said...

caveat emptor.

Susan Katz Keating said...

On the other hand... what if she's right? It's not like she's painting an impossible scenario.
http://susankatzkeating.blogspot.com/2008/01/sibel-edmonds-and-her-whistle.html

That Guy From That Band said...

True or not, inspiring minds would love to see the documents in question. Sunshine is often the best disinfectant.

M. Simon said...

See if you can spot the red flags:

Edmonds is an ethnic Azerbaijani, born in Iran. She lived there and in Turkey until 1988, when she emigrated to the United States, where she received degrees in criminal justice and psychology from George Washington University. Nine days after 9/11, Edmonds took a job at the FBI as a Turkish and Farsi translator. She worked in the 400-person translations section of the Washington office, reviewing a backlog of material dating back to 1997 and participating in operations directed against several Turkish front groups, most notably the American Turkish Council.

from:

Found In Translation