Free Republic

Hoping a new attorney general will be more sympathetic to their cause, John Walker Lindh's parents again asked the White House to commute the sentence of the Marin County man who fought in Afghanistan for the Taliban. The family filed a petition today asking that Lindh's 20-year sentence be commuted. Lindh pleaded guilty in 2002 to providing services to the Taliban and carrying explosives during a felony. His attorneys first applied for a commutation in 2004, and have regularly beseeched the government since then to shorten Lindh's sentence. "We hope that President Bush and First Lady Laura Bush will find...

San Francisco (AP) -- The lawyer and parents of John Walker Lindh, the American-born Taliban soldier serving 20 years in prison after his capture in Afghanistan, called on President Bush on Wednesday to commute his sentence and set him free. The renewed call to shorten the sentence was based on the relatively light term Australian David Hicks received Saturday after pleading guilty to supporting terrorism. Hicks, who had been imprisoned for five years at Guantanamo Bay and acknowledged aiding al-Qaida during the U.S.-led invasion of Afghanistan, was given a nine month sentence. "In the atmosphere of the time, the best...

ISLAMABAD, Pakistan - Pakistani troops Friday found the bodies of 24 suspected Taliban militants who were killed in overnight fighting with U.S. and Afghan soldiers near the border inside Afghanistan, an army spokesman said. The bodies were found near Alwara Mandi, a small market town in the North Waziristan tribal region, spokesman Maj. Gen. Shaukat Sultan said."They were killed at some stage last night in fighting with (U.S.-led) coalition forces and Afghan forces," Sultan said.He said he believed the fighters may have been trying to enter Pakistan when they were killed."We alerted our troops to stop anyone from entering into...