The Strange Case Of a Bounty Hunter’s Arrest in Afghanistan

 

By Fred Lingel

 

The recent arrest in Afghanistan of a former Green Beret who claims he was secretly working for the Pentagon has turned out to be yet another confusing, if not bizarre story emanating from the global “war on terror.”

On July 5, Jonathan K. Idema, who once served with the 11th Special Forces Reserve Group, and two other Americans, were arrested in Kabul, the Afghan capital, and accused of running their own private torture house.

In response to the charges against them, the men claimed they were part of a covert counter-terror operation that had the approval of Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld’s office.

The arrests of the Americans followed a shoot-out at a house in the center of Kabul, where they were holding eight Afghans prisoner.

When troops and local police entered the house, they found some of the captives suspended from a ceiling by their feet.

Idema and his companions—Brent Bennett, de scribed as a cameraman, and Edward Caraballo, said to be a New York journalist—were taken into Afghan custody. Along with them were four Afghans who had been helping them run their private interrogation center.

Idema and his two American companions were dressed in combat boots and military fatigues.

Inside the house, investigators found filming equipment, confirming that the three had been videotaping interrogation sessions. Their activities had taken place for several months under the noses of NATO, U.S. forces, the CIA and Afghan security personnel in the heavily guarded Afghan capital.

Idema, who always dressed like a member of U.S. Special Forces, had made no secret of his presence in Kabul and had spoken with journalists and NATO troops.

Immediately following his arrest, U.S. authorities denied any knowledge of the activities of the Idema group but later claimed that a circular had been issued to coalition troops warning he was armed and dangerous and should be arrested on sight.

Within days of the discovery of the torture house, there was a surprising development in the story. Idema told reporters he had handed over detainees to U.S. intelligence, including the FBI. At first, U.S. authorities denied his claim. However, in a startling disclosure, they admitted that Idema had handed over a suspect to U.S. forces in May this year.

That suspect, said a U.S. military spokesman, had been someone the United States had wanted to interrogate for some time.

Afghan security personnel have begun interviewing some of the prisoners rescued from the Idema “torture house.”

One of those prisoners, Ghulam Sakhi, a Kabul shopkeeper, revealed that he had been dragged from a taxi and hooded. During a subsequent interrogation by Idema and his associates, he was scalded with boiling water, had his head placed under water and was kicked so hard in the chest he had difficulty breathing. Sakhi said he was constantly shown photographs of wanted terrorists during questioning.

Another prisoner told investigators that he too had hot water poured over him and had suffered a broken rib after being hit with a rifle butt.

According to Idema, he had been running a “deep cover” counter-terror operation with the full knowledge of the Pentagon. He claims to have emails and faxes to prove he had authorization.

“We were in contact directly by fax and email with Donald Rumsfeld’s office, with the deputy secretary of defense, and with Kevin Anderson, a four-star rank officer level at the Pentagon,” said Idema.

He added that Anderson had offered his group a contract but he had turned it down.

“We did not want to go under contract because that would have meant that we couldn’t work with Northern Alliance people we were working with,” he told reporters.

The Northern Alliance is the group of Afghanis who fought alongside U.S. forces in 2001 to overthrow the former ruling Taliban in Afghanistan.

U.S. and NATO military spokesmen quickly issued a denial of Idema’s claims and hinted to journalists that the three Americans were mercenaries chasing the $25 million bounty on Osama Bin Laden and members of the Taliban like Mullah Omar.

When Idema, Bennett and Caraballo were arraigned in a Kabul court two weeks after their arrest, Idema announced that he had broken up a terrorist plan to assassinate Afghan ministers and had handed over a Taliban intelligence chief to U.S. military authorities.

There have been several new twists in the whole affair.

Idema, Bennett and Caraballo entered Kabul on a flight from India in April this year, using Indian passports, and quickly set up shop in a house in the center of Kabul, making no secret of their presence.

Curiously, days before local journalists learned that Idema had been arrested, they received an email from the U.S. military warning that he was a phony. And, Afghan officials investigating the episode initially told the media they believed the Idema team were part of a covert operation outside the control of the U.S. and Afghan governments.

Days later, the Afghan government reversed its opinion, claiming instead that the three Americans were mercenaries motivated by the prospect of a large bounty. However, Afghan police admitted that Idema was always dressed like a U.S. Special Forces soldier—the same dress code as many contractors in the city.

At Idema’s arraignment, he and his companions remained silent in response to charges of kidnapping, assault and entering the country illegally. As reporters surrounded the dock where the three were seated, not handcuffed, Idema told them everything he had done had been condoned by the U.S. government.

Since his arrest, details have emerged of his military and criminal history. A native of Fayetteville, N.C., Idema was featured in a book about the war on terror—Task Force Dagger: The Hunt for Bin Laden.

Through a collaborative effort with the book’s author, Idema described how he had fought alongside Northern Alliance troops battling the Taliban in 2001. That aspect of his career, which occurred at a time when he had long retired from the U.S. military, has not been called into question.

In 1994, Idema had set up a bogus company to supply equipment to the U.S. military. He was subsequently convicted of fraud and spent three years in a federal prison. At his trial, Idema was forced by the judge to undergo a psychological test. It revealed that he was not mentally ill but had a personality disorder that could be aggravated by interaction with persons in authority.

His 84-year-old father has told journalists that in the 1980s his son ran anti-terror training courses and was always loyal to his country.

Beyond Idema’s 10 months fighting with the Northern Alliance in 2001, little is known about his life after he left prison in 1998. However, contractors and CIA paramilitary personnel were on the ground with the Northern Alliance prior to and post Sept. 11, 2001.