Silencing of Sibel

Heard about Sibel Edmonds? She’s the FBI agent that discovered the treasonous connections between Bush government officials and foreign agents. She actually discovered that there is audio recorded proof that Washington and Downing St were dividing up before 911. When she attempted to expose this crime, then Attorney General Ashcroft issued a gag order on her citing States Secrets Privilege.

Secrets are interesting; a secret is leverage, its power. A magician uses this advantage to amaze us. When government holds secrets, it has leverage over its citizens. William Proxmire warned “Power always has to be kept in check; power exercised in secret, especially under the cloak of national security, is doubly dangerous!” Even worse, what if the secret is knowledge of a crime? Well we must question a government that would protect said secret unless it were complicit in the crime.

What we know of John Ashcroft, this maneuver doesn’t surprise. He claims states secrets privilege. I say "No shit!" Most criminals want their crimes to remain a secret; America arms its traitors with legal ammunition to avoid justice. Fortunately, most of the world acknowledges the criminality of the Bush regime. Unfortunately most world citizens are not in a position bring that regime to justice. What does surprise me is that 8 years on, no major media outlet wants to touch this story.

We are all grateful for Ms. Edmonds bravery. She has spoken truth to power, sharing one more piece of evidence exposing the deception behind America’s illegal invasion of Iraq. Her story also warns us how a pathological lack of transparency is poisoning American democracy. For an insightful look at American government deception read A Nation of Secrets by Ted Gup.