PSYCHO: Hometown Dude Bullshits UN Into Launching Strikes Against Afghanis
 

ROFL! Dude I grew up with got busted in Afghanistan for bullshitting the UN into launching strikes against terrorist suspects. He's a crazy sumbitch but patriotic to his heart and tough as a they come. Where I grew up people are super patriotic and I KNEW somebody would get frustrated and go off and hunt Bin Laden on their own. This dude Idema is no joke. Had a hobby of shooting himself with .44 magnum just for fun. They did a two page spread on him in the Enquirer or Star once showing how he did this.
We were all crazy up there. We'd put on bullet proof vests and flak jackets and shoot each other to see who could take it. Yes, when you're young, stupidity and bravery and craziness go hand in hand. We had miltary anti-terrorist training camps etc. Way before it was cool to do so. If the authorities had listened to them we wouldn't be in the shit now. I don't condone what he did but, deeeaaaamn!

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Thursday, July 15, 2004

Ex-local man facing time in Afghanistan jail
The Associated Press

KABUL, Afghanistan -- Three American vigilantes tricked NATO peacekeepers into helping with illegal raids, the security force said Wednesday, getting them to send explosives experts and bomb-sniffing dogs to check buildings in Kabul where they had detained suspects.
A spokesman said the men, led by former U.S. soldier Jonathan Keith Idema, a former Poughkeepsie resident, seemed authentic -- fluent in military speak, decked out in faux U.S. Army fatigues and claiming to belong to a nonexistent task force.

''Their credibility was such that with their uniforms, their approach, our people believed they were what they said they were,'' said Cdr. Chris Henderson, a spokesman for the International Security Assistance Force. ''It was a mistake.''

Afghan officials said the three men, who were arrested July 5, could spend 20 years in jail on charges of hostage-taking and assault of Afghans allegedly found hanging upside down in their private jail.

It remained unclear if the three men had been picking up innocent Afghans or if they were trailing genuine militants plotting bombings or other violence.

Henderson said Idema called in bomb-disposal teams from the International Security Assistance Force to check houses and vehicles three times from June 20-24.

'Traces' were found

The teams found ''traces'' of explosives in two cases, and suspicious electronic components in a third, Henderson said. He wouldn't say whether they could have been used to make bombs.

Idema, who had also lived in Fayetteville, N.C., appeared in Afghanistan after the Sept. 11, 2001, attacks on the United States. He claimed in a book to have fought alongside the Northern Alliance troops who allied with U.S. forces to drive out the Taliban regime.

Better known as ''Jack,'' he returned to Kabul some weeks ago with his partners. Police say he was armed and dressed in military gear and sometimes wore a flat woolen Afghan cap.

It remains unclear if Idema, who spent three years in a U.S. federal prison for a fraud conviction in the 1990s, was hoping to bank a million-dollar reward for information leading to the capture of al-Qaida fugitives.

The U.S. military here insists Idema, who has worked with several Western TV networks, has no connection with either it or the American government.

The U.S. Embassy has checked that the men are being treated properly, but there is no sign of an attempt to remove them from the country.

Fatah said the charges raised against the Americans, as well as four Afghans arrested along with them, carry jail terms of 16-20 years.

Trial to begin in several days

Abdul Baset Bakhtyari, a senior judge at Kabul's lower court, said it received the case Wednesday and it would be several days before a trial begins.

''It will be a public trial,'' Bakhtyari said. ''They can bring lawyers from whichever country they want.'' He said Idema and the two others would remain in Afghan custody.

Afghan officials say they freed all eight illegal prisoners, but residents in the Kabul neighborhood where one of the raids occurred say five men have not returned.

Henderson and an Afghan security official, who spoke on condition of anonymity, both said they didn't know if the five were now in Afghan custody.

Henderson insisted Wednesday that none of the peacekeepers had witnessed any abuse of detainees.

Man, I didn't know they came out with "Redneck Rampage II"!

:1orglaugh

How fucking dumb can you get? Just amazing.

Cheers,
Matt

I know! It's so bizarre but you gotta know the guy and what type of specialist he is and who's trained him.

He's been in all kinds of shit. This is the most outrageous, BUT he's actually good at what he does. How he got into all that other shit is something else.

If you notice from the story he did indeed find valuable trace materials that the UN forces hadn't.

I knew from day fucking one after 911 that sooner or later people would say 'fuck the law' and go after the Al Queda guys on their own. Too many people lost too much during those attacks and that old saying, " A running man can cut a thousand throats in a night " ain't too far behind.

It's a shame things came to this but look at it this way.

Idema got caught. What about all the other people who've lost loved ones and are just as trained if not more and are seeking revenge and haven't been caught.

If I was Bin Laden I'ld be seriously afraid of the Irish.

D'OH! This story is all over the place. I was late getting it. Anybody see it on the evening tv news?