the_taliban_shuffle_-_kim_barker

simply lming a documentary on the hunt for Al-Qaeda. The United
States denied any connection to the men, other than admitting they
were private American citizens. The trial was hardly fair, the translation
atrocious, and Idema kept interrupting with various outbursts. At one
point, the lawyer for the cameraman asked the prosecutor, “Can you
handle the truth?” On the day of sentencing, in September 2004, Idema
wore his traditional black sunglasses and khaki outt and smoked
cigarettes near the judge. When told he could not testify because he was
not Muslim, Idema demanded to be sworn in on the Holy Quran, which
he then kissed. The audience, mainly Afghans, including those Idema
had once locked up, applauded and cheered. One former prisoner
jumped up, punched his st in the air, and launched an impromptu
audience cheer of “God is great!”
In his testimony, Idema described a world of spies and intrigue, of
good guys and bad ones. He talked about his missions, of his eorts to
deliver a “package,” which was “tradecraft” for a “high-value target.”
His passport was issued by a “special agency in Washington,” which he
could not name. One video featured a blacked-out person, whose face
could not be shown for “national security reasons.” After the men were
sentenced, to as long as ten years, Idema suggested he might kill a
couple of people before any appeal and mentioned a “bloodbath.”
Since then, the Americans had been held at the Pul-i-Charkhi prison,
a sprawling concrete-and-brick complex outside of Kabul, scarred by
bullets and rockets and lled with two thousand inmates, including Al-
Qaeda and Taliban insurgents and drug dealers. The Americans’
sentences had already been drastically cut, and they were nearing
freedom. But jail had taken a toll on one man. The journalist had
attacked guards, converted to Islam, and adopted the name Najib,
guards said. He lived in his own cell. Idema, the other American, and
their translator lived a comparatively posh life. They had a wing of the
prison to themselves, which was furnished with red Oriental carpets
and hand-carved sofas—a similarly sized prison wing across the hall
held ve hundred and fty inmates. The men also had cell phones,
computer access, and frequent contact with whoever ran a website
called superpatriots.us. The site supported the men’s mission, featured
pictures of them inside their “cell,” and at one point quoted Idema as
saying that he could drink alcohol and had “a laptop, a phone, private