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'American Taliban' Father Urges Clemency
Yahoo News (AP) ^ | 1/19/06 | MARTHA MENDOZA

Posted on 01/19/2006 2:52:23 PM PST by madprof98

After years of silence, the father of American-born Taliban soldier John Walker Lindh said Thursday he has asked President Bush to grant his son clemency, adding that the then teenager never raised arms against the United States.

"In simple terms, this is the story of a decent and honorable young man embarked on a spiritual quest," said Frank Lindh, swallowing back tears at times during a speech at the Commonwealth Club, a nonprofit organization.

John Walker Lindh, now 24, was captured by American forces on Nov. 21, 2001, alongside the Taliban. Frank Lindh said his son thought he had been rescued by U.S. soldiers until he was taken into custody and tortured.

Charged with conspiring to kill Americans and supporting terrorists, the younger Lindh avoided a potential life sentence in 2002 by pleading guilty to lesser charges of supplying services to the Taliban in violation of U.S. economic sanctions and of carrying weapons against U.S. forces.

Last year John Walker Lindh asked President Bush for a reduction in his 20-year sentence, repeating a September 2004 request the government rejected.

Until now, his parents have mostly maintained a public silence about the case, hoping to avoid a media barrage that could be detrimental to their son. But on Thursday Frank Lindh shared baby pictures and other photos of his son during the presentation and said he is proud of his child.

Lindh said he decided to break his silence because he hoped the story of his boy's journey from bucolic Marin County to harsh Afghanistan battlefields will help gain him a reprieve.


TOPICS: Culture/Society
KEYWORDS: franklindh; gwot; jihadinamerica; jihadjohnny; johnwalkerlindh; lindh
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To: madprof98

I think the "dad" belongs in jail with the "son"...


61 posted on 01/19/2006 6:17:39 PM PST by Prost1 (Sandy Berger can steal, Clinton can cheat, but Bush can't listen!)
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To: minus_273

A friend of mine's daughter is a guard at his prison. Supposedly he got his butt kicked at least once by one of the prisoners. I don't want him to ever get out.


62 posted on 01/19/2006 6:40:48 PM PST by stumpy
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To: madprof98

It's funny how "torture" was never brought up before, my guess is that this guy is being coached by the MoveOn.org - Cindy Sheehan crowd.


63 posted on 01/19/2006 6:42:26 PM PST by wagglebee ("We are ready for the greatest achievements in the history of freedom." -- President Bush, 1/20/05)
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To: Prost1
Actually, you want to see a liberal reveal his real spots? Tell Dad that he can take the boys place for any number of the 20 years, all 20 or just a couple of days. Me thinks he would choose zero, because he is a coward, a narcissist, a heathen, and devoid of any principle -- in a word, A LIBERAL. His son is the spawn of a liberal. They both deserve dirt naps, buried naked and face-down so their kind can pay the proper last respects. Just MHO.
64 posted on 01/19/2006 6:50:42 PM PST by Harrius Magnus (Joseph P. Kennedy thought that involuntarily lobotomizing a 23-year-old was good parenting technique)
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To: bkepley
I could see Bush pardoning him on leaving office. I don't know if there's any evidence that he fired on US troops.

He went over to Afghanistan when it wasn't at war with us, and he didn't go there to join up with terrorists. Even up to a few months before we invaded, our government had still not given up on negotiating with the Taliban to hand over Bin Laden. Circumstances caught young Lindh before he regained his common sense, which many youths do after extremely stupid behavior. Unfortunately, his father is not helping him any with talk of torture. Like other felons who want to make amends, young Lindh should offer his experience to help the authorities capture or prevent others like him, in this case on how Islamic extremists think and how they brainwash others. If he is truly repentant, then he would merit early release.
65 posted on 01/19/2006 6:56:44 PM PST by kenavi ("Remember, your fathers sacrificed themselves without need of a messianic complex." Ariel Sharon)
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To: bkepley
I could see Bush pardoning him on leaving office. I don't know if there's any evidence that he fired on US troops.

He went over to Afghanistan when it wasn't at war with us, and he didn't go there to join up with terrorists. Even up to a few months before we invaded, our government had still not given up on negotiating with the Taliban to hand over Bin Laden. Circumstances caught young Lindh before he regained his common sense, which many youths do after extremely stupid behavior. Unfortunately, his father is not helping him any with talk of torture. Like other felons who want to make amends, young Lindh should offer his experience to help the authorities capture or prevent others like him, in this case on how Islamic extremists think and how they brainwash others. If he is truly repentant, then he would merit early release.
66 posted on 01/19/2006 6:57:02 PM PST by kenavi ("Remember, your fathers sacrificed themselves without need of a messianic complex." Ariel Sharon)
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To: stumpy

that story just made my day


67 posted on 01/19/2006 6:58:04 PM PST by minus_273
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To: stumpy

that story just made my day


68 posted on 01/19/2006 6:58:09 PM PST by minus_273
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To: McGruff; leadpenny; YaYa123; Bahbah; malia; meema; Txsleuth

This SOB wants out of prison, he should have had a bullet put in his head. You have saved us some money!!!!

I'm over tired, got to go to bed.


69 posted on 01/19/2006 6:59:57 PM PST by Springman
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To: McGruff; leadpenny; YaYa123; Bahbah; malia; meema; Txsleuth

This SOB wants out of prison, he should have had a bullet put in his head. You have saved us some money!!!!

I'm over tired, got to go to bed.


70 posted on 01/19/2006 7:00:23 PM PST by Springman
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To: madprof98
swallowing back tears

How does one do that?

71 posted on 01/19/2006 7:01:37 PM PST by InvisibleChurch (The search for someone to blame is always successful. - Robert Half)
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To: McGruff; leadpenny; YaYa123; Bahbah; malia; meema; Txsleuth

This SOB wants out of prison, he should have had a bullet put in his head. You have saved us some money!!!!

I'm over tired, got to go to bed.


72 posted on 01/19/2006 7:01:39 PM PST by Springman
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To: madprof98

Oh, for Ghu's sake, I can understand the impulse to defend your own flesh and blood no matter what, but don't give us this "decent and honorable" twaddle.


73 posted on 01/19/2006 7:03:39 PM PST by steve-b (A desire not to butt into other people's business is eighty percent of all human wisdom)
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To: madprof98

the son of a bitch plead guilty to aiding the enemy and taking up arms against his own countrymen. let the bastard rat boy rot in prison forever and feel lucky for it.


74 posted on 01/19/2006 10:13:54 PM PST by GodfearingTexan
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To: bkepley

piss on him. he's a traitor, black and white. let him rot. if the fag dad had been more normal he might not have turned out this way, so the father is reaping what he had sown. but watch, this morally bankrupt father will soon start getting more and more bold in his protests about his son being incarcerated. and everywhere he goes he will get a small crowd of supporters to rally behind him. eventually, the little bastard will be released one way or another if he's not killed in prison. they ought to be happy the SOB wasn't shot on the spot by whatever US forces were first to happen upon him and recognize that he was American.


75 posted on 01/19/2006 10:20:00 PM PST by GodfearingTexan
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To: madprof98

http://www.commonwealthclub.org/about.html


76 posted on 01/19/2006 10:22:57 PM PST by Mogengator
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To: Chode
"Frank Lindh said his son thought he had been rescued by U.S. soldiers"

he should feel lucky. He could have been drawn and quartered by the Northern Alliance.

He also was interrogated by Spann. He was tight lipped as could be. Maybe he was expecting a lawyer, lol?

77 posted on 01/19/2006 10:34:33 PM PST by endthematrix (None dare call it ISLAMOFACISM!)
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To: geezerwheezer
Blow it out your ear you yellow-bellied sapsucker!

Uh, if you remember the history of Frank Lindh and Johnny Walker Lindh, you may recall it was not his own ear that the father, Frank blew, and it was not sap that he sucked.

I cannot help but think the father deep down blames his homosexuality for driving his son to radical Islam.

However, being the good liberal, I'm sure Frank is thankful every day his son only went to a wahabi madrassa in Pakinstan to find religion, and not the local fundamentalist christian church.

Little Johnny only wants to kill infidels, it's not like he wanted abortion to be illegal or was campaigning for Republican candidates.

FYI, "daddy" was at University of Pennsyvania as well: http://www.upenn.edu/pennnews/article.php?id=897

Here is a comment from the site:

"John did nothing harmful or disloyal to his native country by briefly serving as a soldier in the national army of Afghanistan, and he never committed any act of a criminal nature."

National Army of Afghanistan? The man is delusional! Johnny was part of an group of foreign arab fighters (NOTE: Afghans are not arabs). The foreign arab fighters were organized by Al Qaeda. The man is in complete denial.

78 posted on 01/20/2006 5:48:31 AM PST by magellan ( by)
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To: endthematrix
if that worthless POS had opened his mouth to Spann... he'd of been removed from there and Spann would prolly of gone with him as his escort and hence still be alive!!! i hold him DIRCETLY responsible for Spann's death.
79 posted on 01/20/2006 7:57:41 AM PST by Chode (American Hedonist ©®)
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To: madprof98
What did Frank Lindh think of his son's decision to pursue these studies? "It's a wonderful thing for an American kid to go overseas and study, to learn another language, to learn another religion, these are great things," he said.

His father is a homosexual fool, and is spiritually blind. Studying radical Islam was a "great thing?"

His parents are Marin County hot tub liberals, and their lack of morality and values was passed on to their son. He became what they raised.

You and your son deserver to reap what you sow.


80 posted on 01/20/2006 11:12:38 AM PST by SkyPilot
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