Washington, D.C. December 4, 2006. Mr. Bassem Youssef, a supervisory unit chief currently employed in the FBI’s Counterterrorism Detection Unit (CTD), will speak out publicly for the first time regarding grave deficiencies in America’s counterterrorism program. Mr. Youssef’s case will be highlighted on NBC Nightly News segment airing tonight.

This afternoon, NWC released an action alert calling upon members of the public to demand that the FBI not retaliate against Mr. Youssef.  The alert stated as follows:

FBI Whistleblower Needs Your Help Tonight!

Help protect FBI Supervisory Special Agent Bassem Youssef from retaliation when he appears on NBC Nightly News tonight,December 4, 2006 to tell the truth about ethnic discrimination and serious deficiencies within the FBI’s counterterrorism program which are undermining national security.

Take action by sending a message to your public officials insisting that they protect the rights of Mr. Youssef , and all government employees to blow the whistle on fraud, corruption, waste, and discrimination.

Did you know that senior counterterrorism officials at the FBI don’t know the difference between Shiite and Sunni Muslims? Did you know that the FBI currently has no senior counterterrorism officials who can speak Arabic?

If you do, chances are you have heard some of the alarming revelations that were brought to the public attention in a whistleblower lawsuit filed by Supervisory Special Agent (SSA) Bassem Youssef.

Mr. Youssef is the FBI’s highest ranking counterterrorism official to “blow the whistle” on the FBI’s gross mismanagement of the War on Terror. He is the highest ranking FBI agent who is fluent Arabic. Notably, Mr. Youssef was the recipient of the highly prestigious DCI (Director of Central Intelligence) award for his Counterterrorism work in the Middle East. Before the Bush Administration came to power, Mr. Youssef was highly praised by the former FBI Director for his effective liaison skills between U.S. and Middle Eastern intelligence agencies.

In spite of his qualifications, under this current administration the FBI has blacklisted Mr. Youssef and prevented him from using his Arabic language skills and cultural experience to aid the 9/11 investigation. When he brought this discrimination, and other concerns, to his superiors and his Congressman, Mr. Youssef was denied a promotion, transferred, and stripped of all operational counterterrorism duties.

In January, a report from the Office of Professional Responsibility (OPR) found that there was “sufficient evidence” to believe that the FBI’s actions against Mr. Youssef were retaliatory. The FBI leadership has a history of harsh retaliation, and they will stop at nothing to silence critics of the Bureau. By going public, Mr. Youssef has placed himself in harm’s way. The FBI has retaliated against every whistleblower who has had the courage to expose wrongdoing to the news media. Mr. Youssef still works at the FBI and needs your support today.

Take action by sending a message to your public officials insisting that they protect the rights of Mr. Youssef and all government employees to blow the whistle on fraud, corruption, waste, and discrimination.