John Walker Lindh should have gone to trial...

[L. Kafka]

Lindh shot himself in his sandal by copping a guilty plea. His lawyer should have demand the US Gov to come forth with the evidence that he was a terrorist and took part in hostilities against US forces. The judge involved said the same thing, that the Gov had not presented any concrete evidence against Lindh. I don't have any use for crusaders like Lindh, but I thought him going to trial would make for good...Court TV.

[D.W.]

Oh come on Kafka, is that the best you can do? Don't you think a steady diet of Waffles SS and a daily serving of some putrid Vichyoisse soup would be better punishment?

[Colonel Christian]

Well perhaps so, lets see American citizen in Afghanistan with the Taliban, carrying a weapon. Who did he think the soldiers were in desert uniforms with the American Flag on the shoulder, Boy Scouts after a merit badge?

[sid guttridge]

Was Lindh allegedly Taliban or Al Quaeda?

If he was Taliban then I cannot see that he was a terrorist against the USA.

On the other hand, if he was in Al Quaeda he can have been under few illusions as to its anti-American terrorism and intentions.

Which was he?

[Rohrbach]

In the fall of 2000, Lindh was in Pakistan and he joined a fundamentalist group that was training to fight against Indian forces in Kashmir. Lindh told his interrogators that he became disillusioned with this group. After 24 days of military-style training he left to join the Taliban.

It is said Lindh became affiliated with Al-Qaedah because he did not speak the local dialects in Afghanistan and he ended up with the Arab group. In early June 2001, Lindh began training at Al-Farooq, which was an Al-Qaedah camp. He underwent approximately seven weeks of training. At one point during the period, bin Laden visited the camp. Lindh and four others met with bin Laden and bin Laden thanked them for there devotion to Jihad.

Also during the training, Lindh was offered the opportunity to swear allegiance to Al-Qaedah. He is said to have declined, but he did swear allegiance to Jihad. According to papers filed in the court proceedings by the US government, Lindh was offered in June or July 2001 the chance to travel outside Afghanistan and conduct operations against the US and Israel. Lindh declined in favor of going to the front line to fight against the Northern Alliance.

He was serving in the line against the Northern Alliance when the US bombardment began. Lindh told interrogators that he and a number of other Taliban fighters fled 100 miles to the city of Konduz and was captured there when the garrison fell to Northern Alliance forces.

Despite Col. C's comment, there is no indication that Lindh ever fired upon any US personnel.

Lindh may have trained in an Al-Qaedah camp, but it is not clear that he was a terrorist bent on harming his homeland. When given the opportunity to commit such acts, he declined and went to the front lines to fight the Northern Alliance. If there had been any real evidence against Lindh in this regard, one would think the US government would not have been satisified with a plea bargain agreement in which all counts except two were dropped. Lindh pled guilty to one count of supplying services to the Taliban and a charge for carrying a rifle and two hand grenades while fighting against the US supported Northern Alliance.

[sid guttridge]

Thanks. A good exposition of the situation.

So what it comes down to seems to be: Does merely belonging to an organisation avowedly bent on terrorism against the US make Lindh a terrorist himself.