Knock me over with a feather...I NEVER saw this one coming!
Posted on 03/22/2002 4:45:37 PM PST by codebreaker
An American who fought with the Taliban spoke with the FBI only to escape horrible prision conditions, his lawyers say.
The assertion by John Walker Lindh's defense team is the latest challenge to potentially incriminating statements he made during capitvity.
Lindh's responses to the FBI formed a major part of the indictment against him.
Lindh, 21, is charged with conspiring to kill Americans, providing support to terrorists, including Osama bin Laden's Al Qaida, and using firearms during crimes of violence. Three of the 10 charges carry a maximum life sentence and the other seven could bring an additional 90 years in prision.
The defence team contended in written motions that US authorities told Lindh no lawyers would be available to him in Afghanistan. By that time his parents had already hired counsel in the US and had informed US officials.
Tale of an American Taliban (newsweek 12/2/01)
"...He said he was originally from the Washington, D.C., area, but indicated he grew up elsewhere in the states. Well spoken, with a mid-Atlantic accent, Hamid said that he converted to Islam at 16 and later went to Pakistan to study the Koran. “In my travels, I came in contact with some of the original teachers of the leaders of the Taliban movement,” he said. “The ideas of the Taliban occupied my mind a lot.” Six months ago, he entered Afghanistan “to help the Islamic government” because “the Taliban are the only government that actually provides Islamic law.” When asked if he supported the September 11 attacks, he hesitated. “That requires a pretty long and complicated explanation. I haven’t eaten for two or three days, and my mind is not really in shape to give you a coherent answer.” When pressed, he said, “Yes, I supported it.”
He was a prisoner of war at the time the interviews occurred. The decision to bring him back to the U.S. for trial in our courts hadn't yet been made by POTUS.
In my opinion that decision is beginning to look like a bad one.
Thanked him for what?
(By Johnny Jihad)
I was waltzing in my cell to a dreamy melody
When they called out "Change Stories"
So a new one came to me
My life is so empty as I gaze around this jail
So I'll keep on changing stories
Till I find the bestest tale
I DID have one story, but it really wasn't smart
So I'm changing to another
One to tear at every heart
Yes, I'll keep on changing stories
Till one finally works and then
I'll never change stories again.
Leni
Maybe we should give him a Purple Heart and a Bronze Star.
That's actually the best route to take. I'm surprise John Walker wasn't saying that from the very start.
Knock me over with a feather...I NEVER saw this one coming!
Reminds me of a dialog exchange from the movie Casa Blanca (paraphrased);
Police Chief: Why did you come here Rick?
Rick: I came for the waters.
Police Chief: Casa Blanca is a desert!
Rick: I was misinformed.
Obviously, Johnny was under the influence of morphine for wounds he had received (probably from al-quaida when they found he was trying to defect), so initially he was incapable of explaining himself in a coherent fashion. It's only now, after his wounds have healed, that he is able to tell the true story of his attempt to escape the Taliban. /sarcasm>
We'll just have to wait until both sides tell their stories, and let a jury of American citizens decide his fate. At the end, the defense can weave a tangled web, but a few things cannot be denied:
He was there with armed combatants.
The armed combatants had by then, refused to turn over the al Qaeda to the US authorities.
He had been involved in hostilities, against American forces, and the allies of American forces, making him an armed opponent of the US.
His journeys to become involved in radical Islam were of his own free will, and he never turned away, even when he had knowledge of 11th Sep. 2001.
Muslims are known for lying; it is "Al Taqiyah" and in his case saving his rear, to boot.
Finally, the American public (the jury?) won't be too pleased with this fellow, and his recantations will likely fall upon deaf ears.
"Guilty" and quite a few years in custody, to study Islam.
Why he talked to them is not relevant - only that he talked to them.
- Roy Rogers
Maybe we should let Bin Walker have a big ole glass of water...........
Stay Safe !
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