Idema role: rogue or U.S. agent?

[seemslikeadream]

Through his lawyer in the United States, Idema denies abusing the prisoners. He maintains that his work was approved by officials at the highest levels of the Department of Defense. He has identified his contact as a Pentagon official named Heather Anderson, whose existence was initially discounted in Associated Press reports because she was not listed in Pentagon directories.

But Anderson does exist; she works in the office of Stephen Cambone, who was named to the new position of undersecretary of defense for intelligence in March 2003. The office was created by Defense Secretary Donald Rumsfeld to oversee spy operations. Anderson did not return a telephone call to her office.
That story became the basis of at least two Soldier of Fortune articles in the 1990s, which portrayed Idema as a superpatriot, loose cannon and martyr. He blames his current predicament in Afghanistan on the same vendetta, suggesting that FBI officials set him up.

snip
That story became the basis of at least two Soldier of Fortune articles in the 1990s, which portrayed Idema as a superpatriot, loose cannon and martyr. He blames his current predicament in Afghanistan on the same vendetta, suggesting that FBI officials set him up
"There's a lot one may not like about Keith Idema," Tiffany, his attorney, said, "but there's a helluva lot more to like about him. Is he strong-willed? Yes. Is he opinionated? Yes. Is he sometimes his own worst enemy? Absolutely. But he is not a weekend warrior who woke up in his living room one day and went to Afghanistan."

more
http://www.newsobserver.com/news/story/1514203p-7681163c.html

[opihimoimoi]

1. "In 29 seconds this message will selfdestruct. If caught doing what

you gatta do....we don know you ass from a hole in the ground...you got that?"

The spy who got caught but forgot the rules...

[DoYouEverWonder]

2. Sounds like Idema works for Stephen Cambone at DOD

So this story goes to the highest levels of the Pentagon. Idema wasn't just some freelancer, he was a major player for a long time. No wonder Rummie is spending more and more time in his hidey hole.

------------------


Who is Stephen Cambone?

by Peter Ogden
July 20, 2004

The release of the 9/11 Commission report this week Who is Stephen Cambone?

The release of the 9/11 Commission report this week ? and the recent release of the Senate report on intelligence ? are at last providing a clearer picture of the flaws in our system of gathering intelligence. And as the use of intelligence by the Bush administration in the run-up to 9/11 comes under increased scrutiny, we are also learning a great deal about the people behind its collection, interpretation, and dissemination.

A name that we have not frequently heard mentioned, however, is Stephen Cambone. As the nation's first ever undersecretary of defense for intelligence, Cambone wields vast power within the intelligence community; yet, his only qualifications for the post are a fierce loyalty to Donald Rumsfeld and an unshakeable right wing ideology.

The position of undersecretary of defense for intelligence is the newest senior Defense Department position, and its establishment fundamentally alters the structure of the intelligence community as a whole. Devised by Donald Rumsfeld, it places all of the Pentagon's formerly independent intelligence units ? the Defense Intelligence Agency, the National Security Agency, each of the armed services' intelligence divisions, and others ? under the auspices of a single official.

Though without operational authority per se, the undersecretary ? or defense intelligence czar, as the position is known ? wields tremendous power though his mandate to set the intelligence-gathering agenda and oversee budget allocation. According to a memo circulated by Paul Wolfowitz in May, 2003, the OUSD - I will "provide oversight and policy guidance for all DoD intelligence activities? provide policy oversight for all the intelligence organizations within DoD."

http://www.americanprogress.org/site/pp.asp?c=biJRJ8OVF&b=124725

[UpInArms]

3. Cambone is one nasty piece of work

and is tied to the abuse and torture of the prisoners at Abu Ghraib

http://www.newyorker.com/fact/content/?040524fa_fact

The roots of the Abu Ghraib prison scandal lie not in the criminal inclinations of a few Army reservists but in a decision, approved last year by Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld, to expand a highly secret operation, which had been focussed on the hunt for Al Qaeda, to the interrogation of prisoners in Iraq. Rumsfeld’s decision embittered the American intelligence community, damaged the effectiveness of élite combat units, and hurt America’s prospects in the war on terror.

According to interviews with several past and present American intelligence officials, the Pentagon’s operation, known inside the intelligence community by several code words, including Copper Green, encouraged physical coercion and sexual humiliation of Iraqi prisoners in an effort to generate more intelligence about the growing insurgency in Iraq. A senior C.I.A. official, in confirming the details of this account last week, said that the operation stemmed from Rumsfeld’s long-standing desire to wrest control of America’s clandestine and paramilitary operations from the C.I.A.

Rumsfeld, during appearances last week before Congress to testify about Abu Ghraib, was precluded by law from explicitly mentioning highly secret matters in an unclassified session. But he conveyed the message that he was telling the public all that he knew about the story. He said, “Any suggestion that there is not a full, deep awareness of what has happened, and the damage it has done, I think, would be a misunderstanding.” The senior C.I.A. official, asked about Rumsfeld’s testimony and that of Stephen Cambone, his Under-Secretary for Intelligence, said, “Some people think you can bullshit anyone.”

<snip>

One Pentagon official who was deeply involved in the program was Stephen Cambone, who was named Under-Secretary of Defense for Intelligence in March, 2003. The office was new; it was created as part of Rumsfeld’s reorganization of the Pentagon. Cambone was unpopular among military and civilian intelligence bureaucrats in the Pentagon, essentially because he had little experience in running intelligence programs, though in 1998 he had served as staff director for a committee, headed by Rumsfeld, that warned of an emerging ballistic-missile threat to the United States. He was known instead for his closeness to Rumsfeld. “Remember Henry II—‘Who will rid me of this meddlesome priest?’” the senior C.I.A. official said to me, with a laugh, last week. “Whatever Rumsfeld whimsically says, Cambone will do ten times that much.”

Cambone was a strong advocate for war against Iraq. He shared Rumsfeld’s disdain for the analysis and assessments proffered by the C.I.A., viewing them as too cautious, and chafed, as did Rumsfeld, at the C.I.A.’s inability, before the Iraq war, to state conclusively that Saddam Hussein harbored weapons of mass destruction. Cambone’s military assistant, Army Lieutenant General William G. (Jerry) Boykin, was also controversial. Last fall, he generated unwanted headlines after it was reported that, in a speech at an Oregon church, he equated the Muslim world with Satan.

...more...

[seemslikeadream]

4. Thanks for the links

It is a good story.

Crusader confronts a world of trouble
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=735851

Rumsfeld knew all about me, says American 'jailer' held in Kabul
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=701568

Americans Arrested in Kabul Abused Prisoners in Private Jail, Officials Say
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=673337

Afghans Find Secret Prison; 3 Americans Arrested
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=670510

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

Dispatch From Afghanistan
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=704670

U.S. Says It Got Afghan From Vigilantes
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=701944

Kabul 'bounty hunter' accuses US (Rumsfeld)
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=699563

Americans accused of torturing Afghans in private jail go on trial
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=699570

Military admits to contact with freelance soldiers
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=703607

[nodictators]

5. Idema and Cambone: birds of a feather -- Cuckoo species

Isn't convicted-felon Idema just another freelance "Illegal Combatant?" Or, is Rumsfeld authorized to conduct his own military operations in Afghanistan.

And Cambone is a real piece of work. According to an article linked above, he supported space-based weaponry in the early eighties. Yeah, that would be Raygun's X-ray laser, which would have required putting nukes into orbit. Luckily, the scientists couldn't get it to work.

Then, Cambone reportedly detected an "emerging ballistic missile threat." That apparently was used by the PNACers to support their call for putting ABMs everywhere the US has interests. As soon as Bush took the presidency, he began working on killing the ABM treaty.

Of course, there is an emerging ballistic missile threat. The country is China. Apparently, Cambone hasn't detected that threat yet.

[OK_DemX2]

12. Wouldn't the emerging ABM threat be

Smirky's finger on the button???

[emad]

6. From Sunday Times 8 August; Christina Lamb feature

Snips:

"Among the many escapades Idema recounted on long Kabul nights were his key roles in just about every conflict of the past 20 years from Bosnia to Haiti. He also casually let slip that he was suing Steven Spielberg’s company DreamWorks for allegedly basing the hero of one of his movies on him. The 1997 film, The Peacemaker, stars George Clooney as a maverick American colonel who tracks down a Russian smuggling team.".............

and

"His favourite tale was of being involved in operations uncovering “backpack nukes” in Lithuania in 1992. After the collapse of the Soviet Union, weapons-grade nuclear material had been pouring into the hands of international terrorists who were developing a nuclear backpack that could destroy 40 city blocks when detonated. Idema claimed to have gained the confidence of the Lithuanian KGB by outshooting them at the firing range then out-drinking them in the officers’ bar afterwards."...................

and

"Idema’s lawyer, John Tiffany, said he had video evidence, audiotape and e-mails that “go to the highest levels” to prove his claims of being part of a covert anti-terrorist outfit. Robert Fogelnest, lawyer for one of the other two Americans arrested, claimed all three were being made scapegoats to divert attention from the recent uncovering of the abuse of prisoners by American military in Iraq and Afghanistan".......................

and

"Idema’s military records are perhaps the best indication of the truth. They show that he spent three years in the US 10th Special Forces Group as a radio operator until 1978 and then six more years in the reserves. Although some special forces members have been called back from retirement since 9/11, it seems unlikely someone who had not seen active service for so long would be recalled"............

and

"Court records show that he also notched up a string of convictions and charges, including assault and resisting arrest. In 1994 he was convicted in Fayetteville, North Carolina, of wire fraud and faking credit reports to keep alive his sinking company. He spent four years in prison, claiming all the time that the FBI had stitched him up because he had refused to reveal his sources in the Lithuanian KGB."

From:
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1206258_1,00.html

[seemslikeadream]

7. Someone had betrayed him

Then a month ago a strange e-mail was sent out to journalists by the press office of the American-led coalition forces in Kabul. It declared: “US citizen Jonathan, Keith or Jack Idema has allegedly represented himself as an American government and/or military official and the public should be aware that Idema does not represent the American government and we do not employ him.”

Wanted posters began appearing all over Kabul, describing him as “armed and dangerous” and accusing him of “interfering with military ops”.

On July 5, after a drunken punch-up outside the Mustafa, his home was raided. Someone had betrayed him.

But among his strongest critics are serving members of the special forces. They claim plans are already in place for him to be extradited to Fort Bragg and prosecuted.

“We are fed up with all these adventurers,” said one. “No Afghan is going to trust us that we are who we say after this. And if he really is working for the Pentagon, then it looks like he is going to fall on his sword.”
more
http://www.timesonline.co.uk/newspaper/0,,176-1206258_1...

[jmowreader]

8. Keith Idema is fucked in the head

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=news&Story=6497361

and

http://www.fayettevillenc.com/story.php?Template=terrorism&Story=6498752

[seemslikeadream]

9. Could be but there's a lot more to the story than that

see post #4

[seemslikeadream]

10. Stephen Cambone will be testifying before congress

tomorrow. Maybe someone could ask him about Idema?

[daleo]

11. Cambone is one of the PNAC "Rebuilding America's Defenses" signers

A document everyone should read, just to see how crazy warmongers can be.

[seemslikeadream]

13. Dr. Cambone Briefing On The Office Of Programs Analysis And Evaluation

Cambone: Upgrading tanks or fighting vehicles or something like that beyond a certain number. I mean, there will be a certain number required, but where you would've done it to the next new set of -- I don't know -- hundred or thousand or whatever it is -- we don't do that second set. The first set is probably the kind of thing you want to do.

Next slide sort of lays that out. I mean, we did in the QDR -- you've seen this slide before -- ask that we have forces that are able to do all of the missions associated with the strategy, rather than, as we had in the past, said we wanted forces for two MTWs. All the rest we did was included in that. So once you had your five divisions for each contingency; once you had your five aircraft carriers; once you had your -- I forget what the numbers were on airplane squadrons -- we were done. And then if you had to go to Haiti, you just took forces out of one MTW pod or the other, and you sent them.
http://www.dod.mil/transcripts/2002/t09182002_t918camb.html

Thinking of Haiti in Sept. 2002

[seemslikeadream]

14. Jonathan K. Idema -- Heather Anderson -- Stephen Cambone

Accused torturers claim Pentagon support

The Americans didn't testify. But Idema said afterward that the abuse allegations were invented. He also said he was in regular phone and e-mail contact with Pentagon officials "at the highest level".

Speaking to reporters crowding round the dock, Idema named a Pentagon official who allegedly asked the group to go "under contract" - an offer they refused.

"The American authorities absolutely condoned what we did. They absolutely supported what we did," he said.
http://www.theage.com.au/articles/2004/07/22/1090464788496.html?oneclick=true

Idema named a Pentagon official

An interview with Stephen Cambone, undersecretary of defense for intelligence
http://www.defenselink.mil/usdi/camboneinterview.html

Stephen A. Cambone
http://www.disinfopedia.org/wiki.phtml?title=Steven_A._Cambone

Anderson works for Cambone

Lawmakers lash out at security clearance backlog
It is the Pentagon's policy to hire contractors to relieve the security clearance backlog, according to Heather Anderson, the acting director of security for the Office of the Undersecretary of Defense for Intelligence. She said Defense officials were concerned about hiring federal investigators and then having too many staffers on hand when the backlog was reduced.

http://www.govexec.com/dailyfed/0504/050604d1.htm

The Department must have an affiliation with a private citizen before processing them for a personnel security clearance. For employees of DoD contractors, that relationship is established through the execution of a DoD Security Agreement, which is made a part of the contract with the company. Once the company has executed this agreement and is cleared, the company may process current employees or consultants for a background investigation if their duties will require access to classified information.

Approximately 85% of industry applicants are issued an interim clearance. For example, of the 152,059 requests for investigation from industry during FY03, approximately 85% of them were issued an interim clearance. An interim SECRET clearance authorizes access to SECRET information and most contractor employees can perform some functions with access to SECRET information, even if they ultimately require access to information of a higher level.

http://reform.house.gov/UploadedFiles/DOD%20-%20Anderson%20Testimony.pdf


OUTSOURCING WAR CRIMES
SAN DIEGO--It was late fall 2001, and the U.S. conquest of Afghanistan was nearly complete. A passel of foreign war correspondents milled about the lobby of the Hotel Tajikistan, waiting for the Tajik foreign ministry to issue permission papers we needed to pass the checkpoints between Dushanbe and the Afghan border, so we could go on to cover the siege of Kunduz. I popped into the Soviet-vintage hotel's business center to check my email. That's when I met Jonathan Keith "Jack" Idema, the former Special Forces soldier charged on July 5 along with two other Americans for kidnapping and torturing Afghans as part of an unauthorized, vigilante anti-Taliban operation run out of a private home in Kabul.

"U.S. citizen Jonathan K. Idema has allegedly represented himself as an American government and/or military official," the U.S. military said in a statement. "The public should be aware that Idema does not represent the American government and we do not employ him."

That's their current story, anyway.

Agents of the National Security Directorate, Afghanistan's new intelligence agency, say they found eight starved Afghan detainees--three of them hanging by their feet--in Idema's rented house in central Kabul, along with a few AK-47 rifles and blood-soaked clothes. None of Idema's prisoners were working against the Karzai regime, so the NSD plans to release them. Idema, say officials, was probably hoping to torture his victims into telling him the location of Osama bin Laden so he could collect a $25 million bounty.

Idema was nice at first, chatting me up with jittery intensity as he alternately identified himself as belonging to--or, more accurately, implying identification with--the CIA and U.S. Special Forces. Griping about a Pentagon ban against supplying Northern Alliance forces with medical supplies, Idema slipped me a computer disc containing photos of gruesome wounds that had gone untreated because of the inhumane policy. He asked me to pitch a piece on the subject to my editors at The Village Voice, but with a caveat: "Don't publish those photos before talking to me first." I promised that I wouldn't. "If you do," he added, "you will die in great pain." He went on at length about the special shadowy brotherhood of Green Berets past and present, and described how anyone who crossed them would be marked for death. I would never have broken my pledge, but I didn't need a story that badly. I soon left for Afghanistan; so, eventually, did Idema.

Jack Idema, reportedly retired from the Special Forces in 1992, fought alongside the Northern Alliance in 2001. He had enough money to buy goods and services at inflated war zone prices, not to mention references in the U.S. military--and a lot of chutzpah.

Beginning in Afghanistan and now in Iraq, the Bush Administration has assigned jobs previously carried out by the traditional uniformed military to private contractors, covert intelligence officers and retired commandos. The idea is "plausible deniability"; should a character like Idema go too far, the government disavows his crimes as the acts of a renegade. Only Idema and the Pentagon will ever know the truth about his status.

http://story.news.yahoo.com/news?tmpl=story&cid=127&ncid=742&e=7&u=/ucru/20040721/cm_ucru/outsourcingwarcrimes

[seemslikeadream]

15. background

Rumsfeld knew all about me, says American 'jailer' held in Kabul
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
Rumsfeld knew all about me, says American 'jailer' held in Kabul
http://www.democraticunderground.com/discuss/duboard.php?az=show_topic&forum=102&topic_id=701568