What happened to the soldier who killed his commander in Kuwait with a grenade?

[SherEPunjab]

Originally posted by: Don_Vito

Originally posted by: SherEPunjab

John Walker Lindh is absolutely, 100% as guilty as any ethnic Afghan, Arab, or Pakistani Taliban fighter. He didn't 'aide' the enemy. Where did you get that from? He fought in Kashmir, and in Afghanistan. He converted to Islam, he lived in that region, where did you get that he 'aided' them? He shot, and probably killed people. He wasn't some young, confused midwestern american boy who got lost in Afghanistan.

If the others fried or are locked up in Cuba, his a55 needs to be there. If we can put Pakistanis of British citizenship there, we can put an American.

There is no reason for him to not be receiving the same treatement that they do.

I dunno . . . what are those Taliban fighters "guilty" of? Fighting against an American invasion? I was 100% in support of Operation Enduring Freedom (hell, I served in it! - here I am in front of my deployed office tent - I had to leave on one day's notice so I did not have name tapes or a service badge for my first few weeks in theater), but I can't see how the Taliban fighters were committing any crime by fighting for their country.

By the same token, I tend to see Lindh as an expatriate American, whose actions are no different from those of any person who defects to another country, then fights in their military. I know Air Force members who are Iranian and Saudi nationals who came here and joined our service. If they in turn end up fighting against those countries and are captured as POWs, they will be traitors too. He is technically guilty of being a traitor, but I don't see it as the crime of the century. If I were in charge, I would probably have tried to terminate his citizenship (since he had renounced it), and deport him to the Muslim dictatorship of his choice. Of course, that's easier said than done, and I was not troubled by his prosecution. I would have been troubled by seeing him get the death penalty, however.

Don Vito:

I respect your comments, and your posts on here. I'm really proud to have someone who served on here who has a balanced view. Regarding JWL, he didn't go to Afghanistan just to fight us. He was there before, fighting for the Taliban.

The Taliban originally started as a good idea, they were to be the reformers of Afghanistan, to bring Afghanistan under control and lawlessness that plagued the nation following the Soviet occupation. What ended up happening, however became very scary indeed. Whether the blame can be on Arab, Pakistani, or Afghans themselves is another story altogether -- but what we do know is that these people became to behave in the virtual stoneage manner. There is a definite Wahabbi sort of Islam that they were practicing, which indicates the Arab influence in the Taliban had occurred. Many Afghans themselves didn't like the Arabs living there, and felt that they (and Pakistanis) were using their once great country as a test model for the "ideal Islamic nation." This, went hand in hand with the persecution of religious and ethnic minorities in Afghanistan (Sikhs, Hindus, Christians, Shiites in terms of religion, and Uzbeks, Tajiks, Kazakhs, Hazaras in terms of ethnic persecution). Remember the yellow stars they wanted to put on non Muslim Afghans? The destruction of the ancient Buddhist statues...

John Walker Lindh started his journey out of the U.S. first to Yemen in 1998. In October of 2000, he went to Pakistan and joined the Harakat-Ul-Mujahideen based there. He was an active terrorists in Kashmir around that time, and crossed the border over to Afghanistan around May 2001, when he grouped with the Taliban. Supposedly, he knew of the plots attack the U.S. source: http://www.usdoj.gov/ag/criminalcomplaint1.htm

If it is not sure if he should be tried by our courts (because of the gray issue involved with whether he was actually fighting against us), it is clear that he could be tried by Indian courts, as he was fighting in Kashmir. He was also fighting against the Northern Alliance, however I do not think that they could try him as they are not a nation.

 

[zillafurby]

Originally posted by: TallBill
mmmmmm. unfortunatly I doubt he'll get death. I've read a decent amount about this being in the Army we get decent news on the case (occasionaly).

Remember the US kid that went over to afghanistan (sp?) to join the Taliban. That fugger shoulda been shot as a Traitor. The laws are quite clear, and he was guilty. Sgt. Ackbar should be shot too.


Also - I always get a chuckle thinking what If he joined the Navy and moved up in rank to Admiral.

you remind me of the 'stone him' women in the life of brian. walker lindh went to fight for the TALIBAN against the NORTHERN ALLIANCE, since when did that become treason? i admit he was caught up in the war with america, but he was half brainwashed and half in a position where he couldnt really change his mind. also he got a prison sentence, thats enough.

 

[Don Vito Corleone]

SherEPunjab:

I appreciate your factual and interesting post. Just to be clear, I am the furthest thing from a Taliban apologist, and in fact I have found much of what I have known of them to be shocking and repugnant. I was happy to be a part of taking them down (though I find it ironic that they could never have taken over but for the US support of the mujahadin). I was solely talking about Lindh's actions in a criminal context, rather than addressing the moral component of allying himself with the Taliban.

Lindh's story is interesting, I think, and IMO indicative of a failure by his parents to set proper boundaries. His family is from Marin County (the second wealthiest county in the US, last I checked), and actually paid to send him to Yemen, in spite of the fact that his Arabic teacher in Berkeley discouraged it. I would not try to prevent my 18- or 18-YO child from traveling where he wanted (not sure how I would, even if I wanted to), but I sure as hell would never pay for him to travel to a benighted place like Yemen for an extended period. IMO he was a typically disenfranchised teenager who found something (albeit something rather misguided) to believe in. I don't think it would have served our national interests to execute him.