Americans back in Afghan court for running private 'war on terror'

Three Americans charged with running a private counter-terrorism operation in Afghanistan (news - web sites) are set to reappear in court to face charges they jailed and tortured eight Afghan citizens. Jonathan Idema claims that he and two other Americans and a group of Afghan employees were working with the full knowledge of US Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to hunt down terrorists in Afghanistan.

Both the US and Afghan governments have disavowed any ties with Idema and his two co-defendants Brent Bennett and Edward Caraballo.

The case has shone a spotlight on the shadowy world of security and counter-terrorism in a country where US-led forces and international peacekeepers stay close to their bases, leaving a wide swathe for private security contractors to operate.

Since Idema first appeared in court July 21, US-led coalition forces here admitted they had contact with Idema's group.

Days after Idema's court appearance in which he claimed ties with Rumsfeld, US forces here admitted they took a terror suspect arrested by Idema into custody, despite earlier assertions they had no contact with him.

The suspect was later released after US forces found he was not a wanted militant.

The US admission followed a revelation earlier in July that NATO (news - web sites)-led international peacekeepers had provided Idema with bomb disposal services during raids on compounds and houses of people Idema had identified as terrorists.

US-led coalition forces and peacekeepers said they were duped into helping Idema's team, who wore US-style uniforms, believing they were legitimate special forces operatives.

Judge Abdul Baset Bahktiari said: "I found Jack (Idema) a brave man. He has been in Afghanistan for a long time but he was not someone with a specific idea or plan."

Bahktiari told AFP that Idema had found lawless Afghanistan "a good place for fraud and irresponsible activities".

However, the judge said he would do his best to make sure that Idema would be allowed a fair trial and said US authorities had not interfered in the judicial process but had only asked to present as observers.

Michael Skibbie, a lawyer for Caraballo -- a former US cameraman who claims he was in Afghanistan filming a documentary on Idema's anti-terror cell -- would not comment on how difficult it was to prepare a defence in Afghanistan.

He said the three defendants would be in court Monday but it was "impossible to predict" how long the trial would last.

The trial was adjourned for over two weeks to allow three Americans and four Afghan associates a better defense and find adequate translators.

US news reports said Idema was a bounty hunter who had spent time in jail for fraud, formerly fought with Northern Alliance forces in Afghanistan and may have been hunting senior Al-Qaeda leaders in the hope of claiming the substantial rewards on offer.

US forces here are already under fire from rights groups for their mistreatment of detainees in Afghanistan, one of whom died while in custody.

Interesting PING
***

Idema's role in book disputed
Agent says Moore was not main author

By BILL KRUEGER SARAH AVERY, Staff Writers

If anyone had doubts about the work Jonathan Keith Idema was doing in Afghanistan, Idema could always point out that his actions were detailed in a best-selling book by Robin Moore, who also wrote "The French Connection" and "The Green Berets."
Idema was even pictured on the cover of "The Hunt for bin Laden: Task Force Dagger," a behind-the-scenes look by Moore at the work of the Special Forces in Afghanistan.

But he may have been more than a heroic figure identified primarily as "Jack" in the book. He may have been one of the authors.

Marianne Strong, Moore's literary agent for the book, said in an interview that Moore was not the primary author.

"Jack wrote the book," Strong said from her office in New York. "Robin didn't write the book."

Moore, who lives in London, could not be reached for comment. But his assistant, Chris Thompson, disputed Strong's assertion.

Thompson said that he and Moore wrote the book together and only included Idema later in the writing process.

Thompson said he and Moore first met Idema in summer 2002 when they arrived in Fayetteville for the 50th anniversary celebration of the Special Forces.

The book's deadline was approaching, Thompson said, and he and Moore were eager to find a technical adviser to check the veracity of events.

Moore and Thompson linked up with Idema in a bar of a local Holiday Inn.

"He flipped through the manuscript," Thompson said, "and he told us, 'No, no, no. I'm going to have to help you out.' We were like, oh wow, this guy is cool. He's not active Army, just a Rambo guy who went and did it."

Idema became their adviser. But he also wanted his own exploits included in the book, Thompson said, noting that Idema had already crafted an autobiographical manuscript, titled "An Army of One."

Thompson said he worked to verify Idema's stories, talking with Gary Scurka, a photographer and longtime friend of Idema's who was wounded in Afghanistan by shrapnel from a Taliban munition. An account of the incident is chronicled in Moore's book and has since been questioned by other witnesses.

"Everything in the book really happened, and it wasn't just him saying this is what happened," Thompson said. "It's accurate."

Strong, however, insisted that the book would never have been written if Idema had not joined forces with Moore.

"Jack came in and saved the book," she said.

Random House, which published the book, is sticking behind Moore.

"Robin Moore is the sole author of the book Random House published," said Laura Goldin, a vice president with Random House. "Beyond that, I'm unable to comment."

Idema has sued Thompson over the disbursement of book royalties. Thompson said the experience has been a horror.

"It's all terrible," he said. "I have to spend every dime defending against this, so the government doesn't declare him the winner by default."

http://newsobserver.com/news/story/1514231p-7681162c.html

He reportedly is trying to clear his name with the FBI, by helping out on the WOT.

His life could be a movie. He saved a reporters life:
On that day, Scurka says, he had decided to take his camera crew farther onto a hill, where a Northern Alliance tank was firing into a town. The tank drew artillery fire from a nearby Taliban position. Scurka suffered a deep leg wound.

He says journalists Tim Friend and Kevin Sites bandaged his leg and got him off the hill, where Idema ripped off the bandages, applied new ones and arranged for a medical evacuation.

He is an asset to the US Army:
On Dec. 11, 2001, a captain named Kirk Harrington apparently sent a memo to Cmdr. Abdul Wadood, identified as the senior military attache for the United Front fighting the Taliban and al-Qaida. In the memo, Harrington wrote: "This letter is to confirm that we are also closely monitoring the actions of Mr. Idema to help the American people better understand the situation in Afghanistan. ... Mr. Idema has been a tremendous asset as he assesses the situation there, and the tough issues facing the Northern Alliance."

He took a polygraph and said that FBI could give any money due him from Afghanistan to widows of Special Forces soldiers killed in the war.

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=terrorism&Story=6498752

Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.