One of the earliest and strangest figures of the war on terror, the American Muslim convert John Walker Lindh, is appealing for early release. From Reuters:
SAN FRANCISCO (Reuters) – The lawyer for an American sentenced to 20 years in a U.S. prison for fighting with the Taliban in Afghanistan appealed to President Bush to lessen his sentence after a man in a similar case was freed.
John Walker Lindh, 23, dubbed the “American Taliban,” was captured during the Afghanistan war and was sentenced in 2002 under a plea deal.
His lawyer, James Brosnahan, said he had filed an appeal on Tuesday to commute the sentence after a long-held accused enemy combatant, Yaser Hamdi, was scheduled to be freed from the United States to Saudi Arabia on Tuesday.
Hamdi, a U.S. citizen, was also captured in Afghanistan.
“I hope America can find it in her heart to forgive John,” Lindh’s mother told a news conference. “John has admitted he made a mistake when he went to Afghanistan in June 2001 to fight in the civil war between the Taliban and the Northern Alliance.”
Yes, it was all just a mistake that I joined your enemies and the forces of the global jihad. What a faux pas! What a crazy youthful error! Gosh darn it, little Billy put a dent in the fender, and little Johnny joined the Taliban! Surely he shouldn’t serve 20 for taking orders from Osama bin Laden, should he?
I shudder to think what John Walker Lindh would have and could have done if he had not been captured (or killed), and had been sent back to his native country on a mission by his Al-Qaeda handlers. Also, I’d like to know if he still endorses the global jihad, and would fight against the United States again given the chance.