Jonathan Keith "Jack" Idema (May 30, 1956 – January 21, 2012) was an American con artist, mercenary and former United States Army reserve non-commissioned officer, known for his vigilante activities during the War in Afghanistan.

Formerly a soldier in the U.S. Army Special Forces, Idema never saw combat and left the military in 1984 to form several companies centered around counterterrorism and internal security.

"[10][11] Idema was given an honorable discharge and allowed to join the United States Army Reserve 11th Special Forces Group working to provide logistical support.

[12] In a November 1, 1980 letter of reprimand, Major Paul R. Decker wrote that Idema "consistently displayed an attitude of noncooperation with persons outside his immediate working environment, disregard for authority and gross immaturity characterized by irrationality and a tendency toward violence.

"[21] Idema also owned a company called Special Operations Exposition and Trade Show Inc., which hosted organized conventions for military equipment suppliers.

Over the years, Idema was charged with impersonating an officer, conspiracy, passing bad checks, assault, possession of stolen property, and discharging a firearm into a dwelling.

After his return, he contacted officials from both the United States Department of Defense (DoD) and the Federal Bureau of Investigation (FBI), claiming to have uncovered a conspiracy by the Russian mafia to smuggle nuclear materials out of Lithuania.

[19] Illegal entry into Afghanistan was one of the charges leveled against Idema and two other Americans accompanying him, former soldier Brent Bennett and television journalist Edward Caraballo.

[35] Idema, Scurka, and Greg Long (a member of the Partners International Foundation) traveled to Tashkent, Uzbekistan, where they were arrested for visa problems and held in a cell overnight.

The letter, which was verified as authentic by the director of the Department of State's press office, was dated November 2, 2001, and asked Uzbekistan's Ministry of Foreign Affairs for help in issuing visas to Idema, Gary Scurka, and Greg Long.

[36] Idema then joined the Partners International Foundation at the same time Scurka received a National Geographic assignment to produce a documentary on humanitarian aid work in Afghanistan.

I feel that given the amount of time that he has been allowed to run around telling people he has been working for the U.S. Embassy, Pentagon, Special Ops under cover or the CIA, that he has garnered or bought enough contacts to pose a real threat to not only me and those near me but the over all mission of the United States and the Coalition that is fighting there.

Some supporters suggest that he was a former member of an unspecified covert operations unit, reactivated and positioned in Afghanistan to hunt for Osama bin Laden as part of Alec Station.

[41] It has been recorded that Idema frequently contacted the DoD through the front office of General William G. Boykin in the Pentagon, and that his information was duly acknowledged.

"[43] Idema also received assistance from Yunus Qanuni, former minister, senior Afghan government security advisor, and influential member of the Northern Alliance.

[44] On July 4, 2004, the United States Central Command released a media advisory that read: U.S. citizen Jonathan K. Idema has allegedly represented himself as an American government and/or military official.

On 15 September 2004, a three-judge Afghan panel headed by Judge Abdul Baset Bakhtyari sentenced both Idema and Bennett to a ten-year prison term, while Caraballo received eight years.

Idema refused to leave the prison, first demanding that his passport, personal effects, and documents that he claimed proves his official connection with the U.S. government, be returned to him.

[55] Having obtained through the offices of the U.S. Embassy in Kabul a new passport and money to apply for a visa to India, Idema insisted that his belongings be returned and that a pet dog previously owned by Bennett be allowed to travel with him.

[56][57] Idema also filed another lawsuit against the U.S. government, reaffirming allegations initially made in 2005 that he and his associates had been illegally imprisoned, except now with the additional claim that he had been tortured.

[45][50] While these proceedings were being conducted, Idema said that another reason he had not left was because he feared for his life, ostensibly at the hands of the Afghan government, saying "I could drive through the Policharki [sic] gates right now.

[citation needed] After leaving Afghanistan, Idema moved to Mexico to become a proprietor of Blue Lagoon Boat Tours out of Bacalar, on the Yucatán Peninsula, under the name of "Black Jack".

[20][64] Many believe Idema to be a con artist or impostor, based on his refusal or inability to demonstrate verifiable proof for his claims, on legal records that contradict his assertions about his background, as well as on a prior conviction for mail fraud and a history of criminal activity.

Some have suggested that he may also be delusional in having concocted a fantasy-type personality for himself as a highly trained covert operative combating international terrorism, despite a brief and mostly non-notable military record (which states that Idema was in the Special Forces strictly in a support capacity).

"[6] In the early 1990s, claimed that he had learned the Russian mafia planned to smuggle nuclear weapons out of Russia, that he participated in covert operations in Latin America, and that as a soldier he parachuted out of airplanes accompanied by his bomb-sniffing dog Sarge, who he intended to clone.

[20][64] In 1995, while Idema was awaiting sentencing for fraud charges, he agreed to provide information to CBS News about the nuclear materials smuggling plot he allegedly uncovered.

According to promotional materials, the documentary was to be "the real story of one lone Green Beret's private war against KGB Nuclear Smuggling, Soviet spies, Arab terrorists, and the FBI."

[7][20] Idema and Scurka again worked together as consultants for the 48 Hours story about Colonel George Marecek, a highly decorated Special Forces soldier accused and later convicted of murdering his wife.

The tapes showed men in camouflaged tunics and ski masks storming buildings, practicing drive-by shootings, and attacking golf courses.

[70] Idema made more money from the same tapes when he sold the rights to rebroadcast the Al-Qaeda training camp footage with still pictures to The Boston Globe, MSNBC, NBC, ABC, BBC, and others.