If you’re looking for pieces on Jack Idema and his team, please click on this link.

Well, we’ve talked about a whole lot of issues in the Idema case so far. The FBI’s involvement, the State Department’s involvement, and on and on.

Now I’d like to get to C-BS.

In April, 2004, Idema’s counter-terrorist team was back in Afghanistan working closely with the U.S. and the Afghan military and intelligence activities. All of Idema’s team members were officially employed by the Ministry of Defense or Afghan CIA, except one, Ed Caraballo, the Emmy-award winning journalist who’d worked for CBS, ABC, NBC and CNN and was working as an embedded journalist to document the activities of Task Force Saber 7 with DOD approval.

In 2004, Rather and CBS discussed an Al Qaeda story set in Afghanistan, and Idema stayed in touch with CBS and Andaya from Afghanistan in a continuing attempt to resolve their contract disputes.

Andaya asked Idema what he was “working on” now that he was back in Afghanistan. In May and June of 2004, Idema and Andaya, along with other CBS employees, discussed various stories regarding Al Qaeda terrorists in Afghanistan, the Taliban infiltration of the new government, and the ineffectiveness of conventional military operations against the growing terrorist resistance and attacks.

CBS discussed these story ideas and explored the potential for stories that showed the American War on Terror in a favorable light instead of the negative stories of Abu Ghraib. Andrew Heyward was keen on these stories, and Idema and Counterr were still willing to work with CBS if CBS settled their dispute over the 8mm VideoX Tapes with the appropriate payment of damages and licensing fees.

In June of 2004, CBS wanted to license counter-terrorist footage taken by Caraballo. Although he was under contract by another network, Caraballo was on the operation with DOD approval and Counterr Group owned the rights to the footage. Counterr Group required any footage which aired on any network to be vetted and approved by the DOD, especially if the footage contained images of Task Force 180 operators. Therefore, Caraballo directed CBS to discuss the issue with Idema.

So, in mid-June 2004, CBS with the approval of Andrew Heyward, sent the acting American chief of the CBS office in Kabul to meet with Idema. The Afghan CBS Bureau Chief also met Idema at the Counter-Terrorist Group-Task Force Saber compound in Kabul. Idema allowed CBS’ bureau chief to enter the SABER 7 compound, including restricted areas where al Qaeda terrorists were being held. The meeting with CBS was to discuss the airing of a special broadcast on Al Qaeda plots to bomb US soldiers at Bagram Air Base and assasinate pro-American Afghan officials, by allowing CBS access to the terrorists being held.

CBS also wanted to confirm a report that Idema and his team had captured the brother-in-law of bin Laden’s chief of security and the terrorists responsible for the murder of Canadian ISAF Corporation Jamie Brendan Murphy. Corporal Murphy had been murdered in a bombing on Darlaman Road in Kabul on January 27, 2004. Once CBS confirmed this, they saw it as an important story in the war against terror.

Idema told CBS that approval for the story would have to be obtained from the Department of Defense before Idema could discuss his relationship with Bragram or Task Force 180. Idema told CBS that any story should focus on the United Front Military Forces’ continued efforts to combat al Qaeda and why Massoud’s UFMF needed continued American support in their counter-terrorist operations.

CBS’ bureau chief, with the approval of CBS News president Andrew Heyward and others, was inside Saber 7’s Kabul compound during the time when numerous Al Qaeda and Hezb-i-Islami terrorists were in custody and awaiting transfer to the U.S. Army’s Task Force 180 at Bagram by Idema’s Task Force Saber.

Additionally, CBS’ Michael Brandenburg was at the compound on numerous occasions, and witnessed the interrogation of Al Qaeda terrorists at the compound. Idema allowed CBS’ represenatives to watch the interrogation of Corporal Murphy’s killers, and view each of the terrorists in custody. Brandenburg wass also allowed to speak directly with the brother-inlaw of Bin Laden’s Chief of Security, who was cooperating fully and willingly. CBS employees saw the methods of interrogation, the physical condition of the terrorists, and the conditions of their detention, and knew that no torture was occurring.

There is a vast difference in the terrorist interrogations done by Idema and the experienced intelligence agents working with him as compared to the young party animals at Abu Ghraib and other locations. CBS’ Bureau Chief said Heyward wanted to compare Idema’s effective interrogation techniques with the poor techniques used at Abu Ghraib. CBS said they wanted to show how co-opting a terrorist accomplished more than humiliation by untrained interrogators. Idema allowed CBS to transmit interrogation video back to the US from the CBS Kabul office.

On July 5, 2004, only a few hours after Michael Brandenburg last left the Task Force Saber compound, Idema was arrested by anti-UFMF forces, at the request of Interior Minister Ahmad Ali Jalali, a U.S. citizen. Idema and his team were falsely accused by Ahmad Ali Jalali of “running a torture chamber”, “torturing innocent Afghans”, and other illegal conduct. Three other false claims by Jalali were that Idema had “innocent Afghans hung from the ceiling in his basement”, that the terrorists were being “abused, tortured, and starved”, and that Idema and his men were simply “rounding up innocent Muslims with long beards” (only 3 of 11 had long beards).

CBS and other news networks reported Jalali’s false and fabricated claims and similar false allegations by Jalali’s spokesman, Lutfullah Mashal. Ahmad Ali Jalali was a former Voice of America radio news translator in Washington, D.C. Jalali, a vehemently anti-UFMF (Northern Alliance) Pashtun from the south, is alleged to have had a prior relationship with CBS News and FOX News. CBS News had also worked with Lutfullah Mashal in the past. Mashal was a former translator for journalists during the 2001/2002 war and had close connections with the Taliban. Idema had warned both CBS and FOX News about Mashal’ Taliban connections in 2001 and 2002, yet they still employed Mashal and worked with him during that time.

In 2003, Jalali left his job as “journalist” and was appointed Minister of Interior for Afghanistan, thereafter appointing Lutfullah Mashal as his Ministry of Interior spokesman. Jalali and Mashal continued to maintain a close relationship with CBS News, including CBS Radio News, but primarily FOX News.

In spite of the fact that CBS knew the allegations by Jalali and Mashal were completely false, CBS still reported these false claims. CBS had pictures, video, and documents disproving the criminal allegations by Jalali and Mashal, yet withheld this information from their reporting. As an example, the CBS Bureau Chief had been throughout the house, and thus was completely aware that there was NO basement-so therefore, any claims that terrorists “were hanging from the ceiling in a basement” or “by their feet in the basement” were made negligently and with reckless disregard of the truth. CBS also had eyewitness video evidence directly refuting the charges that ANY terrorists were hanging from the ceiling. Furthermore, CBS should have had either actual complete disbelief or serious doubts that any torture had been conducted at Idema’s compound. CBS had seen Idema’s questioning techniques and level of terrorist cooperation and was aware there was no torture being conducted. CBS also had knowledge that these “innocent Afghans” were in fact terrorists. CBS had videotapes in their possession that confirmed, among other things, that a) the detainees were terrorists b) there was no torture, c) Idema and his men were innocent of the false charges alleged by Jalali and Mashal.

However. When the story broke after July 6, 2004, CBS withheld all of this information and continued to falsely report the same story that other news agencies were reporting. CBS published those false statements about Idema negligently and with a reckless disregard for the truth. CBS withheld exculpatory evidence which would have helped Idema and his men who had been falsely accused by Jalali and Mashal. CBS executives met and decided that the “Jalali version”, regardless of how disingenuous it was, was in line with CBS’ Abu Ghraib reporting and therefore was a “better” story for CBS.

CBS specifically prevented CBS Radio News from airing information they’d obtained from the Kabul bureau chief because it would have revealed that CBS was present at the compound while the terrorists were there, and that would have implicated CBS in what could have been another ’scandalous story’.

This withholding of information and knowingly false reporting by CBS caused other news agencies to rely on false information and anonymous sources instead of facts and conceal the identity of those sources so they could not be refuted or disputed. CBS’ primary anonymous source was Mashal, who Carlotta Gall at the NY Times described as the most unreliable source in Afghanistan and who Gall stated had “repeatedly lied” to her. Mashal’s unreliability was widespread knowlege and CBS not only knew Mashal was an unreliable source, but were in possession of actual evidence completely contradicting Mashal’s statements to CBS.

Because CBS employees had been present at the compound of Task Force Saber, CBS knew that Jalali and Mashal’s statements about the conditions there were false. They were there for terrorist interrogations, and saw each of the terrorists in custody and the ocnditions the terrorists were subjected to. Yet, CBS falsely reported the story and published statements they knew were false, misleading, etc., etc..

When CBS reporter Laura Winter brought this to CBS’ attention, CBS not only ignored it, but began pressuring Winter. CBS ordered Winter not to report the presence of CBS employees at Task Force Saber’s compound or what those CBS employees had seen.

Tod Robberson, at the Dallas Morning News, called CBS and made false allegations about Winter and Idema. CBS used this as an excuse to fire Winter from CBS Radio and prevent her from reporting what had really occurred at Task Force Saber Compound. With Winter fired and out of the way, CBS continued to discredit Idema and his team.

According to one source, CBS discussed the benefits of the false story. With Idema in a third-world Afghan prison, unable to access attorneys, CBS would be free to broadcast the VideoX Tapes in violation of their contracts with impunity, and conceal CBS’ knowledge of the events at the SABER 7 compound.

By falsely reporting events in the Afghan case against Idema and his team, CBS stood to profit immensely. The 8mm VideoX Tapes were of great value to all the networks, especially to CBS who was falling behind FOX News in their news coverage of the wars in Iraq and AFghanistan. Any network’s ability to usurp dominion and control over the 8mm VideoX al Qaeda Tapes was an is paramount ot increasing their ratings and possibly marketshare, based on powerful and moving images of Al Qaeda terrorists then and now.

CBS had an ethical and legal responsibility to provide exculpatory evidence to the authorities under CBS’ mandatory news reporting guidelines, entitled “CBS NEWS STANDARDS” and signed into mandatory practices for all CBS employees in February 1999 by CBS News president Andrew Heyward. Those guidelines, discuss providing information to law enforcement authorities on pages II-5:

“However there may be cases where overriding consideration dictate that we give this information [discovered during the course of news gathering] to an appropriate law-enforcement agency. Therefore, all such information about crimes or potential crimes should be brought immediately to the attention of the CBS Law Department and to CBS News management.”

You would think, that CBS therefore had the duty and responsibility to disclose the information that they withheld from the Afghan government authorities in the Idema case in Afghanistan, and to include this information in each and every one of their news reports about idema’s Afghan case on CBS News, CBS Radio and CBS’ website.

CBS acted wrongfully. They knowingly and willingly engaged in defamation, libel, slander, and libel per se by negligently and recklessly republishing false statements that they knew were false–by Mashal, Jalali, terrorists and others, which CBS knew firsthand were FALSE.

What has happened to Mashal and Jalali since all of this came down? They are no longer in their positions…they “resigned” after being accused of illegal activities, poor security, and links to terrorism and Pakistani Intelligence Agencies. Spokesman Lutfullah Mashal, a former Taliban-linked journalist, and spokesman for Jalali was the man that said terrorists were found hanging upside down and tortured in the Task Force Saber Compound. No evidence has ever been shown to support this, and it is now widely acknowledged that it NEVER happened. Massoud’s Northern Alliance Corps Commanders called for the arrest and prosecution of Mashal for falsely reporting the incident to the international press and called for apologies to Idema and Team. It is now official, the Parliament elections are over and so are Jalali and Mashal. Both are US citizens.

Jalali retained his US passport in conflict with Afghan law, and is alleged to still be an employee of the US government and on the US government payroll. He was allowed to return to the United States, but was told he would be arrested if he returns to Afghanistan. Jalali is now known to have had phone conversations with BOTH Cafasso and Col. Robert C. Morris prior to Idema’s arrest. Morris was indicted by a Texas Grand Jury for stealing government property and money from the US Army. And Cafasso is well known as “At Fox News: The Colonel who Wasn’t“.

By the way, Col. Morris came over here and commented in my comment section, claiming he was a “Christian” and made some goofy appeal to me–”Christian-to-Christian”. Morris said he wants to be “left out” of this. Well that would be pretty simple if he wasn’t involved. But he knows as well as I do that he’s deeply involved in this, so as far as I’m concerned, what goes around comes around. When I’ve put together the entire picture, you can be sure it will go up on this blog. There are many very interesting people coming out of the woodwork who would like to see justice served in this case…and that means outing and exposing all the lying scumbags who are involved.

Mashal fled Kabul and is believed to be hiding somewhere in Kandahar. Lutfullah Mashal rounds out the team as a former translator and fixer for journalists during the 2001/2002 war who used to deliver bribes to Taliban officials for FOX News. Guess who his supervisor was? The lying fraud Joe Cafasso, the phony Colonel who was fired from FOX News after he was exposed by the NY Times as a fraud who had been in the Army for only 44 days.

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