By now you’ve all heard about Gary Brooks Faulkner, the ex-construction worker turned rogue terrorist-hunter who was recently arrested in Pakistan. But while he might be the first person to go after Osama bin Laden with a 40-inch sword, he’s by no means the first to take up a freelance role in the war on terror.
Matt Mihsen, a Syrian-born, naturalized U.S. citizen, set out on the same mission -- kill bin Laden -- in 2005. Ready to board a plane from Detroit to Syria (via Amsterdam), Mihsen was detained by authorities after they found over $13,000 in cash, a Taser, ammunition, pepper spray, a bullet proof vest, and three Geiger counters in his luggage.
Clearly, this was no leisure vacation for Mihsen. As he told authorities at the time of his arrest, he was on the hunt for bin Laden, looking to claim the $25 million dollar bounty set by the U.S. government. He also claimed that he was a registered private investigator, seeking to probe the illegal trade of uranium. The Geiger counters would somehow lure illicit buyers of the radioactive stuff.
Mihsen was later indicted on charges of making false claims to federal officials, attempting to smuggle cash out of the United States, and attempting to smuggle money and goods to Syria without authorization. While neither of his self-appointed missions panned out, in 2006 Mihsen renewed his vows to hunt terrorists.
Before that, a former British Special Air Service soldier named Colin Berry took a more subtle approach to fighting terrorism in Afghanistan. After retiring from the SAS, he started an engineering firm that worked on housing projects in Afghanistan. It was the perfect cover for an intelligence agent, and the MI6 was quick to notice.
Berry claims that in 2002 he was approached by the MI6 to start providing the agency with intelligence information, and he soon started intelligence operations that led him into the mountains of Afghanistan to locate secret al-Qaida roadways used to traffic drugs and arms.
Much like other rogue terror-fighters, Berry’s fate turned sour in a hurry. After being wounded in a shooting at a hotel in Kabul that involved two Afghans and two U.S. Special Forces soldiers, Berry was charged with murdering the two Afghans and was later jailed.
Of course, the man who truly set the precedent for solo counterterror missions is Jonathan Keith "Jack" Idema. The New York native and ex-U.S. Army Special Forces soldier was sentenced, along with two accomplices, to 10 years of prison after being convicted in September 2004 of running a private prison in Afghanistan and torturing Afghan citizens.
Idema first arrived in Afghanistan in November 2001 to do what he claimed was "humanitarian relief" work. During his trial three years later, Idema admitted to running an underground terrorist prison, but earnestly claimed that his operations were approved by U.S. officials.
The Pentagon later acknowledged that they had contact with Idema, but said it rejected his offer to help capture terrorist suspects. In 2007, Idema was granted a pardon by Afghanistan President Hamid Karzai and returned to the United States a few years later.
Judging by a statement made during interviews in late 2001 and 2002, terrorist-hunting was an ideal job for Idema. "That's what I love about Afghanistan -- if you tell someone you are going to kill them, they f**king believe you," Idema told correspondents. Of course, Idema was always quick to point out that he was a true patriot and was always working with U.S. intentions in mind.
Statements like that might sound a little crazy, but does the desire for rogue terrorist-hunting mean a man is psychotic? Mihsen’s neighbors in Texas seemed to think so, telling the Houston Chronicle at the time of his arrest that “he looked kind of wild,” and “I think he’s psycho.”
Fortunately for Faulkner, after a day of psychological testing, Pakistani investigators said that while he does have some psychological problems, "he's not a madman."
-- Zach Gottlieb
Photo: Larimer County, Colorado, Sheriff's Department
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