just who is the enemy??

jack idema
The Free Jack Idema Blogburst

Regular readers of the Free Jack Idema Blogburst will recall the events last month which resulted in Brent Bennett's forcible removal from Afghanistan. As Brent was being dragged out of the country in handcuffs, Jack Idema was involved in a tense standoff with the fifty-or-so Karzai goons who were trying to move him to a prison away from his (relatively) secure quarters at Pulacharke.

Although Northern Alliance Generals eventually resolved that situation by forcing Karzai's troops to stand down, the number of pro-Taliban, non- Northern Alliance guards working at Pulacharke Prison has been increasing steadily for some time.

This week (though apparently only reported by Cao's Blog and in the Gulf Times) the results of this policy became clear:

KABUL: Three men held at Afghanistan’s main prison on terrorism charges walked out of the high-security facility by pretending to be visitors, while another inmate was found dead, officials said Thursday.
The men who escaped from Pul-i-Charki prison on the outskirts of Kabul on Wednesday were facing sentences ranging from death to 15 years in jail after being convicted of terror offences, officials said on condition of anonymity.
They did not say if the three were linked to the Al Qaeda or Taliban extremist groups active in Afghanistan or give details of the charges.
The interior ministry refused to comment, saying it was trying to collect details.

Now, Pulacharke is Afghanistan's most secure prison. Aside from one illegally-imprisoned U.S. Special Forces soldier, it also houses some of the most brutal and dangerous terrorists captured during the WoT. And yet four such men (the very least of them jailed for fifteen years) simply walked out Pulacharke? Is this really credible? Or is it worth wondering if the presence of large numbers of Taliban-supporting guards at the prison was the real reason behind the ease of the terrorists' escape?

If so, then this is a very worrying development in terms of the Jack Idema story. After all, if the security situation at Pulacharke is now so weighted in favour of pro-Taliban elements that four of the world's most dangerous terrorists can simply stroll out of custody -- If this is the case, then how will Jack fair when the next carefully-orchestrated al-Qaeda 'riot' occurs? In the past, he's been able to count on the support of Northern Alliance guards. How will his new, pro-Taliban jailors react to a terrorist attempt on Jack's life? By fighting to protect him? On the strength of this week's events, that hardly seems likely, does it?

So what can we do? Well, anyone reading this with their own blog can sign up for the weekly Free Jack Idema Blogburst by emailing Cao or Rottweiler Puppy for details. I'd urge everyone to do this, as we're still terribly short on takers. If you want to know more about the story, Cao's Blog has a large section devoted to Jack Idema. There's also a timeline here, and, of course, a huge amount of information is available over at SuperPatriots, without whose work none of us would have learned about Jack's story.




Finally, PLEASE NOTE: The SuperPatriots and Jack images on this site are used with WRITTEN COPYRIGHT PERMISSION and any use by any third party is subject to legal action by SuperPatriots.US

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afghanistan
Technorati Search for Jack Idema

The Free Jack Idema Blogroll:

The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill
The Lone Voice
Kender's Musings
Irate Nate
The Devil's Kitchen
Cao's Blog
Big Dog's Weblog
Theodore's World
NIF
Rottweiler Puppy
Making Headlines
Right For Scotland
Freedom Folks
The City Troll
Sacramento Boxing
Causes of Interest
Concatenation of Events
Hyscience
Stuck On Stupid
The Daily Blogster
You Don't Know Jack
Right Wing Nation

Thanksgiving giving

jack idema
Captain Brent Bennett Responds


Week after week, whenever we email the Free Jack Idema Blogburst to everyone on the Blogroll, we always make sure to stress that Jack and Brent are grateful for the effort people make in posting about their plight.

Of course, we know that Jack and Brent are decent and honourable guys. And, of course, we know they appreciate what we're doing for them.

But. Still. When Brent takes the time, and on Thanksgiving, no less, to leave the following message at RP, we really think his kindness and decency
deserves to be highlighted:

I would like to personally thank you.

What you, your friends, and the rest of the bloggers have done for us (Jack and I), helping us for quite some time now with the Free Jack Idema blogburst, it does not go unnoticed friend. Nowadays it is easier to hurt someone without ever leaving a chair or home, so when others take up for the cause it means more than you could ever imagine.

Of course, there would be no Free Jack Blogburst without all the people who participate in it, week-in, week-out. So huge pats on the back all round, people. Not only are we doing good here, but the good people we're doing it for do appreciate it.

There is, however, a downside to this:

Bennett was interrogated relentlessly, and threatened with death repeatedly shown a knife and told his ears and nose would be cut off. (To date Bennett has lost 8 teeth because of those beatings.) The torture was with the full knowledge and sanction of the FBI who were directing it, using the Afghans as proxies. FBI agents were at some points laughing about it in the hallway.

See, when a man like Captain Bennett thanks us for taking up his and Jack's cause, we really should make an effort to think hard about what it's like to have eight of your teeth bashed-out by a crazed, Islamofascist torturer. That, and the kind of strength it must take to still not break.

So, Brent, as much as we appreciate your thanks, really, it should be the other way around -- We are the ones who should be thanking you.

For standing in harm's way so we don't have to.

For taking the beatings so we don't have to.

And for listening to your own countrymen's laughter at your screams so we don't have to -- What? Pretend that the WoT can be won by smashing in the faces of the rough men who stand in harm's way to fight it?

But enough of politics. Today, of all days, I think everyone who posts on this topic, week after week, would like to say: 'Thank you, Jack and Brent. Stay safe, and have a very Happy Thanksgiving.'

Yea Nina!!

jack idema
The Free Jack Idema Blogburst

After several, tense, weeks, those of us who've been concerned as to the wellbeing of Jack Idema's right-hand man, Brent Bennett, can finally relax a little.

Brent appeared, via sat-phone, on Jack's weekly radio broadcast two days ago. In spite of everything he's been put through, Brent was in good spirits, sharing a joke with Jack about how Nina the dog took a bite out of one of Karzai's creepy, Taliban-sympathising guards. While it's certainly good to hear from Brent after nearly a month of silence, however, he is still forced to remain in hiding, and can only say that he's 'somewhere in the Middle East'. Meanwhile, Jack Idema remains holed-up in Pulacharke Prison, threatened with a move into solitary confinement away from his Northern Alliance guards, and with President Karzai's goons still hovering nearby.


What makes this situation so intolerable, of course, is that both Jack and Brent were found Not Guilty of all charges against them at an appeal way back in February 2005. Here's Tawous Noorzai, Deputy Commander of Jack's block in Pulacharke, writing under oath, explaining why why Jack and Brent are still being criminalised:

I have attended their court hearings and the secret trial that was conducted in the Second Court [Court of Appeals]. I was present during the decision of the Court of Appeals (February 2005 Christian calendar), where all three men were declared innocent by a panel of three Chief Judges and three visiting judges, including the two Religious Judges who called their arrest a terrible crime against justice in Afghanistan. I personally was present in February or March 2005 (Christian calendar), when the Chief Judge, who had just returned from a vacation in America paid for by the American Embassy, said that although they were innocent, he needed to get permission from the US Consul before signing their release order. It was supposed to be done the next day and the judges were to call a press conference and announce their verdict and issue an apology from the Supreme Court. Several days later, I heard the Chief Judge, Ismail Abed, tell Mr. Jack that he could not release them because the American Embassy had "worked behind the curtain" and ordered the Court to stop their release.

Almost two years later, Jack and Brent continue to exist in this state of legal limbo -- one imprisoned, the other hounded into hiding -- on account of a crime that not even the Karzai government or the U.S. State Department believe they committed.

So what can we do? Well, anyone reading this with their own blog can sign up for the weekly Free Jack Idema Blogburst by emailing Cao or Rottweiler Puppy for details. I'd urge everyone to do this, as we're still terribly short on takers. If you want to know more about the story, Cao's Blog has a large section devoted to Jack Idema. There's also a timeline here, and, of course, a huge amount of information is available over at SuperPatriots, without whose work none of us would have learned about Jack's story.

You should also contact somebody.

Finally, PLEASE NOTE: The SuperPatriots and Jack images on this site are used with WRITTEN COPYRIGHT PERMISSION and any use by any third party is subject to legal action by SuperPatriots.US

jack idema
afghanistan
Technorati Search for Jack Idema

The Free Jack Idema Blogroll:

The Pink Flamingo Bar & Grill
The Lone Voice
Kender's Musings
Irate Nate
The Devil's Kitchen
Cao's Blog
Big Dog's Weblog
Theodore's World
NIF
Rottweiler Puppy
Making Headlines
Right For Scotland
Freedom Folks
The City Troll
Sacramento Boxing
Causes of Interest
Concatenation of Events
Hyscience
Stuck On Stupid
The Daily Blogster
You Don't Know Jack
Right Wing Nation