Real Heroes Blow Whistles at Fascists

I just spoke to a true American hero, Sibel Edmonds, on a radio call-in show. She is the former FBI translator who has been silenced by the Justice Department under the rarely used "state secrets privilege," from giving testimony to a group of Sept. 11 relatives and survivors who have filed a civil suit against international banks and two members of the Saudi royal family for allegedly aiding al Qaeda. The government claims that information provided by Edmonds "would cause serious damage to the national security and foreign policy interests of the United States."

I asked her if she can envision a time where she might be able to speak freely about what she knows and about what went on in the FBI's translation department after the Sept. 11 attacks. She has asserted that there are a number of government officials who would be sent to prison if she were allowed to testify publicly under oath. Though she did testify before the 9/11 commission, the only mention of her testimony in the final report is a footnote that refers to the very Department of Justice report that is completely classified.

There is a petition that you can sign, urging the Department of Justice to declassify her testimony. She urged me to sign it, which I quickly did, and to help spread the word about the need to have her story be told. This appears to be the only way we will ever know the full story about that horrible day in 2001.

Sibel Edmonds is a genuine hero and patriot. The information that she wants to make public is vital to our understanding of the events of Sept. 11 , and essential to our understanding of where our government's interests lie. We deserve to know the truth.