Parents of 'American Taliban' ask Bush to free him

I always wondered what happened to him - no fancy CourtTV trial or nothing. I had a theory that he was a CIA spy or heroin kingpin, and that's how he disappeared out of the limelight immediately afterward. Anyway, he's no OJ.
And he got less time than a common pot dealer. Does that make sense?

My opinion. Enjoy.

I have been accused of being leftist and even a "whack job" by some of my conservative acquaintances.

I say let him rot.

Are the other traitors and treasonists and enemy combatants getting special treatments?

No? (oh, but he was only 20 and he was White!)

Good, let him rot.

mario_c said:

I always wondered what happened to him - no fancy CourtTV trial or nothing. I had a theory that he was a CIA spy or heroin kingpin, and that's how he disappeared out of the limelight immediately afterward. Anyway, he's no OJ.
And he got less time than a common pot dealer. Does that make sense?

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There was no trial because a plea deal was reached.

But, just to be (slightly) devil's advocate, there are some questions concerning just what he actually did, as opposed to his politico/religious beliefs and expressions thereof, and the circumstances under which he was captured, that led to his sentence. Before you jump all over this post, note that I said slightly.

caw

*jumps all over the post*

You're right of course. It doesn't mitigate the severity of what he did, however, and the treasonous activities towards the US are unquestioned. I'd believe that if there had been a trial, whether the jury was leaning more to the right or the left or was dead freaking evenly matched, the youngster's punishment might have been more severe. Something to remember when considering the 'harshness' of his sentence, I think.

mscelina said:

I'd believe that if there had been a trial, whether the jury was leaning more to the right or the left or was dead freaking evenly matched, the youngster's punishment might have been more severe.

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Which is, of course, the reason why he (through advice from his attorneys, no doubt) accepted the plea deal.

caw

And now think it's too harsh and should be mitigated. Damn liberals.



Sorry, rugcat. Couldn't resist. Feel free to thrash me on that one and call it my Christmas present to you. Happy holidays!

Well, look, it's hard to blame Walker Lindh's parents for making a plea for leniency, ya know?

I'd be very surprised if he gets any. Jack Abramoff, Dennis Kozlowski, Bernie Ebbers, Andew Fastow, Bob Ney, Duke Cunningham, Ted Stevens, on the other hand . . .

caw

I agree. I can't blame them. I don't agree with it, but I can't blame them.

Pffffft. That may be their answer, actually. Run for public office and then I bet they can get it done.

I'm not even sure if I'm a liberal by the "traditional" definition (I know I'm not politically conservative, though) but treason is treason is treason. No matter how many people he did or didn't murder, no matter how many guns he did or didn't fire. Still bound by US law.

Sorry. This isn't a "time out" where a five-year-old is sent to his room for ten minutes but comes out after five to apologize to Mommy and negotiate a cookie break.

"Oh, you know those goofy 20-year-olds! Always getting into things and breaking stuff! Ha, ha!"

You know, I really feel for his parents. They have got to be saying to themselves, every night I bet, "Where did we go wrong? What did we do to cause this?"

And, no parent should have to say those things, to themselves or anyone else. They should say things like, "wow, what did we do right with that one? Maybe we should write a book or something? That everyone can have a kid like this!"


Him? Him I don't feel bad for at all. He made his decisions as an adult. And, as an adult he must face the consequences of his actions.

rugcat said:

Because I couldn't help but note that the immediate replies to the OP, which basically said, "hang the bastard," were from the more conservative members of our forum. (Yourself excepted, because of course, you're not a self identified conservative)

And being a stupid 20 yr old who bought into a cult-like religious group like the taliban is not a defense. But neither is he the evil monster he's made out to be. Punishment is appropriate. But he's already served seven years. I think twenty years is an overly harsh sentence, that's all. I'm quite aware, as has been suggested by others, that many think he should have been hanged. I'm just not quite so bloodthirsty.

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Being stupid is no defense.

The prisons are full of criminals who are even younger than he is. They belong to gangs and yet we wouldn't let them out if they had murdered with the idea they were stupid kids. They are dangerous and so is he.

rugcat, the Taliban is not a cult. It is a military faction of extremists yes but they are hardly a cult.


Treason sees no age. He should serve out his sentence and have to be reviewed like all prisoners at the end of his term to be certain he won't continue to be part of those who terrorize and murder.

I think the thing that gets me is the chance he had to tell Spann about the attack, the chance to save his life. Maybe we should ask Spann's wife or kids or parents what they think, let them decide.

He was a kid, I was an idiot at 20. But I am pretty sure I wouldn't have done what he did, under any circumstances.

And maybe the sentence is too long. But not by much, and he agreed to it. When he comes out, he'll have a life - probably get a book deal. Hey, that's why we should hate him, not for being a traitor but for getting a book deal!

That bastard.

whistlelock said:

You know, I really feel for his parents. They have got to be saying to themselves, every night I bet, "Where did we go wrong? What did we do to cause this?"

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They might be saying it to themselves, but what they're telling us is: "Our son did nothing wrong."

Frank Lindh has expended a great deal of energy trying to paint the Taliban as the "good guys" who were protecting the country from the evil Northern Alliance, and his son joined them to protect women and children. Which overlooks the fact that he first went to Kashmir to fight against Hindu Indians, then realized there was more "action" in Afghanistan.

And what's even more ironic is the fact that Frank Lindh had recently come out as a gay man, and if he had gone to visit his Taliban son, he would have been risking being thrown off a cliff, or being crushed by a brick wall that was pushed over on him, which were (are?) the Taliban's favorite ways of dealing with homosexuals.

They watched as he slowly became more and more entranced by the fundamental side of Islam, and from everything I've read, they were happy he'd found something to believe in. Well, he did find something to believe in, and it led him to treasonous behavior and a 20 year jail term. I would hope that his parents are doing a lot of soul-searching, but there's not much evidence of it.

William Haskins said:

actually, he (and his family and friends) will be bound by the son of sam law, and any profits will go to the federal government.

call it a treason tax.

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I just had a peek and it seems that such a provision was included in the actual plea agreement in Lindh's case. Smart prosecutors.

As an aside question, what do yo uthink about those laws extending to writers/ I doubt they do, but is there a moral issue? What if Lindh contacted me and asked me to write his story, should I refuse?

Mr. Lindh has received suitable punishment, as no one (even the SF team who initially captured him and others) could prove he had directly engaged US forces with intent to kill. It does seem quite likely he knew of the escape attempt, and his failure to warn Spann does not warm the cockles of my heart. I find it humorous in the extreme that his sentence could be considered too harsh, but it is likely preferable to having been killed by a JDAM.

I'm all for severe punishment, but sending him a fruitcake? That's just inhumane. Jeez, have a heart.

GITMO would probably be a better place than a cell in a Fed pen if fruitcake is factored in, I agree.

I'm not a huge fan of the little twerp, but isn't there a jurisdiction issue? He didn't actually do any of this stuff in the U.S., did he?

Treason knows no borders.

Cassiopeia said:

Being stupid is no defense.

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Oh yeah? It's defended me any number of times.

caw

I'm not a huge fan of the little twerp, but isn't there a jurisdiction issue? He didn't actually do any of this stuff in the U.S., did he?

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It doesn't have to be committed within US borders to be treason.

They have got to be saying to themselves, every night I bet, "Where did we go wrong? What did we do to cause this?"

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These people are surely to be pitied. In every interview around the time this kid was arrested, though, they both came off as (bloop bloop! stereotype alert!) Marin County nutbars very interested in raising their son to be his unique little snowflake self. They were portrayed as pretty slapworthy, and perhaps that was intentional on the part of the media--we were supposed to conclude that their son joined the Taliban as a desperate attempt to gain some structure and get away from all the tiedye and permissiveness.