Man arrested by FBI : "I was close to capturing bin Laden"

http://channels.aimtoday.com/news/story.jsp?floc=FF-APO-PLS&idq=/ff/story/0001/20040821/1301378500.htm

This article, if true, seems to lend credence to the "October Surprise" theory about bin Laden's capture. anyway, it's probably worth a read.

Accused Anti-Terror Vigilante Speaks Out
By PAUL HAVEN

KABUL, Afghanistan (AP) - An American on trial for allegedly torturing Afghan terror suspects in a private jail claimed Saturday in his first interview from custody that he was hot on the heels of Osama bin Laden and other militant leaders when he was arrested on July 5.

Jonathan Idema told The Associated Press he had official sanction from Afghans and Americans to hunt down terrorists and said he has been prevented from showing the evidence in court. Prosecutors say Idema was waging a private war, and he faces up to 20 years in a crumbling Afghan prison if convicted.

-snip-

EDITED BY ADMIN FOR COPYRIGHT REASONS

:shrug:

I don't subscribe to conspiracy theories, and I'm not convinced that the FBI's delaying off bin Laden's capture until closer to the election, but if this guy is at all credible (and it's highly likely that he isn't), it seems that's precisely what the FBI is doing.
again, i'm not convinced (indeed, far from it) but it certainly is an odd li'l article, isn't it?

He wasn't close to catching anyone. This is a bullshit story because bin Laden is
A: being held in a secret location by the CIA to be “captured” just before November 2nd
B: sitting in a cave in Afghanistan running his organization by telepathy and voodoo
C: now a woman dancing under the name Breeze at the Gold Cup Gentleman’s Club

"Fertilizing native plants of the Tora Bora mountain range"

He should've leaked all his correspondence with the Pentagon to the press or something, if he was on the level. If he's gonna go down, why not take Rummy with him?

The whole thing smells like what Seymour Hersh called "Copper Green."

i don't trust the guy, i'm just sayin'. this is breaking news, so i put it in "breaking news."

A cut straight from the Rumsfeld play book.

a few of the details, to quote another DUer. He stated too many things which were shown to be true only to not be responded to by the FBI or other officials.

Example: Peshwar exact location for one. They showed up. He had been there, but they were just a bit too slow.

:shrug:

that they either do not want to capture bin Laden or he is already dead without his dialysis.

Duncan Campbell
Thursday July 22, 2004
The Guardian

The saga of "Jack" Idema, the American arrested for running a private interrogation centre in Afghanistan, took a new twist yesterday when he claimed that he was acting with the knowledge and agreement of Donald Rumsfeld's office.
Mr Idema, who has been accused of having a makeshift jail in which detainees were hung by their feet, claimed that US authorities "condoned and supported" his freelance activities.

"We were working for the US counter-terrorist group and working with the Pentagon and some other federal agencies," said Mr Idema, whose full name is Jonathon Keith Idema, before the opening of a court hearing in Kabul, according to Reuters.

He told reporters: "We were in contact directly by fax and email and phone with Donald Rumsfeld's office.

"The American authorities absolutely condoned what we did. We have extensive evidence to that ... We're prepared to show emails and correspondence and tape-recorded conversations."

more
http://www.guardian.co.uk/afghanistan/story/0,1284,1266418,00.html
more
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=701568


Round two for Kabul's trial of year
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=753506

U.S. urged to protect Idema's rights
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=752727

Idema role: rogue or U.S. agent?
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=737677

'Freelance' US fighter identified
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=673846

The Case of Keith Idema
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=703839

it seems to me that it could be as true as it is false. It seems no one can say.

He gets around and has information. He knows too many things NOT to know it seems. If he's truly not okay then why is he still out there and not locked away say in Gitmo or even killed?

Something isn't right with this story. Seems he's his own warrior and plays whatever side he feels like playing when he feels like it. Most of the time it is US, but seems he might be considered something like a double, triple agent, IF that is even a possibility!

I think in the world of spooks there are all kinds of kooks! I would think their stories would be so sordid and odd that they would seem made up when they were truthes of which the every day public could never fathom.

Examples: MKUltra and Artichoke

a fallout between Karzai and Qanuni (and Fahim)

Defense Minister Mohammed Qasim Fahim maintains his own private army of 10,000 men complete with 300 tanks Karzai chose Fahim as defense minister because he feared Fahim would use his troops to overrun Kabul and sweep him from power. Qanuni and Fahim are ethnic Tajiks while Karzai is an ethnic Pashtun.

Nationwide elections for president are scheduled for October 9, 2004. Karzai faces serious challenges by Yunus Qanuni and Abdul Rashid Dostum. Karzai's original pick for vice president was Mohammed Fahim. Fahim however is running for VP with Qanuni now.

Idema earlier claimed extensive connections with both Qanuni and Fahim, saying he had foiled assassination attempts against both men.

Tiffany, Idema's lawyer stated that Idema maintained "ongoing contacts" with the Karzai government, maybe referring to the Education (Qanuni) and Defense (Fahim) Ministers. "He's been working with their full knowledge and cooperation". When the Honeycomb Hideout was raided by Afghan authorities, a list of "Missions to Complete" was found tacked on the wall. Items #2 was listed as "Karzai".

The American military has denied any connection with Idema but the FBI and CIA so far have not.

Idema is no ordinary mercenary.

It seems you may have gotten the nuts and bolts of what has gone down. There are way too many factions in Afghanistan, even more than Iraq. So, having someone such as Idema could be seen as a good thing for some wanting power there, IMO.

Look at Chalabi and others who the FBI and/or CIA have had as agents or informers. They will use anyone who is willing, but they won't necessarily protect them or come to their aid if caught.

I believe this is his girlfriend



GATESVILLE, Texas (Court TV) — Viktoria Robertson knew her punishment was inevitable.

The former stockbroker had been convicted in Texas of fraud and embezzlement and sent to a Gatesville prison to do the time. But when she got there, she didn't expect this: to be kept in a cage eight feet long and six feet wide and sent to work with other inmates called the "hoe squad."

Robertson described to Court TV what she and other women allegedly suffered during her incarceration. She said she was put in the cage not once, not twice, but four times.

"You go in the cage if you're unable to keep up, if you're exhausted, if you happen to get sick," said Robertson, who served three years at Gatesville.

Rather than bury the incident in her past, Robertson returned to the place where she was forced to, among many other things, strip naked for prison staff. Using hidden cameras, Court TV crews watched as several women were put in the cages, locked by metal boxes, after they'd been toiling in 100-degree plus heat.

"I was not provided safety," she said. "Otherwise, I would not have been brutally put into a cage because I couldn't keep up in cutting grass and forced to defecate and urinate in a cage standing up and watered every 90 minutes. ... It's not like you're in a cell where you know they're gonna feed you. You're in a cage. Out in the wilderness. Like an animal."


Calls to Texas Gov. George Bush's office were not returned for comment.


—Valerie Q. Carino

http://www.courttv.com/archive/national/1999/1021/cages_ctv.html

* should be ashamed! His kind are the ones providing those prisons to house the unwanteds (not how I feel) in our society these days!

osama like he did on 911....must be the agreement he had with him for blowing up the towers....

Democratic Underground rules state that you must only copy and paste a mazimum of four paragraphs from a COPYRIGHTED article.

Thank you

looking for Bin Laden, there is a phat wad of cash on his head after all, it isnt too suprising that something like this would happen.