There were hundreds of articles written about Jack over the past three years, PRIOR to the arrest of TASK FORCE SABER 7.  Once the American and Afghan counter-terrorist operators were accused by the terrorists of "hanging them upside down" and a variety of other lies, the press just went crazy and started pumping out vermin like a fine oiled propaganda machine.  According to Associated Press, The NY Times, NY Magazine, and so many others, Jack is a fraud and a really phony.

But the press had a different tune years ago.  These are just SOME of the articles written about these guys BEFORE the terrorists made their wild accusations.  All of these articles were either written by Associated Press, UPI, or picked up by them and run around the world for which they made hundreds of thousands of dollars in fees off the blood of American and Afghan soldiers and the misery of the Afghan people.  Not once have we ever heard of a journalist actually dropping their camera and helping someone, the picture and the story is worth too much money- they justify this in their warped minds by claiming they are providing a public service, recording the event for posterity.  The bottom line is that the press does what they have to do to make money, and if that means changing their story and ignoring the factual history, then so be it.

Breaking News- November 27, 2001
Reprinted from the Fayetteville Observer

Fayettevilleís Idema doing 'humanitarian reliefí work in Afghanistan

Keith Idema, a "former" Special Forces soldier who lives in Fayetteville, has been doing what he terms ìhumanitarian reliefî work in Afghanistan for the past few weeks.

Contributed photo Green Beret Keith Idema, left, a former Fort Bragg special operations soldier, sits aboard a Northern Alliance helicopter over Afghanistan.

A National Geographic reporter said that Idema helped save his life a couple of weeks ago. The reporter, Gary Scurka, was on the front lines of the northern alliance when an artillery round came in as he was filming, wounding him with shrapnel.

The incident was caught on videotape and aired on ìNational Geographic Explorer.î What was not on television was Idema  applying the compression bandage that helped keep Scurka from bleeding to death.

"Keith used a combat dressing he had brought,íí Scurka said. "He whipped it right out and stopped the bleeding.íí

[Idema had learned within minutes from a CNN cameraman, that Scuka had been hit on the front lines, and ran more than a mile to the front to medivac him.] Scurka, who is back in Washington working on producing and editing a National Geographic story, was struck by artillery and rocket shrapnel in the knee, upper leg and abdomen.

Afghan work

Idema, who was reached via satellite phone last week in Afghanistan, would not talk about exactly what he was doing.

"I am working to help the northern alliance,íí he said.

He said he arrived in Afghanistan more than a month ago to help build landing zones and drop zones so that airdropped food shipments could reach their targets safely.

A California-based organization, [Afghanistan Relief], is trying to make sure the food remains unspoiled and gets into the hands of starving Afghans, particularly before the start of a usually brutal winter. [Idema says Americans who want to support the northern alliance and their families can donate to Aboul Khalili's Afghan Relief by visiting his web site (www.afghanrelief.com). Khalili, pictured above in black pants, works as a volunteer, giving one hundred percent of the donations he receives to the Afghan people resisting the Taliban.]

The organization describes itself as a "not-for-profit corporationíí dedicated to providing humanitarian assistance and disaster relief worldwide.  [According to Idema, Khalili delivered more food and supplies directly to Aghan refugees in the last two months, than any other NGO.]

Idema said he was also working with other nongovernmental aid groups, like Washington-based Partners International.

One thing Idema would talk about was the needs of anti-Taliban soldiers.

"They don't need arms and guns,íí he said. "At one point some of them only had one gun for every three soldiers. Sometimes a guy would fight for eight hours, gives his gun to the next guy; he fights for eight hours, gives the gun to the next guy.íí

"But now, every time they kill a Taliban, they take his (expletive) gun,íí he added.

What they canít scavenge, he said, is sterile, reliable field dressings, like the one he used on Scurka. Such dressings, he said, can mean the difference between life and death on the battlefield. They can keep soldiers from bleeding to death before the reach an aid station.

"That's what they need,î Idema said. ìThey are desperate for them.íí

He said legalities, bureaucratic foot dragging, and time-wasting by aid agencies have kept bandages and other supplies from getting to soldiers as fast as they are needed.

"They've got no medical gear,íí he said. "They've got nothing. They don't even have Band-Aids.î

Idema

Idema said he will be in the country as long as it takes to rid Afghanistan of the Taliban, and get medical equipment to the Northern Alliance.

"I want to get them bandages first,íí he said. "Then I will work on boots and food.íí

Idema makes it clear that the humanitarian aid organizations he works with and assists only provide aid to non-combatants and that any aid to Northern Alliance soldiers is strictly paid for with his own personal money and non-tax deductible donations from his fellow Special Operations comrades.  In an unusual and unconventional move, Idema has asked his fellow Fort Bragg soldiers to privately donate field dressings and equipment to the northern alliance.  Donations for medical supplies and food for non-combatants can be made to www.afghanrelief.com and donations for Northern Alliance soldiers can be sent to

"Northern Alliance Assistance"
450 Robeson Street,
Fayetteville, NC 28302.

Staff writer J.S. Newton can be reached at 486-3587 or newtonj@fayettevillenc.com He was consulted prior to factual additions being made to his published story.

Copyright 2001 The Fayetteville (N.C.) Observer.

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