The Invisible Man: Jeffrey Sterling, CIA Whistleblower [View all]

[JEB]

By Norman Solomon

http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/The-Invisible-Man-Jeffrey-by-Norman-Solomon-CIA_Jeffrey-Sterling_Media_Whistleblower-150127-558.html

The mass media have suddenly discovered Jeffrey Sterling -- after his conviction Monday afternoon as a CIA whistleblower.

Sterling's indictment four years ago received fleeting news coverage that recited the government's charges. From the outset, the Justice Department portrayed him as bitter and vengeful -- with the classic trash-the-whistleblower word "disgruntled" thrown in -- all of which the mainline media dutifully recounted without any other perspective.

Year after year, Sterling's case dragged through appellate courts, tangled up with the honorable refusal of journalist James Risen to in any way identify sources for his 2006 book State of War. While news stories or pundits occasionally turned their lens on Risen, they scarcely mentioned Sterling, whose life had been turned upside down -- fired by the CIA early in the Bush administration after filing a racial discrimination lawsuit, and much later by the 10-count indictment that included seven counts under the Espionage Act.

Sterling was one of the very few African American case officers in the CIA. He became a whistleblower by virtue of going through channels to the Senate Intelligence Committee in 2003 to inform staffers about the CIA's ill-conceived, poorly executed and dangerous Operation Merlin, which had given a flawed design for a nuclear weapons component to Iran back in 2000.

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The principle of supporting whistleblowers as strongly as journalists is crucial. Yet support for the principle is hit-and-miss among individuals and organizations that should be clear and forthright. This need is especially great when the government is invoking "national security" claims.

As the whistleblower advocate Jesselyn Radack of the Government Accountability Project has said: "When journalists become targets, they have a community and a lobby of powerful advocates to go to for support. Whistleblowers are in the wilderness. ... They're indicted under the most serious charge you can level against an American: being an enemy of the state."

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Two weeks ago, Jeffrey Sterling went to trial at last. He was at the defense table during seven days of proceedings that included very dubious testimony from 23 present and former CIA employees as well as the likes of Condoleezza Rice.

When a court clerk read out the terrible verdict Monday afternoon, Sterling continued to stand with the dignity that he had maintained throughout the trial.

At age 47, Jeffrey Sterling is facing a very long prison sentence. As a whistleblower, he has done a lot for us. He should be invisible no more.
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Read the complete piece at the link.
http://www.opednews.com/articles/1/The-Invisible-Man-Jeffrey-by-Norman-Solomon-CIA_Jeffrey-Sterling_Media_Whistleblower-150127-558.html