Man accused of running private Afghan jail had U.S. letter

[seemslikeadream]

.............

Officials agreed to talk and provided documents to The Observer on the condition that they not be identified. They said they feared that Idema would retaliate, either physically or through lawsuits.

He said Idema, Scurka and Long traveled to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where they were arrested because of visa problems. The three were placed in a holding cell overnight.

The next day, the official said, a sergeant in Tashkent had his secretary call a military official in the United States to verify that Idema, Scurka and Long were American citizens.

The sergeant received verification and released all three men. The official said an operations officer at the U.S. Defense Attache's Office wrote to Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs seeking entry visas for the three and identifying them as Department of Defense contract workers.

more
http://www.journalnow.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=WSJ%2FMGArticle%2FWSJ_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031777466051&path=!localnews&s=1037645509099

Captured vigilante speaks from prison

.............

"We would have had" renegade Afghan warlord Gulbuddin "Hekmatyar in 14 days or less. We would have had bin Laden in less than 30 days" had he and his team not been arrested, said Idema, a colorful former soldier in the U.S. Army who spent three years in jail in the 1980s for allegedly bilking 60 companies out of more than $200,000 in goods.
http://www.columbiatribune.com/2004/Aug/20040822News008.asp

[Nambe]

1. If this case gets wheels, it will be a big setback for rummy.

It will give a break to all the scapegoats the pentagon is prosecuting. These guys can have real lawyers and get to real courts. Look our rummy, you picked on citizens, not your slaves. I'm not saying they are innocent, just that they can present provocative evidense in the public arena. You go guys.

[mitchtv]

2. we wouldda caught them, honest, but we

got caught with a full torture chamber,and those unpatriotic Afghanis arrested us, Of all the nerve!

[seemslikeadream]

3. It's a long story

Rumsfeld knew all about me, says American 'jailer' held in Kabul
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=701568

Man arrested by FBI : "I was close to capturing bin Laden"
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=view_all&address=102x767678

[obelus]

4. Do not invite this guy to your next party...

Here is a link that offers some insight as to what kind of partygoer this guy can be:

LINK

This guy got caught. He is an extreme personality and apparently deeply flawed. What about the mercs who are more covert? How many are operating over there and what and who do they represent? I hope there is not a larger, smellier story around the corner somewhere.

[seemslikeadream]

5. Thanks obelus very much really good stuff

from your link



"I just might have to fucking kill you!" an irate Idema shouted at the reporter during a December 2001 party while other foreign correspondents quickly exited the dining room, leaving the two men to argue amid frosted cake and drinks.

"You don't believe me? Test me. Just test me. But get the fuck out of here now before I do."

The shaken Stars and Stripes journalist was hosting the party in a house he rented, and politely reminded Idema that this was his house.

"You think this house is yours?" Idema yelled at him, adding more expletives and threats until the journalist left the room.

When asked who he really worked for, Idema grinned and told me: "I work for God and country."

After much coaxing, he displayed a resume that he kept on his laptop which listed military badges he said he had earned, including "El Salvadoran Master Parachute Wings", "Royal Thai Army Combat Parachute Wings", "Kuwaiti Police Commander Badge", "German Senior Parachute Wings" and "Nicaraguan Senior Parachute Wings."

[Judi Lynn]

6. Astounding! He needs to be locked up, rather than running loose.

Thanks so much for posting this article. I'm going to print it out and share it at home.

Welcome to DU! :hi: :hi:

[Judi Lynn]

7. American accused of torture entered Afghanistan with help of U.S. official

American accused of torture entered Afghanistan with help of U.S. official
Copyright © 2004 Nando Media
Copyright © 2004 AP Online


The Associated Press

FAYETTEVILLE, N.C. (August 22, 12:01 pm ADT) - An American accused of torturing terror suspects in Afghanistan entered that country using a letter from a U.S. embassy official identifying him as a government contractor, a newspaper reported Sunday.

But the Fayetteville Observer, citing unnamed sources, reported that Jonathan Keith "Jack" Idema signed a standard contract agreeing to be a noncombatant who would not wear military apparel or gear.

Idema, a colorful former Green Beret, has said he hunted terrorist suspects in Afghanistan with the support of U.S. security agencies - a claim the government denies.Idema and two cohorts were arrested when Afghan security forces raided their makeshift jail in Kabul in July. Idema denies that anyone was tortured there.

The Observer reported that Idema entered Afghanistan in 2001 after an embassy official in Uzbekistan wrote a letter identifying him as a contractor with the Department of Defense. The letter asks Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for help in issuing visas to Idema and two other men, Gary Scurka and Greg Long, who were also identified as Defense Department contractors, the newspaper reported.
(snip/...)

http://www.adn.com/24hour/nation/story/1591772p-9219740c.html

~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

IF there's any place he'd feel right at home, it's Uzbekistan, where Bush's friend Islam Karimov's government has actually BOILED two men to death during their torture sessions.

http://www.hrw.org/photos/2002/uzbekistan/pages/5.htm
http://www.hrw.org/photos/2002/uzbekistan/