Peter Bergen Strikes Again!

DISCOURAGED FORWARD! Junior Cape Crusaders!

Today once again Junior Cape Crusaders we will again take a look at critical reporting and once again use Peter Bergen as a prime example of how stories gets misconstrued and misrepresented beyond all actual known facts. Please once again follow along using our humble "Groucho" Jack Idema library on the right and side of this weblog and Mr. Obvious, Mr. Contradiction, Mr. Fact and Mr. Research posting regarding the Bergen Rolling Stone piece. We will also note that even our Imprisoned POW Hero Leader "Groucho" General Jack had a Rolling Stone Rebuke ! We can only assume at this point that Mr. Bergen is either a blithering idiot or has an agenda of his own. The facts are the facts! Reality is reality. Yes there are questions. Yes there is stupidity! But does that mean that the USG sanctioned anything that was done? Not at all. It does mean there were some "personal" relationships that got in the way of intelligence and does it mean that stove pipping is alive and well inside the USG? Yes to both and it will always be to some extent but its up to our CT and CI folk to get their acts together! We find it unusual that our imprisoned POW Hero Leader : Groucho" General Jack Idema keeps throwing FBI Agent Gary Rohen's name around. This is the same Rohen that our imprisoned POW Hero Leader : General Groucho" Jack Idema once accused of receiving his US Army Ranger Tab fraudulently. and that is how much of this played our Junior Cape Crusaders... It was all about personal relationships.....

But Junior Cape Crusaders there come a time when a spade needs to be called a spade. And we are calling for Mr. Bergen to do the same thing that we have always maintained even for our Imprisoned POW Hero Leader "Groucho" Jack Idema! PUT UP THE FACTS OR SHUT THE HELL UP! That means you too Jack! PUT UP A COPY OF YOUR DD214 SIGNED BY THE US ARMY INSPECTOR GENERAL'S OFFICE.....OR JUST SHUT UP!

So lets follow the bouncing story.........

CNN LIVE SUNDAY 4:00 PM EST
May 15, 2005 Sunday
TRANSCRIPT: 051503CN.V36
SECTION: NEWS; Domestic
LENGTH: 6628 words
HEADLINE: More Companies Plan To Hire College Grads; Cholesterol Lowering Drugs Found To Help Prevent Cancer; 32 Jacks Pollock Paintings Found In Storage UnitBYLINE: Fredricka Whitfield, Jane Arraf, JJ Ramgerg, Peter Bergen, Holly Gorani, Sanjay Gupta, Careen Winter, Drew Griffin GUESTS: Vikas Khurana, John Challenger.

HIGHLIGHT: Peter Bergen talks about a man who went to Afghanistan to find bin Laden and ended up in jail. College grads, are you worried about getting a job? Do you know what degrees are sought after? And why is it expected that company managers are hiring more college grads than in recent years? Those questions answered when we talk to an employment expert.

BODY:
FREDRICKA WHITFIELD, CNN ANCHOR: Private contractors are playing a significant role in the war on terrorism. But one man's hopes of catching the ultimate prize, Osama bin Laden, landed him in prison in Afghanistan. CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen spoke to Jack Idema, a former U.S. special forces soldier in prison. And Peter also wrote an article that's appearing in "Rolling Stone," May 19 edition, "The Shadow Warrior." Good to see you, Peter.

PETER BERGEN, CNN TERRORISM ANALYST: Thank you, Fredricka.

WHITFIELD: All right. Let's talk about this Jack Idema. Your article is fascinating reading about the unbelievable journey of this man, one man, a former military, U.S. military man, a native New Yorker, seeking revenge for 9/11. A man accused of using his military prowess, so to speak, to be a poser on so many levels and end up in an Afghan jail. Is his story unique, or does it at all represent the role of many Americans taking trying to be a part of the war on terrorism in Afghanistan? (Fascinating reading? I guess Fredricka would find Harry Potter a fascinating non-fictional historical document then?)

BERGEN: I think Jack Idema's story is pretty unique. He's an unusual guy. (No Mr. Bergen he is a FRAUD, who uses people for his own personal gain!)

You know, in Afghanistan now, you have got a lot of U.S. military civilian contractors just as you have in Iraq. In fact, in Iraq there are more American military civilian contractors than there are British troops. So, a lot of the royals that we would have assigned to uniformed services in Iraq and Afghanistan are being handled by civilians. (Guess Bergen has a problem with PMC's and PSC's like this is news!) Jack Idema is a former U.S. special forces soldier who went to Afghanistan on a sort of terrorist hunting mission. (NO Mr. Bergen Jack idema is a Former Special Forces Qualified Soldier who went to Afghanistan for a humanitarian mission and screwed the NGO over!) In my view, in the article I wrote for "Rolling Stone" I think that he was actually finding people who were planning to either assassinate Afghan officials are perhaps mount terrorist bombings in Kabal itself. (You think? You don't know? You got anything that is factual? There is a thing called PROOF? Where is it?)

WHITFIELD: But does he consider himself a contractor or, you know, a man with a single cause? One who was trying to, you know, perhaps catch Osama bin Laden almost single handedly, trying to get that prize of a million dollars?

BERGEN: Well, the prize is now gone up to $50 million. But, no, I mean, Jack appeared on the cover of the book of the "Hunt for bin Laden." A photograph of himself appears on that book. It was a best selling book. Jack Idema supplied a lot of photographs. Certainly, he says that he had intelligence about where bin Laden was located. I checked that intelligence and it doesn't seem to really be the case. However, you ask well he was a civilian contractor or something else? The U.S. military says that Jack Idema doesn't have any direct contacts with them. Based on my investigation, I think that he did have contacts with people in the Pentagon who were aware of what he was doing, and he certainly had contacts with officials in the Afghan government. So the initial statements made by Afghan and American officials when Idema and his two colleagues, Brent Bennett and Abe Carabejo (ph) were arrested in July of last year, that these guys were sort of a rogue operation, I came to be skeptical of all of that. (Bergen this is where the fine line between professor and idiot comes into play! No your not skeptical! Your politically motivated for some strange reason. The facts of this case speak for themselves. Facts either you are not paying attention too. Don't care about or rather bend to your own way of thinking for some strange reason.)

WHITFIELD: So is Jack Idema -- was his contention that the U.S. military was indeed backing -- he said it without saying it, the Pentagon knew that he was there, what he was up to and in a sense that kind of emboldened him to continue on his mission.

BERGEN: Yes. It is this -- Jack Idema's case and his two colleagues that they were operating with the say so of the U.S. government. They did not -- everyone agrees that they did not have a written contract from the U.S. government, they did not have a written authorization from the Afghan government, but certainly they had reason to believe that very senior Afghan officials, for instance, the Afghan Education Minister, believed that they were stopping terrorist plots against Afghan cabinet officials. They actually had Afghan Ministry of Defense people working with them. One of them was a major.So, the reason I wrote the story is that a lot of what was said initially about Jack Idema, who has had a checkered past -- he was convicted of a federal case of fraud in the mid-90s -- a lot of what was said initially I don't think really measured up. I think Jack Idema and his two colleagues were tracking terrorists in Kabul. They did think that they were operating with some kind of U.S. government say so. And also, they had every reason to believe that the high levels of the Afghan government... (Mr. Bergen do you have ANY DAM PROOF? Just one piece? Just One Piece?" They had reason to believe that they were working for the Governments? Mr. Bergan SHAME ON YOU!)

WHITFIELD: So then quickly explain how it is he found himself in an Afghan jail? And what is his fate now?

BERGEN: Right now, they were sentenced to ten years -- up to ten years each. Those sentences have been reduced to five, three and two years. They were accused of running a private jail. Torturing their prisoners. And, these were the charges.They're in Policharchy (ph) Prison, which is one of the world's most unpleasant prisons. You wouldn't wish that fate on your world's worst enemy. And they are appealing their cases to the Afghan supreme court. So, the story continues.

WHITFIELD: Wow. All right. CNN terrorism analyst Peter Bergen, it's fascinating reading in "Rolling Stone" magazine "The Shadow Warrior." Thanks so much. And good to talk to you. (There is that word again fascinating .....)

BERGEN: Thank you.

Note to Peter Bergen.... Your in for a few shockers here Pete. We know of at least two books that are being worked on that include our Imprisoned POW Hero Leader "Groucho" General Jack. So please standby Pete so you can be shot down just like Newsweek was. Check those sources Mr. Bergen and you will find a rat! Besides we not only question your motives but we question your honesty and objectiveness in this story. Seems to us that there is a hell of a lot more going on here than just a story. Could it be your strange political ideology?

Reality is reality and facts are always a killer Mr. Bergen and Mr. Kavanau....

DISCOURAGED FORWARD!