Writing by Dr. Dannielle Blumenthal

In her memoir Classified Woman, Sibel Edmonds details a chilling experience during her tenure as an FBI translator that suggests critical intelligence was ignored prior to the September 11 attacks.

The centerpiece of her account is a wiretapped conversation from July 2001—roughly two months before the attacks—between a surveillance target linked to Turkish or Central Asian networks and an individual on the Iran-Pakistan border.

The original FBI translation of this tape was a mere three sentences, stripped of any significant context. However, upon re-translating the audio herself, Edmonds discovered alarming details. The conversation explicitly referenced:

1. Logistics: Blueprints, photographs, and building materials for skyscrapers being sent overseas.
2. Logistical Support: Illegal activities involving the acquisition of visas from Middle Eastern embassies through bribery and established networks.

Given the timing and the specific mention of skyscrapers, Edmonds viewed this as a clear warning sign of al-Qaeda’s operational planning for attacks on major U.S. urban centers.

When Edmonds flagged these discrepancies to her supervisor, Mike Feghali, she was met with institutional pushback. Feghali dismissed her concerns, claiming the initial translation was accurate and warning her not to challenge the work of her peers.

Edmonds also notes a suspicious post-9/11 translation task involving a tape recorded one day after the attacks. In it, participants congratulated one another on a “precious Eid.” Since no Islamic holiday occurred in September 2001, Edmonds interpreted this as coded language celebrating the success of the 9/11 operation. She argues that these incidents were not mere accidents but pointed to systemic sabotage, missing files, and a deliberate cover-up within the FBI’s translation unit.

Edmonds’ experience with the July tape informed her broader testimony regarding ignored intelligence. She asserts that the U.S. government possessed documented information regarding the general timeframe of the attacks, the use of airplanes as weapons, and the presence of sleeper agents within the country targeting multiple major cities.

Although she provided specific case files, dates, and targets to the 9/11 Commission, Edmonds remains a vocal critic of the final report. She maintains that the commission failed to pursue these leads, effectively participating in a cover-up that obscured significant intelligence failures and endangered national security.

Written with the help of AI.