On 11/3/2007 at the "9/11 Symposium" in West Hartford, CT, 9/11 family members Patty Casazza, and Bob McIlvaine took part in a Q&A session regarding the 9/11 Commission, and their findings. Part of the discussion focused on FBI Whistle-blower Sibel Edmonds. Here is part of what Patty said regarding Sibel:

"Sibel came to, actually, the four widows, and asked us if she could get a hearing with the Commission because nobody of the Commission was responding to her requests to testify. And part of the problem with testifying, um… as someone who’s working for one of the agencies, is that, they have to be careful with state secrets, what they reveal. And, in order to be a whistle-blower, and not be retaliated against, most whistle-blowers need to be subpoenaed, cause then their co-workers, and those who might retaliate against them, know that under penalty of, ya know, law, they could be… um… ya know, accused of being traitors and what not, and put in jail, or executed. So, most whistle-blowers were… did not come forward on the basis of what happened to Sibel Edmonds. Um, Sibel brought us many whistle-blowers, and I submitted them personally to Governor Kean, who was the Chairman of the Commission. And I said, “these people are not being subpoenaed. They will not come before the Commission voluntarily unless they are subpoenaed.” And, he promised me… to my face that “every whistle-blower would be… indeed heard.” And, most were not heard. Sibel was only heard because we dragged her in and surprised the Commission on one of the days we were meeting with them… that we had her with us. Um, we met other whistle-blowers on the side of the road in Maryland, ya know, to hear what they could tell us. None of them revealed state secrets to us by the way (laughs)… um, but, they had information… and basically, the Government knew… ya know, other than the exact moment… they knew the date, and the method of which the attacks were supposed to come. (pauses) And none of this made it to mainstream media. None of it made it into the Commission. And yet, again, all of your Representatives, on the day that the Commission book came out, were on their pulpits saying, “What a fabulous job this Commission has done. A real service to this nation.” And it was anything but a service. It was a complete fabrication."

Sibel has issued a statement for Patty, and Bob, and for everyone else:

I salute Patty Casazza; for not giving up. You see, the government counts on it: most people-whether whistleblowers, 9/11 family members, or activists-can not and will not endure the length of this journey; they get exhausted and let the pessimism and hopelessness set in. Foot-Dragging quasi investigations mounting to 'zilch,' tedious lengthy court cases depleting the financial resources of whistleblowers and alike, classification-gag orders & secrecy, hushing and manipulating the MSM puppets...These roadblocks are all designed for one purpose: discourage the most and have them give up. Just look around you; how many whistleblowers are still in the fight? How many new whistleblowers are joining the fight? How many 9/11 family members are pushing for answers to those questions that were never answered? As you see, not many, and, this is exactly what 'they' wanted to achieve.

I don't hold myself above those I mentioned above. In the past 6 years, I too, many times in fact, go through those days, time periods, when I think, 'what's the point? It's hopeless, and there's no where else left to pursue...' But our founding fathers phrased it appropriately: 'Eternal Vigilance.' That's what it takes, and I am proud of Patty and Bob for doing just that.

Best,

Sibel

Thank you Sibel, Patty, and Bob for your "Eternal Vigilance."