Posted on 12/02/2001 2:09:35 PM PST by 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.
Probably not worth doing for a smally fry like him, especially since such an argument might well fail in court.
SOURCE: Armedforcescareers.com
Interest in Military Recruiting Increases Dramatically, Reports Armedforcescareers.com
ATLANTA, Sept. 14 /PRNewswire/ -- Due to the tragic events Tuesday in Washington DC and New York, Armedforcescareers.com has reported dramatic increases in prospects seeking information on the Army, Navy, Marines, and Air Force.
Armedforcescareers.com, a leading consumer help site for citizens interested in joining the United States military, reports more than 340,000 hits per day, up almost a full 100% from the day before.
According to Larry Fowler, publisher of Armedforcescareers.com , ``American pride in its Armed Forces often shows its true colors during times of national disaster.''
SOURCE: Armedforcescareers.com
Guess I tend to look for the good.
The military doesn't recruit us old farts.
In this case, we have to ask if all devils are equal. Does idleness and apathy count as one of these devils? Those seem worse devils to me, if so. After all, those who do not believe in *something* will fall for *anything*--and I'd say even worse, *nothing.*
I suspect the guy could be quite useful, maybe even turned. If he is looking for meaning in his life, he can help find Osama. Lastly, the stupid kid is tough, and lucky.
That is an excellent point, and damn funny too! You're probably right.
I suspect the guy could be quite useful, maybe even turned. If he is looking for meaning in his life, he can help find Osama. Lastly, the stupid kid is tough, and lucky.
Megadittos. The CIA needs people with his kind of knowledge and skills, and presumably language abilities. But how to do the turning? His deep commitment to his religion probably has various mental tripwires to keep him in line. Maybe another job for the CIA...after all, enough drugs and electricity can do anything... :)
In light of 9/11, maybe that is so, and if so, good. Before 9/11, the few I'd seen who enlisted or were in ROTC were there for the scholarship or other monetary incentive, or otherwise were drifters with no direction and just decided it was "the thing to do" in that condition. I'm still skeptical of my contemporaries.
Your contemporaries are now in that wasteland, called Afghanistan, protecting the freedoms we are enjoying at this moment.
May God watch over them.
Take a couple of minutes to send them your support.
That was taken out of context. You ought to learn how to read things without projecting your own emotional biases on them. I believe I also noted that he was miguided and will rightly pay for what he's done.
Yes, I agree. Maybe it's easier than we think to get somewhere with him. The cause of the month club may be wide, but shallow.
A small minority of them are. Most aren't, nor do they think much about "freedom." Thanks for the link.
Disclaimer: Opinions posted on Free Republic are those of the individual posters and do not necessarily represent the opinion of Free Republic or its management. All materials posted herein are protected by copyright law and the exemption for fair use of copyrighted works.