Called a Vigilante, Praised as a Newsman

[seemslikeadream]

By ALAN FEUER

Published: July 28, 2004


.......

It was Mr. Scurka who first introduced Mr. Caraballo to Mr. Idema, a former member of the Special Forces who was on active duty for three years in the 1970's and who has made something of a name for himself among journalists as an antiterrorism expert. Mr. Scurka said he introduced Mr. Caraballo to Mr. Idema about five years ago. Mr. Scurka met Mr. Idema himself in 1994 when he was sent on assignment by CBS News to North Carolina, where Mr. Idema was awaiting sentencing on a wire fraud charge.

"Ed's film is apparently about Idema's activities in Afghanistan," Mr. Scurka said. "I don't know exactly what the project is, but the idea was to document what Keith Idema did back in 2001, and Ed went back to Afghanistan to talk with people and check out the environment."

Mr. Caraballo's brother Richard said the film was based on a book, "The Hunt for Bin Laden," by Robin Moore. Mr. Idema has said he co-wrote the book, the story of a Special Forces team assigned to capture Osama bin Laden.

"I'm here to tell you that my brother is not a gun-for-hire or a prison warden," Richard Caraballo said. "He was just chasing a great story."

Far from a thrill-seeker or a vigilante, he said, his brother was a gentle man with a 3-year-old daughter. "Eddie is not a reckless person," he said. "The only reason for why he put his life in such danger is that he had confidence in this guy's credentials," he added, referring to Mr. Idema.

more
http://www.nytimes.com/2004/07/28/international/asia/28caraballo.html