WAR: Sibel Edmonds: The US Had Advance Tip on al-Qaida Airplane Attack Plans

A former FBI translator turned "whistle blower", with top-secret security clearance, says she has provided her story to the panel investigating the 9/11 al-Qaida attacks. Sibel Edmonds spent three hours in a closed sessions, revealing her experience with documents that revealed an al-Qaida attack using commercial aircraft was imminent. (Flashback: Sabatoge by FBI Translators May Conceal Next Plot). She told The Independent yesterday: "I gave [the commission] details of specific investigation files, the specific dates, specific target information, specific managers in charge of the investigation. I gave them everything so that they could go back and follow up. This is not hearsay. These are things that are documented. These things can be established very easily." Follow-up stories indicate the Bush administration is seeking a gag-order on her testimony using the rarely invoked "state secrets privilege" as a rationale. Related News Stories: FBI: Lost in translation? US officials knew Al Qaeda planned plane attacks Mondo Washington this week Related ATSNN News: Sabatoge by FBI Translators May Conceal Next Plot Rice Speech Before 9/11 Proves Top Focus Was Not Terrorism President Bush Ignored Terrorism Warnings Related Post on the AboveTopSecret.com Discussion Board Clear Warning before 9/11 Given previous stories on ATSNN (Sabatoge by FBI Translators May Conceal Next Plot), Ms. Edmonds' story may either be part of a larger problem within the FBI translation corps, or some "me too" attention seeking on her part. Stay tuned to ATSNN for continued coverage of this story, and its relation to previous stories on ATSNN about problems in the FBI. [Edited on 2-4-2004 by SkepticOverlord] [Edited on 4-4-2004 by SkepticOverlord]

WOA WOA WOA! SO. Nothing against you, but if this news article is trying to spin this into that the ADMINISTRATION had the information that Ms. Edmonds is referring to...that's TOO MUCH HORSE-CRAP.

Please see my ATSNN article (posted February 15, 2004) on what EXACTLY Ms. Edmonds submitted to the commission.

She is not trying to say the administration ignored this information, she is outright claiming that there was sabotage in the translation department that PREVENTED this information from getting to the appropriate people.

ATS: Sabatoge by FBI Translators May Conceal Next Plot



[Edited on 4-2-2004 by Valhall]

HAR! I found your story as I was adding supporting links. Yes, this seems to be part of a larger problem.

Yeah, where the admin can get dirty is if it is found that this dude (forget his name right now) who was apparently doing everything he could to thwart translations and then got promoted!!!! was moved on by some one up in the administration.

If this commission finds that Edmonds' claims have merit, and this guy doesn't have charges brought against him, everybody in the country ought to be crying foul.

[Edited on 4-2-2004 by Valhall]

Ummm..

www.abovetopsecret.com...

quoted by SkepticOverlord
Ms. Edmonds' story may either be part of a larger problem within the FBI translation corps, or some "me too" attention seeking on her part.

I think that you may have a major point here.
I ran across this article which covers this:

Several basic points should be made here. First, Edmonds is far from a reliable witness. There is considerable reason to believe, in fact, that she is a nut, and at a bare minimum, she has an enormous axe to grind.

And then I ran across this tidbit:

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.

The Left's Big Lie About Condi


Also, seems that she is relying on alot of here-say?

Mrs Edmonds, 33, says she gave her evidence to the commission in a specially constructed "secure" room at its offices in Washington on 11 February. She was hired as a translator for the FBI's Washington field office on 13 September 2001, just two days after the al-Qa'ida attacks. Her job was to translate documents and recordings from FBI wire-taps.

She said said it was clear there was sufficient information during the spring and summer of 2001 to indicate terrorists were planning an attack. "Most of what I told the commission � 90 per cent of it � related to the investigations that I was involved in or just from working in the department. Two hundred translators side by side, you get to see and hear a lot of other things as well."

I found these past articles, in Jan. 04, that seems Ms. Edmonds may have some 'deep-rooted' method to her madness?
Arab translators cheered Sept. 11
FBI whistleblower: 'Questions of loyalty' taint interpretation of al-Qaida chatter

After she brought the alleged breaches to the attention of her supervisors, Edmonds was fired by the FBI. Her termination letter does not state a reason.

Arctile from Oct, 2003:
FBI: Jews need not apply for Arabic linguist jobs: Despite shortage, loyalty issues, bureau snubbed 90 N.Y. applicants

Seems there was some major problems with untransilated and then getting transcrpits translated prior to 9/11. What I found strange is that Ms. Edmonds was fired, she sues, and now has come forth and claims that the "specific information" existed prior to 9/11, that if had been translated may have given the current administration a slight 'early-warning'.



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