Let's say that in the days after 9/11 an FBI translator noticed that sloppy translation to English had caused us to overlook important clues to the impending attacks. What should she do? Report the lapses to her supervisors? You might think so.
That turned out to be a career limiting move for FBI translator Sibel Edmonds, who has been fired. And now Attorney General John Ashcroft has ordered that information about the case be retroactively classified, which means even basic information that has already been posted on websites and discussed openly in meetings with members of Congress for two years is now classified.
Oh yes, and it also means that the FBI does not have to release its internal investigation into Edmonds' charges, and that the Senate Judiciary Committee, which oversees the bureau, will be stymied in its attempts to get to the bottom of her allegations ... which is just a coincidence, right?
Boston Globe: Translator in eye of storm on retroactive classification
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