When he first returned to Afghanistan, Idema said, his relationship with the U.S. Military and International Security Assistance Force was comparatively cordial. But relations soon frayed, at least in part as a result of their discomfort over his snatch-and-grab tactics.

In fact, by early summer, even Idema was starting to realize that he was becoming a pariah.

chapter continues

advertisement

The U.S. Army, his military alma mater, not only refused to accept any more prisoners from him, but refused to offer him any help at all when their paths crossed, not even fresh water, he said.

At first, Idema chalked the military's lack of cooperation up to pure professional jealousy. "I guess I'm just embarrassing them too much," he quipped. "They've got an entire task force ...with a $300 million budget; they couldn't catch any of these people."

But the military was not the only group causing Idema grief.

In late May, he said, the FBI issued a warrant for his arrest. "They trumped up some bullshit that I entered a military compound with a phony ID," Idema told Stuff. "It's a crock of crap. There's irrefutable proof that it didn't go down the way they said it did." Idema refused to elaborate other than to say, "the Pentagon knows what that proof is."

At about that time, his wife, Viktoria Running-Wolf, began calling him regularly to complain that FBI agents had been visiting the dog-walking business she ran back in the couple's hometown of Fayetteville, N.C.

"My wife walks dogs for a living," Idema seethed to Stuff. "She's a ...dog walker, a beautiful girl, used to be a stockbroker, she gives up everything to go walk dogs and she just walks dogs all day long...she makes a living at it, but barely, you know what I mean? Well, anyway, they started messing with her, interrogating her employees. Where am I? What am I doing?"

The whole ordeal rattled Viktoria. But it really pissed off Idema, so much so that he claimed he had called the FBI and warned them to leave his wife alone.

It wasn't just American officials that Idema had to worry about.

In mid-June, he claims, he and his Task Force were the victims of a surprise attack -- carried out, he suspects, by associates of the same men he had been tracking.

The way Idema tells the story, it was late at night, and he was talking by satellite phone with his wife when a taxi pulled up along side his SUV.

The first burst of automatic weapon fire that raked Idema's truck got his attention.

Idema didn't bother to hang up the phone. He just dropped it on the floor and returned fire. From seven thousand miles away, his wife could hear everything as bullets ripped into the vehicle. The taxi sped off and for the next several hours, Idema and his comrades gave chase. "We were out till like 5 o'clock looking for those guys," Idema told Stuff.

Later, Idema had time to consider the ramifications of the attack. Certainly, he had a grudge against the men who tried to kill him, but that was to be expected; after all, they were the enemy.

But what really galled him was the attitude of the American and Afghan authorities in the aftermath of the attack. "I was in a...firefight in the...street here with Al-Qaeda terrorists, and the (U.S.) ambassador wants to know who...fired the gun," Idema complained to Stuff. "It's crazy. The Afghans are laughing at us. The Afghans are. The Americans are not only going to get their ass kicked, but they're pissing us off too."

It was fast becoming clear, Tiffany later, said that while American and Afghan officials may at first have been willing to listen to Idema's information, vet it and still keep him at arm's length, something significant had changed by June.

That change became evident, he said, when an alert -- including a wanted poster featuring Idema's face -- started to turn up, apparently anonymously, on the computers of some 5,000 subscribers to the United Nation's computer system. It read in part:

"Jonathan Keith Idema, a.k.a. "Jack," is believed to be in Afghanistan...it is possible that he may attempt to enter the U.S. compound. It should be noted that Jack used to be an SF officer. Please pass the picture...to your security guards. But the picture should not be put out for all to see. It is important that if it necessary for security guards to hold onto it that it is kept in a safe and discreet place. If you happen to spot Jack, we, especially in the military would very much like a report of where and when."

email print