Robin Moore's "Hunt For bin laden"

[ScopeScene]

Just finished " The Hunt For bin laden," a great read. Sort of disappointing in the end though since he spends a lot of time on our botched attempts at nabbing bin laden in Tora Bora and elsewhere. But good reporting none the less. For those that have read it, Moore mentions this guy "Jack" a lot. Said to be out of the army, but a former green beret and featured on a CBS story with Dan Rather, the renegade seems to pop up in every hotspot in Afghanistan, doing recon., fighting, saving lives, in close contact with CENTCOM and the pentagon, but with absolutely no formal sponsorship. Who is he working for? Is he contracted by a corporation? Thanks.

[yellowking]

Thanks for not spoiling the ending, I'm still reading it. I hope they get him!! :D

[Duke]

Jack Idema--Contracted by DoD.

[ScopeScene]

i'm assuming you're being sacrastic, yellowking. I didn't mean that I thought we had caught him or something. thanks

[Beloved Shiv]

My copy was due back at the library today - 'guess they'll be missing it until I'm done. Moore's prose doesn't reflect an elegant style, but he certainly has himself been in the thick of critical and emerging world events since Vietnam, when JFK approved Moore attending qualification.

Poignant excerpts from my reading thus far ...

"Sir, with all due respect ...," the sergeant began, "I didn't think we were going into another survival course. I thought the point was to kill these bastards. If it's all the same to you, we'll be leaving our survival kits home bringing more ammo."

'Two Green Berets considered packing samurai swords, telling their team leaders that a few public beheadings of the Taliban might be in order.'

'One night, one of the A-Team's sergeants awoke to urinate. Stepping away from the bodies in sleeping bags and blankets, he moved toward where several of the horses were standing. In the bitter cold, (he) saw one of his newly befriended muj warriors sleeping fitfully on the ground, shaking, while his horse, nearby, had two brand-new blankets on its back. ... (Northern Alliance) were no strangers to personal sacrifice.'

[Beloved Shiv]

D'oh! Of course, change "when JFK" to "following his attendance with JFK's approval".

[Mal3]

'Two Green Berets considered packing samurai swords, telling their team leaders that a few public beheadings of the Taliban might be in order.'

You gotta love how nuts these guys are... I'm glad they're on our side...

[ScopeScene]

While were speaking about the book, how about some of those anecdotes of Geraldo Rivera's reporting in Tora Bora? "The green berets were drawing straws to see who would knock him out," after he exposed SAS and SFOD-D sniper positions! And the guy wasn't fired until recently?!

[Jester23]

#1: In Moore's book, he gives a lot of credit to the "advisor" named "Jack". If you do some research on this guy (aka Keith Idema), you'll find that this guy is a convicted felon with zero ties to SF anymore. You'll find a lot of info written about him on the forums on Specialoperations.com.

#2: Geraldo is a f***ing idiot and he gave away assault plans - not SAS and SFOD sniper positions.

[EliteWolf]

doesnt surprise me that alot of people want heraldo or whatever the **** his name is, dead or left to rot in a 3rd world arab country.

MAL3, id be beheading the **** face peice of **** al quada goat rapers too, do i really got to post some pics of 911. :backhand:

[Mal3]

The best terrorist is a dead terrorist. If they don't surrender I really don't care how they're killed. A katana however is hardly the most efficient weapon if you just want to kill them.

Could some people please lighten up, not everything written is a direct insult, even if it is somehow possible to fit it in that context.

[yellowking]

#1: In Moore's book, he gives a lot of credit to the "advisor" named "Jack". If you do some research on this guy (aka Keith Idema), you'll find that this guy is a convicted felon with zero ties to SF anymore. You'll find a lot of info written about him on the forums on Specialoperations.com.
Well, hell. I wish I'd seen this before I bought the book (I just started it). I figure Robin Moore was pretty tight with the SF and would make a credible source. Guess not. Is the book a total wash, or is it worth finishing?

[hood]

As that "Triathelete" fictional short story that the guy posted the other day, it doesn't have to be 100 percent factual to be a good read.

[ScopeScene]

Finish the book, yellowking, it's definitely worth it, and contrary to some accounts, the book seems pretty credible. Bibliography in back attests to this.

[Mal3]

As that "Triathelete" fictional short story that the guy posted the other day, it doesn't have to be 100 percent factual to be a good read.

Am I the only one that thought it to be slightly homoerotic? :lol:

[yellowking]

As that "Triathelete" fictional short story that the guy posted the other day, it doesn't have to be 100 percent factual to be a good read.
Sure, but I bought it specifically to learn how SF was used today. I thought it would probably be a credible source, plus it's rather timely and topical.


Finish the book, yellowking, it's definitely worth it, and contrary to some accounts, the book seems pretty credible. Bibliography in back attests to this.
Cool.

[yellowking]

#1: In Moore's book, he gives a lot of credit to the "advisor" named "Jack". If you do some research on this guy (aka Keith Idema), you'll find that this guy is a convicted felon with zero ties to SF anymore.
OOC, how certain are you that "Jack" is Idema? Moore actually writes about Idema, and so far (pg. 237) hasn't associated the two. They appear from what I've read to be two seperate people.