The whistleblower who could

The story of Paul Buitenen is the story of a Dutch civil servant who takes on corrupt European Union officials, is punished and driven into exile, and emerges victorious. He writes a bestseller, is knighted by the Queen, founds a new reform party and is elected to a seat in the European Parliament.

What's not to like about this story? Remarkably, few newspapers in the United States reported it. One that did was the Washington Times (6/12), incorporating a story from the London Daily Telegraph.

Van Buitenan's election should be of interest to U.S. readers. The Washington Times reports, "Starved of press coverage and excluded from televised debates, Mr. van Buitenen relied on word of mouth and the Internet to spread his message." The United States, months away from a national election, has a similarly handicapped candidate, Ralph Nader.

Van Buitenan's whistleblower experience shows that corruption operates in pretty much the same way, whether in Europe or the United States. "The villains of the 1999 scandal have been shielded by the old-boy network in Brussels, in some cases moving to top posts," writes the Times. At the FBI and other U.S. agencies, national security whistleblowers have reported similar resistance to change.

Regarding Commissione reforms implemented by Neil Kinnock, van Buitenan said, "There's no use putting new rules in place when the real problem is total failure to enforce the rules we already had." (Washington Times) His words would apply equally to the U.S. civil service - the subject of many proposed reforms but few expectations of accountability.

Paul van Buitenen is the author of the following books: 'Blowing the Whistle: One man's fight against fraud in the European Commission,' and "In The Brussels Trenches."

Whistleblower elected to European Parliament

Long shunned and maligned, whistleblowers are increasingly viewed in a new and appreciative light. And, nothing shows that more clearly than the stunning turn of events surrounding Dutch whistleblower Paul van Buitenan.

On Thursday, June 10, writes the EU Observer, voters in the Netherlands elected van Buitenan to the European Parliament, according to a count of 99.1% of the votes. The Observer described Van Buitenan's reaction to the results. "I return to Brussels with a smile," said the former EU accountant.

For Van Buitenan, who has been honored by the Queen, things looked quite different as recently as August 27, 2002, when the BBC reported, "Brussels whistleblower quits in despair." Paul van Buitenan was quitting his position, said the BBC, and was returning home to Netherlands - unable to bear any longer the pressure in Brussels and convinced that nothing had changed. He had been ostracised and put on half salary after revealing, in 1999, corruption, cronyism and abuse of power in the Commission.

The outcome experienced by Van Buitenan stands in stark contrast to that experienced by most whistleblowers. And, the view of whistleblowers in other countries may be quite different from the view held by voters in the Netherlands. But, against a backdrop of increased international dialogue on integrity and transparency, the story of Paul van Buitenan shines a light of hope that a new age is dawning for truthtellers in public service.

Small plane stirs pandemonium at Capitol

Wednesday evening, just before the arrival of the procession bearing former President Ronald Reagan, the Capitol was evacuated when word came that a plane had breached security. Capitol guards were "shouting to get the hell out of the building, their guns drawn...and hundreds fled helter-skelter down the hallways and stairs, in some cases falling over each other in a near free-for-all," reported the Washington Times (June 10). But, it turned out to be only a slightly lost small plane carrying an official from Kentucky.

Now that Congress has demonstrated that it can move fast, it has no excuse for continuing to delay passage of whistleblower protection legislation that is desperately needed to improve national security. Because, the next plane may not be lost.

Administration officials deny access to embarrassing information

Two Congressional committees yesterday battled with Administration officials over potentially embarrassing information describing how the war on terror has been conducted. The struggles are part of a deepening war over Congressional and public access to information.

At a hearing on Tuesday, before the Senate Judiciary Committee, Attorney General Ashcroft refused to turn over to Congress memorandums in which his subordinates claimed the Administration is not bound by prohibitions on torture. [New York Times, 6/9]
Ashcroft described the memos as confidential legal advice for the president. However, one memo that recently surfaced recommends strategies for interrogators to use in avoiding prosecution under federal and international law.

Meanwhile, over at the Senate Intelligence Committee, another battle raged over release of the Committee's 400 page report on the CIA's prewar Iraq assessments. The (New York Times, 6/9) writes,
"The agency and, ultimately, the White House have the power to decide how much of the report should be declassified, giving them great influence over a document that will focus on mistakes related to Iraq and its illicit weapons. The Senate could vote to release classified material even over White House objections, but such a step would be rare."

The report is said to be highly critical of the C.I.A. and other intelligence agencies and some believe it may have hastened the resignation of CIA Director George Tenet.

National security whistleblower says truth must be known

Sibel Edmonds, a specialist in Middle Eastern languages, once worked as a translator for the FBI. But, she was fired after she reported incompetence and corruption that prevented translation of documents - documents that may have provided important clues about the coming 9/11 attacks. Now, she spends her time in legal battles, fighting her dismissal, and trying to tell her story to others, including Congress and the 9/11 commission, in the hope of reforming a broken system.

Edmonds story is not easy to tell. The FBI keeps trying to silence her, and even went so far as to classify, retroactively, information she provided Congress two years ago. ``What the FBI is up to here is ludicrous,'' Sen. Charles Grassley told the New York Times. "To classify something that's already been out in the public domain, what do you accomplish? It does harm to transparency in government, and it looks like an attempt to cover up the FBI's problems in translating intelligence.''

Sometimes, even unrelated events can intervene. An interview of Edmonds was to have been broadcast last Sunday on 60 Minutes, but is scheduled to be broadcast this coming Sunday, instead.

Pentagon Papers whistleblower, Daniel Ellsberg, is expected to appear publicly with Ms. Edmonds on June 14 in Washington, D.C., when a federal court issues its decison whether documents in her case will be kept secret. Today, Ms. Edmonds issued the following news release .

For over two years Attorney General John Ashcroft has been relentlessly engaged in covering up my reports and investigations into my allegations. He has asserted the rarely invoked State Secret Privilege in my court proceedings, and has used it to quash a subpoena request for my deposition from attorneys representing 9/11 family members on information regarding 9/11. Ashcroft is not protecting 'national security' or 'state secrets' of the United States. On the contrary, he is endangering our national security by covering up facts and information related to criminal and terrorist activities against this country and it's citizens. Ashcroft is fully aware that making this information public will bring about the question of accountability, will expose serious criminal activities, and his complicity in covering up.

On Monday, June 14, 2004, at 10:00 AM, Judge Reggie Walton is expected to issue his ruling on the state secret privilege assertion by AG Ashcroft, which is intended to gag me. The hearing will be held in US District Court for the District of Columbia, located at 3rd and Constitution Avenue, NW, Washington, DC, Judge Walton's courtroom. Please attend if you can, since by your presence both the court and Ashcroft will understand that this attempt to cover up will not go unnoticed. I will be there, in front of the Court's Constitution Avenue entrance, at 9:30 AM, and will be joined by Daniel Ellsberg to make press statements and to meet with all of you.

9/11 Commission to hold its last hearing

The National Commission on Terrorist Attacks Upon the United States, commonly known as the 9/11 Commission, will hold its final public hearing June 16 and 17, in Washington, D.C., on the subject of Crisis Management. Afterward, the Commission will begin finalizing its report, to be published within a month.

There is still time remaining for anyone who has relevant information to contact the Commission. The results of the past eleven hearings, in audio and transcript format, are available on the Commission's website.

War on terror incoherent and failing, says Rumsfeld

At an international security conference on Saturday, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld expressed rare public candor, telling the audience the United States is losing the war on Islamic terrorism. (AP/Washington Post, June 6)

"It's quite clear to me that we do not have a coherent approach to this," said Rumsfeld. He described the terrorist movement as the product of a "civil war" in the Islamic religion, and said terrorists are turned out faster than the U.S. can apprehend them. His remarks appeared to be an admission that U.S. government officials erred in relying on military might to address a social disorder. What next, then?

Official Washington may not have an answer for a while; it is still pondering the potential impacts of the resignations of CIA Director George Tenet and his deputy. (USAToday, June 5) Some, including Sen. Dianne Feinstein (D-California), are predicting negative consequences for U.S. intelligence gathering at a vulnerable time.

Apparently, the worriers have never worked in a federal agency, or they would know that the career civil service is a like an ocean liner, well accustomed to the comings and goings of political appointees. Thus, Americans can rest assured that, with or without senior managers, the CIA and other agencies will continue to perform as usual. And that means, we're in serious trouble.