He certainly isn't a blue, gold, or black label type.
Posted on 12/20/2001 1:34:03 AM PST by mdittmar
Prosecutors are preparing to charge American Taliban John Walker Lindh with violating a recently passed federal law that makes it a crime to provide support to terrorists, U.S. officials told NBC News’ Pete Williams. The Justice Department has apparently ruled out charging him with treason, given the demanding legal standard set by the Constitution and the difficulty of finding witnesses from the Taliban who would testify against Walker.
INSTEAD, WALKER is to be charged with providing material support to a terrorist organization. The maximum penalty for a conviction on that charge is life in prison, under the just-passed USA Patriot Act, “if death resulted from the offense.” By contrast, the maximum penalty for treason is death.
The 20-year-old Californian was captured earlier this month after a prison uprising during which CIA agent Mike Spann was killed by Taliban fighters.
Officials told NBC News that Walker could be formally charged within the next few days.
WALKER SPEAKS
On Tuesday evening, CNN broadcast excerpts of an interview with Walker in which he said he did not participate in the uprising, but was in a basement where many of his comrades were killed.
“I was in the basement the whole time,” Walker said in the interview, taped Dec. 2. “I didn’t see what was going on. I just heard.”
He called the uprising “a mistake of a handful of people” and said, “This is against what we had agreed upon, and this is against Islam. It is a major sin to break a contract, especially in military situations.”
Asked if the Taliban’s cause was the right one, he said, “Definitely.”
TREASON TOUGH TO PROVE
Some United States officials favor charging Walker, who goes by his mother’s last name, in a military court-martial, not a civilian court. But legal scholars say that would not be a good fit.
Gene Fidell, a military law expert, said a court-martial is only for a member of the U.S. military or someone who has committed a war crime.
“Apparently there’s no indication Mr. Walker committed what are known as ‘war crimes,’” Fidell said.
As for treason, proving that charge against an American citizen like Walker is particularly difficult because the Constitution requires either two eye witnesses to testify or Walker to confess in court that he fought against the United States.
The last person convicted of treason was Tomoya Kawakita, a Japanese-American sentenced to death in 1952 for tormenting American prisoners of war during World War II.
For now, Walker is in military custody on a Navy ship, and prosecutors have not yet decided where in the United States to take him to face charges.
“He is being given all his rights, which are far more than the rights the Taliban or the al Qaida extended to anybody living there,” said White House spokesman Ari Fleischer.
Administration officials say the president is keeping close tabs on the case.
WALKER DENIED LAWYER
The White House said Wednesday the U.S. denial of a lawyer for Walker was appropriate because he is a “battlefield detainee” governed by the Geneva Convention.
Walker’s fate has been a growing side story to America’s war in Afghanistan, with a debate breaking out over how he is to be treated after leaving his home country to join up with the Taliban.
Some legal experts questioned Walker’s treatment, insisting he was entitled to a lawyer under the U.S. Constitution.
His family has demanded he be allowed to see an attorney. His parents, Frank Lindh and Marilyn Walker, have attempted to portray their son, who converted to Islam at the age of 16, as a misguided idealist rather than a hard-core Muslim extremist.
“He is being treated as someone who fought against the United States in an armed conflict, and that’s why he is classified properly as a battlefield detainee, and he’s being treated well,” said Fleischer.
Walker has told U.S. authorities he was a member of al-Qaida, the militant network led by Osama bin Laden that Bush blames for the Sept. 11 attacks, Pentagon officials said.
He certainly isn't a blue, gold, or black label type.
The Department of State is responsible for determining the citizenship status of a person located outside the United States or in connection with the application for a U.S. passport while in the United States.
Section 349 of the Immigration and Nationality Act, as amended, states that U.S. citizens are subject to loss of citizenship if they perform certain acts voluntarily and with the intention to relinquish U.S. citizenship. Briefly stated, these acts include:
(1) obtaining naturalization in a foreign state (Sec. 349 (a) (1) INA);(2) taking an oath, affirmation or other formal declaration to a foreign state or its political subdivisions (Sec. 349 (a) (2) INA);
(3) entering or serving in the armed forces of a foreign state engaged in hostilities against the U.S. or serving as a commissioned or non-commissioned officer in the armed forces of a foreign state (Sec. 349 (a) (3) INA);
(4) accepting employment with a foreign government if (a) one has the nationality of that foreign state or (b) a declaration of allegiance is required in accepting the position (Sec. 349 (a) (4) INA);
(5) formally renouncing U.S. citizenship before a U.S. consular officer outside the United States (sec. 349 (a) (5) INA);
(6) formally renouncing U.S. citizenship within the U.S. (but only "in time of war") (Sec. 349 (a) (6) INA);
(7) conviction for an act of treason (Sec. 349 (a) (7) INA).
Treason or not, he clearly has revoked his right to US citizenship. I am sure there will be some quibbeling about whether or not the Taliban, or Al-Queida can be classified as a "foriegn state", but it cannot be forgotten that the Taliban was recognized by at least three independent nations prior to the route.
Hang him high for all to see and learn from, anything less will be a travesty of justice.
Now is the time for all Americans to come to the aid of their country and demand all traitors pay with their lives!
“He is being treated as someone who fought against the United States in an armed conflict, and that’s why he is classified properly as a battlefield detainee, and he’s being treated well,” said Fleischer.That sounds about right. He deserves neither more nor less protection or punishment than any other P.O.W. At some point, he ceased to be an American citizen, which means that he should not be afforded the protection of our laws (i.e., no attorney), but it also means that he should not be held accountable for treason (i.e., no noose, either). Had he stayed in this country and performed acts of terror and sabotage, then by all means string him up. But he did not.
Now, if we wish to construe the entire al Qaeda as a "terrorist organisation," then he could be tried and punished for war crimes. There is not -- as far as I know -- a precedent for this, however. In the run-up to the Nuremberg Tribunal, there was some sentiment to label the entire SS (Waffen- as well as Allgemeine) a criminal organisation, but the allied governments decided against it, preferring to try individuals on enumerated charges.
Classic disruptor tactics. The assinine rants steer the thread off-course, rendering actual discussion of the topic nearly impossible.
Because he viciously spurned his birthright, this should be part of any sentence. If he ever leaves prison he should be shown the way to the door and forever barred from reentering the US or claiming any of its protections.
Let him make his home in any wretched, marginal, head-lopping, third-world outcast Muslim country that will take him. Then, I pray he would be converted to Christianity. This would be an ideal resolution.
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.