GANGSTERS & OUTLAWS > COPS & OTHER CHARACTERS

Jonathan Idema: Our Man in Kabul

Putting the "F" in FBI

The way Idema tells the story, he had been receiving alarming reports that rump elements of the Taliban and Al Qaeda, along with some of their allies, were planning a series of attacks on the United States. Idema insisted that he spent months sharing the details he had gleaned with the FBI. "I was working with the bureau on some really sensitive issues...the location of some of the guys who were going to firebomb off on a couple of U.S. targets. The FBI wouldn't move fast enough and was basically stupid...they made mistakes and let them get away time after time...and I got frustrated and said 'F--- you...I'm no longer assisting you guys, and if you want to know what we know, you go to the Department of Defense and let them tell you."

A few days later, Idema boarded a plane to Afghanistan.

Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld

According to John Tiffany, Idema's lawyer, before he left, Idema also faxed a letter detailing the plot to top officials at the Pentagon, including Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld. The letter also allegedly contained what Tiffany described as a potential tip on the whereabouts of Osama bin Laden. Though Tiffany says he can prove that the document was received, there is no indication that anyone at the Pentagon acted on it. So far, the Pentagon has not responded specifically to the letter, but a Pentagon official, speaking to reporters from several news organizations on condition that he not be identified, said in late August that while the Pentagon has received emails from Idema, the Pentagon had sent nothing back to him but "routine responses to queries," and at no point authorized his activities.