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**The Reaper** · 07-18-2004, 10:53

Continued.

New chance to fight

That sense of honor drew Idema to Afghanistan, according to his friends and supporters, who say he was eager to meet President Bush's call for all Americans to fight terrorism. His first stint spanned 10 months, and he returned to Afghanistan this past April, said John Tiffany, a New Jersey lawyer representing Idema.

Accompanied by a cameraman, Ed Caraballo, Idema wanted to get footage for a documentary on his life, Tiffany said. Idema returned to fighting terrorists because the opportunity presented itself.

"He is a man of action, a man of conviction," Tiffany said, noting that Idema's primary motivation was principle, not profit. Money, however, was on the line. Many al-Qaeda terrorists have million-dollar bounties set for their capture.

"If somewhere down the road Keith Idema came up with information about Osama bin Laden, and he got paid for it," Tiffany asked, "is there something wrong with that? I don't think so." Accusations that Idema was abusing and torturing his subjects are false, Tiffany said.

News reports from Afghanistan indicate that Idema was involved in the capture of at least eight men who were then held in a house in Kabul. A New York Times report quoted one of the men as saying he was nabbed at gunpoint by Idema's group and held for 10 days, three of them without food and water.

Idema's arrest by Afghan authorities, Tiffany said, was likely instigated by the FBI, which he said still holds a grudge over the Lithuanian smuggling incident.

Glosson, the girlfriend, said Friday that she did not know what had happened to Idema in Afghanistan but that she did not think he was acting on his own.

"He is all-American and he is Special Forces to the bone, free the oppressed," she said. "If he's over there, it's because someone else is either supporting him financially or telling him where to go and what to do."

A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Friday that the U.S. government had not employed Idema or sponsored his activities.

For his part, Idema seemed to savor the role of rogue, like the character Jack in Moore's book:

"One question would remain -- how did Jack, operating completely independently of [U.S. forces] and the Central Command, interject himself so completely in America's war on terrorism? ... Regardless of who he was, Jack got results, and he is the kind of American that our Afghan allies want to see more of."

(News researchers Toby Lyles and Becky Ogburn contributed to this report.)

07-18-2004, 10:53	#8
The Reaper Quiet Professional Join Date: Jan 2004 Location: Free Pineland Posts: 24,825	Part II Continued. New chance to fight That sense of honor drew Idema to Afghanistan, according to his friends and supporters, who say he was eager to meet President Bush's call for all Americans to fight terrorism. His first stint spanned 10 months, and he returned to Afghanistan this past April, said John Tiffany, a New Jersey lawyer representing Idema. Accompanied by a cameraman, Ed Caraballo, Idema wanted to get footage for a documentary on his life, Tiffany said. Idema returned to fighting terrorists because the opportunity presented itself. "He is a man of action, a man of conviction," Tiffany said, noting that Idema's primary motivation was principle, not profit. Money, however, was on the line. Many al-Qaeda terrorists have million-dollar bounties set for their capture. "If somewhere down the road Keith Idema came up with information about Osama bin Laden, and he got paid for it," Tiffany asked, "is there something wrong with that? I don't think so." Accusations that Idema was abusing and torturing his subjects are false, Tiffany said. News reports from Afghanistan indicate that Idema was involved in the capture of at least eight men who were then held in a house in Kabul. A New York Times report quoted one of the men as saying he was nabbed at gunpoint by Idema's group and held for 10 days, three of them without food and water. Idema's arrest by Afghan authorities, Tiffany said, was likely instigated by the FBI, which he said still holds a grudge over the Lithuanian smuggling incident. Glosson, the girlfriend, said Friday that she did not know what had happened to Idema in Afghanistan but that she did not think he was acting on his own. "He is all-American and he is Special Forces to the bone, free the oppressed," she said. "If he's over there, it's because someone else is either supporting him financially or telling him where to go and what to do." A U.S. State Department spokeswoman said Friday that the U.S. government had not employed Idema or sponsored his activities. For his part, Idema seemed to savor the role of rogue, like the character Jack in Moore's book: "One question would remain -- how did Jack, operating completely independently of [U.S. forces] and the Central Command, interject himself so completely in America's war on terrorism? ... Regardless of who he was, Jack got results, and he is the kind of American that our Afghan allies want to see more of." (News researchers Toby Lyles and Becky Ogburn contributed to this report.) __________________ "It is not the critic who counts; not the man who points out how the strong man stumbles, or where the doer of deeds could have done them better. The credit belongs to the man who is actually in the arena, whose face is marred by dust and sweat and blood; who strives valiantly; who errs, who comes short again and again, because there is no effort without error and shortcoming; but who does actually strive to do the deeds; who knows great enthusiasms, the great devotions; who spends himself in a worthy cause; who at the best knows in the end the triumph of high achievement, and who at the worst, if he fails, at least fails while daring greatly, so that his place shall never be with those cold and timid souls who neither know victory nor defeat." - President Theodore Roosevelt, 1910 De Oppresso Liber 01/20/2025
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