U.S. Says It Got Afghan From Vigilantes

[Judi Lynn]

U.S. Says It Got Afghan From Vigilantes
By STEPHEN GRAHAM
Associated Press Writer


KABUL, Afghanistan (AP)--The U.S. military acknowledged Thursday it held an Afghan man for a month after taking custody of him from a trio of American counterterror vigilantes who have since been arrested on charges of torturing prisoners at a private jail they ran in the Afghan capital.

The American military has tried to distance itself from the group, led by a former American soldier named Jonathan Idema, insisting they were freelancers working outside the law. But spokesman Maj. Jon Siepmann acknowledged that the military had received a detainee from Idema's group at Bagram Air Base, north of Kabul, on May 3.
(snip)

``That doesn't mean at the time that we knew Mr. Idema's full track record or other things he was doing out there,'' Siepmann said. ``This was a person who turned in a person who we believed was on our list of terrorists and we accepted him.''

Siepmann declined to identify the detainee or the fugitive he was mistaken for.
(snip/...)

http://www.ajc.com/news/content/news/ap/ap_story.html/Intl/AP.V5667.AP-Afghan-US-Vigil.html
(Free registration required)

[truthisfreedom]

1. nothing suspect about that. nope. move along, nothing to see here.

since when do "freelancers working outside the law" work for free in the most dangerous part of the world?

[Judi Lynn]

2. Here's the same article from an non-registration source:

http://abcnews.go.com/wire/World/ap20040722_275.html

[izzie]

3. Sounds like we have the 'week-end' gun nuts out of this country.

I guess they got sick of putting on make believe uniforms and running up and down our Mts. so they are going world wide. Is this another thing we have shipped over seas? People who play army?

[Ganja Ninja]

4. Just more mercenaries not vigilantes.

I find it very hard to believe these guys weren't working for Rummy. In fact I'd say it's ridiculous to even consider they were on their own in Afghanistan. Who would have the money to pay for them to travel there? How would they fund their operation? How would they travel there with their weapons and how would they get ammo and supplies? It's pretty obvious they couldn't do what they were doing without the knowledge, consent and assistance of the American government.

[Judi Lynn]

6. Gosh, yeah, Sentinel Chicken. Thanks for the slap to wake us up!

I just glumly "bought" the "vigilante" label, ("Vigilante? Yes, master....") and didn't even have the incentive to think it over! Quite a difference between the two words.

They're little wizards of sneaky, subliminal word trickery, aren't they? They don't respect us when they are trying to avoid telling us the truth, and spin their words directly to our unconscious.


Republican high priests of propaganda!

I'd like to see this all backfire in their faces.

[Ganja Ninja]

7. Think about though ..

We're being asked to believe these guys just decided to WHAT? Quit their jobs and spend every dime they ever made to go to Afghanistan for some payback!???
Is there no lie the Bush's consider to unbelievable to ram down the throats the American public?

[UpInArms]

5. related article from VOA

http://www.voanews.com/article.cfm?objectID=D56D0A2C-3FD5-4685-BDAB149718377E2C

U.S. military officials in Afghanistan have acknowledged the military took custody of a detainee from three Americans now on trial in Kabul for allegedly running a private jail. But the officials deny the Americans were working for the military.

Coalition spokesman Major Jon Siepmann said Thursday the detainee was accepted and held for questioning because he had been identified as a potential terrorist.

Washington has denied any connection to the three Americans who held the suspect.

One of the three (Jonathan Idema) said Wednesday in a Kabul courtroom that he and his two colleagues are prepared to show evidence they were in frequent contact with the Pentagon.

...more...

It doesn't sound like there was a credible distance between the US military and Idema's group. The trail should lead back up the food chain.

[struggle4progress]

8. What a weird story! "... and we accepted him.'' WTF! eom

[daleo]

9. They claim they had nothing to do with the military or CIA

Except NATO troops treated them as if they were connected to the U.S. military, because they just assumed they were.
Karzai's cops treated them as if they were connected to the U.S. military, because they just assumed they were.
The U.S. military "accepted" captured Afghans from them.
Nobody bothers to ask these guys who they are? As if.

Now Idema claims he was plugged into the top, all the way to Rummy. Spooks or mercenaries, or some weird hybrid of the two. They will be let go, one way or another.

[SidDithers]

10. Related article in Toronto Star this morning...

link:
http://www.thestar.com/NASApp/cs/ContentServer?pagename=thestar/Layout/Article_Type1&call_pageid=971358637177&c=Article&cid=1090447813122

Their own personal war on terror
U.S. civilians on trial for jailing, abusing Afghans

`We were in contact with Rumsfeld'


KABUL—An American charged with running a private "war on terror" in Afghanistan claims he and two other Americans were working with the full of knowledge of U.S. Defence Secretary Donald Rumsfeld.

Jonathan "Jack" Idema, who denies charges he detained and tortured Afghan citizens without U.S. government consent, told reporters yesterday the trio hunted terrorists under the auspices of the Pentagon but have now been abandoned by U.S. authorities.

"We were working for the U.S. counter-terrorist group and working with the Pentagon and some other federal agencies," Idema said before the opening of his trial on charges of illegally taking people hostage, detaining and torturing them.

"We were in contact directly by fax and e-mail and phone with Donald Rumsfeld's office."

<snip>

Started an LBN thread on this earlier this morning, but it quickly faded.

Sid

[Norquist Nemesis]

11. Shouldn't be too hard to prove then

if they were in contact with the Pentagon via phones, faxes, and email.

<tapping foot waiting for Republican outrage>

[struggle4progress]

12. kick

:kick:

[Rose Siding]

13. 'We didn't know his record or what he was doing'

Isn't that EXACTLY why the whole idea of using mercenaries is BAD in the first place?!

[dArKeR]

14. US admits that it accepted Afghan from `vigilantes'

AP AND NY TIMES NEWS SERVICE , KABUL
Friday, Jul 23, 2004,Page 5

The US military yesterday acknowledged it had held an Afghan man for a month after receiving him from three US counterterror vigilantes who have since been arrested on charges of torture at a private jail they ran in the Afghan capital.

The US military has tried to distance itself from the group, led by a former US soldier named Jonathan Idema, insisting they were freelancers working outside the law.

http://www.taipeitimes.com/News/world/archives/2004/07/23/2003180062

[Algomas]

15. Is it possible they are bounty hunters?