Monday, November 19, 2007

Dan Ellsberg: Sibel Edmonds case "Far More Explosive Than Pentagon Papers"

Bradblog has been chasing the story about former FBI translator Sibel Edmonds' offer to 'tell all.'

Brad has an update here.

Sibel has had an abundance of offers from the MSM since her announcement. Unfortunately, not a single one of them has come from the US MSM.

Ellsberg says:
"I'd say what she has is far more explosive than the Pentagon Papers"


****

More from Ellsberg:
"From what I understand, from what (Sibel) has to tell, it has a major difference from the Pentagon Papers in that it deals directly with criminal activity and may involve impeachable offenses," Ellsberg explained. "And I don't necessarily mean the President or the Vice-President, though I wouldn't be surprised if the information reached up that high. But other members of the Executive Branch may be impeached as well. And she says similar about Congress."


More Ellsberg:
"There will be phone calls going out to the media saying 'don't even think of touching (Sibel's case), you will be prosecuted for violating national security,'"


Sibel said:
"The media called from Japan and France and Belgium and Germany and Canada and from all over the world,
[...]
I'm getting contact from all over the world, but not from here. Isn't that disgusting?,"


More Ellsberg:
"I am confident that there is conversation inside the Government as to 'How do we deal with Sibel?'

The first line of defense is to ensure that she doesn't get into the media. I think any outlet that thought of using her materials would go to to the government and they would be told 'don't touch this, it's communications intelligence.'"


Ellsberg:
"(Unless Sibel's claims reach the mainstream) they don't suffer any risk of being shamed. As long as they hold a united front on this, they don't run the risk of being shamed."


Bradblog:
They Already Know

Edmonds revealed an additional tasty morsel while wrapping up one of our recent conversations. One that might help explain the American media's reluctance to jump at the chance for a scoop: apparently many of them already know the story.

"I will name the name of major publications who know the story, and have been sitting on it --- almost a year and a half."

"How do you know they have the story?," we asked.

"I know they have it because people from the FBI have come in and given it to them. They've given them the documents and specific case-numbers on my case."

"These are agents that have said to me, 'if you can get Congress to subpoena me I'll come in and tell it under oath.'"


Sibel:
"If they come after me...when they come after me --- to indict me, to bring charges --- it's going to be up to the American public to see it's not about some bogeyman in some Afghanistan cave. It's about an American citizen coming forward to expose information that concerns the security of Americans."

"An American citizen is coming forward to say that, no, they are depriving you of your security."


Bradblog has the rest of the story.

1 comment:

priscianus jr said...

Although the situation IS "disgusting," it is not the slightest bit surprising. I don't think the goal here is to prove how corrupt and/or cowardly the American major media are -- we've already had more than ample proof of that, and will surely have more. I should think the goal is to GET THE STORY OUT. Give it to the best American periodical THAT IS WILLING TO PUBLISH IT, they will prove their own worth by the deed. Give it to all the foreign media. Write a goddamn book. Forget about the major American media.