American Taliban Fighter in U.S. Custody - Report

Reuters ^ | Sunday December 2 5:42 PM ET | Reuters

[mdittmar]

A 20-year-old American who fought with the Taliban and survived a bloody prison uprising near Mazar-i-Sharif last week has been taken into custody by U.S. special forces troops, Newsweek magazine said on its Web site on Sunday.

A spokesman for U.S. Central Command, which is running the military campaign on Afghanistan , confirmed that a man claiming to be an American was in the control of U.S. military forces.

``Military forces in Afghanistan do have in their control a man who calls himself a U.S. citizen,'' Marine Maj. Brad Lowell, a Central Command spokesman, said.

``He was among the al Qaeda and Taliban prisoners; he was held by the Northern Alliance in Mazar-i-Sharif. He is injured and is being given medical assistance by U.S. forces,'' he told Reuters.

The man, described by Newsweek as ``a white, educated-sounding, apparently middle-class American,'' who identified himself only as Abdul Hamid, was taken into custody on Saturday at a hospital where he had been taken for treatment of minor gunshot and shrapnel wounds.

The special forces soldiers who detained Hamid took him aside for treatment and later left with him, doctors told the magazine. A Northern Alliance military source said the U.S. soldiers had taken Hamid to Mazar-i-Sharif, Newsweek said, adding that U.S. forces refused to comment on his whereabouts.

Hamid told Newsweek earlier he was a Washington, D.C., native but indicated he grew up elsewhere in the United States. He said he converted to Islam at age 16 and later went to Pakistan to study the Koran, Newsweek said.

Hamid said he came into contact with Taliban teachings while studying in Pakistan and traveled to Afghanistan six months ago to help ``because the Taliban are the only government that actually provides Islamic law,'' the magazine reported.

He fought with the Taliban at the siege of Kunduz in northern Afghanistan and surrendered along with hundreds of other fighters after the two sides negotiated a deal.

Hamid later was transferred along with hundreds of other prisoners to Qala-i-Jhangi fortress west of Mazar-i-Sharif, where a revolt ensued a week ago. The uprising was violently put down by U.S. warplanes and Northern Alliance ground forces.

Several hundred prisoners were believed to have been killed. A CIA officer was among those killed in the uprising, the first reported American combat death in Afghanistan.

[cardinal4]

Absolutley,this guy needs to be wrung dry.Im sure he has a lot of stuff to tell.And when hes done,turn him over to the Military Tribunal.

[Gracey]

Anyone remember the young guy who took off for Pakistan, few days after 9.11, AFTER his mother was saved in the WTC by our NYPD, NYFD????

[mdittmar]

"For all you do,this Bud for you!"

Actually, Natural Light,Bud gives me a headache.

[wildconservatism]

Hamid said he came into contact with Taliban teachings while studying in Pakistan and traveled to Afghanistan six months ago to help ``because the Taliban are the only government that actually provides Islamic law,'' the magazine reported.

Actually, six months ago there was no war with the U.S., and 9/11 hadn't happened yet. So he can't have been giving aid to the enemies of the U.S., unless you make it retroactive. Actually, most 20 year olds in this country have no principles, at least this guy has things he believes in.

[Bogie]

#3

Yeah, from Washington DC, grew up in Arkansas, and changed his name when he converted to Islam.

Still not to late to apologize to our good Serb and Greek friends.

[Recovering_Democrat]

make him copy the Constitution a hundred times. then set him up before a military tribunal. If he really is taliban, make him face the same sentence as all other taliban.

[Shermy]

A Northern Alliance soldier makes fun of Saudi-born terror suspect Osama bin Laden has he holds a flyer with his portrait (R) and a portrait of his aide Ayman al-Zawahri while posing for a picture at the Maslakh refugee camp, 10 kms west of Herat in western Afghanistan on November 30.(AFP)[from the Hindustan Times]

[nicmarlo]

Anyone remember the young guy who took off for Pakistan, few days after 9.11, AFTER his mother was saved in the WTC by our NYPD, NYFD????

Yeah, I think there was a thread in here about that, too. And that name sounds familiar to me. I was wondering the same thing, if it's the same guy.

[mdittmar]

Actually, most 20 year olds in this country have no principles, at least this guy has things he believes in.

Say what??

Where did you come up with this info???

[Tree of Liberty]

He was a part of Al Queada on and after 9-11. That makes him responsible for taking up arms against the U.S. Even then, Al Queada had already stricken us several times before then, and still he joined. I just don't see an ex post facto problem here.

[Gracey]

"For all you do,this Bud for you!"

I'll surely DITTO this comment!!! You're the best, TGYC.

[BlessedBeGod]

The man, described by Newsweek as ``a white, educated-sounding, apparently middle-class American,''

Oh. I was wondering where Martin Sheen had gone off to.

[Tree of Liberty]

I guess "trigger discipline" has no translation into Pushtun or Arabic. I haven't seen one pic of an Afgan holding a rifle without his finger on the trigger.

[Hugin]

What a fool. Where will his Taliban brethren be when he becomes the sweet little b!tch of C block?

Nah, his "Muslim brothers" will probably treat him like a hero.

[ABC123]

Nah, his "Muslim brothers" will probably treat him like a hero.
You've got to remember this guy is a "White, middle class" Muslim. He's in for some fun.

[okie01]

"Actually, six months ago there was no war with the U.S., and 9/11 hadn't happened yet. So he can't have been giving aid to the enemies of the U.S., unless you make it retroactive."

Serving in the army of a foreign power which is at war with the U.S. a.) calls for automatic forfeiture of U.S. citizenship and b.) constitutes prima facie evidence of treason.

That's the law!

If he didn't want to be prosecuted, he should have deserted the Taliban at the first opportunity after 9/11.

[A.J.Armitage]

But he stayed on afterwards.

[Bubba_Leroy]

Why is he being differently from any other Al Queada member? Leave him to the tender mercies of the Northern Alliance.

[dennisw]

I don't know why, but I see a movie in this and Brad Pitt playing this guy.