by John M. Curtis
(310) 204-8700

Copyright September 2, 2002
All Rights Reserved.

ehabilitating his tainted image, Taliban John Walker Lindh now seeks contrition, after pleading guilty to a felony weapons' conviction July 15, landing him two consecutive 10-year terms in federal prison. Like the aggressive pretrial posturing, his attorneys now shift the dialogue to Lindh's exemplary behavior—something for which he plea-bargained, dropping 9 of 10 counts just short of treason. While Lindh pursues damage control, the widow of CIA operative Johnny Michael Spahn still mourns her husband's death at Mazar-i-Sharif, shortly after Spahn interviewed the 20-year-old Marin County Islamic convert. Making plenty of excuses, Lindh "was not unique being a Westerner who converted to Islam and decided to fight against the Northern Alliance," said Tony West, one of Lindh's defense attorneys, ignoring his conduct. "John ran into many Westerners who converted," conveniently forgiving his treasonous behavior.

      Going to compulsory briefings as part of his plea-bargain hardly represents sincere contrition or an admission that he did anything wrong. Speaking for the 21-year-old, West said Lindh was neither a terrorist nor a member of Osama bin Laden's Al Qaeda global terror network. Despite his attorney's best efforts, Lindh's jailhouse conversion comes a little late. West forgets Lindh's nasty e-mails to his parents denouncing the U.S. in no uncertain terms. Lindh already admitted to receiving moujahedeen training at one of Bin Laden's terrorist training camps and meeting the world's most wanted man. "He made a mistake. He admits he made a terrible mistake. No one wants to be judged by the worst mistake they made when they were 20-years-of-age," said West, soliciting sympathy for his client who still reads the Koran and prays several times a day. If Lindh really saw the light or felt sincere regret, he wouldn't continue his obsession with Islam.

      Lindh sought out the Taliban precisely because it represented the government with the purest form of radical Islam on the planet. His regret stems from sitting in federal prison in Alexandria, Va., not joining a dangerous terrorist cult. "If he knew then what he knows now about the Taliban and policies they implemented, he would never have joined the Taliban and gone to the front lines," said West, practically admitting Lindh sought to become one of the legendary moujahedeen. Reading Mahandas Ghandi or Nelson Mandela in his cell doesn't undo Lindh's personal decision to join the Taliban and work toward a worldwide Islamic state. Jihadists like Lindh swear their lives to cult masters like Mullah Mohammed Omar and Osama bin Laden, now living on the lamb in the no-man's-land between Pakistan and Afghanistan. It's easy to beg for forgiveness while sitting behind bars.

      Showing contrition doesn't involve endless excuses how 20-year-olds fall by the wayside and make serious mistakes. In Lindh's case, his own hatred toward the U.S.—and maybe his parents—motivated his pilgrimage to radical Islam. James A. Brosnahan, Lindh's lead defense attorney, repeatedly made it plain that Lindh was the victim of government abuse. Denied habeas corpus and robbed of his civil rights, Brosnahan insisted that the government over-stepped its bounds. Yet once Lindh's citizenship was known, he was segregated from other prisoners, relocated and given preferential treatment—though not afforded luxury accommodations. It's easy to forget that Lindh might have caused the death of CIA man Johnny Michael Spahn. His plea deal makes certain that Spahn's widow never knows the truth, now that the government sealed the case. Rehabilitating Lindh's image seems utterly bizarre, since he's only leaves his cell to participate in military briefings.

       Like prisoners sitting at Camp X-Ray in Guantanamo Bay, Lindh has very little to offer the government, other than rich tales about life with the Taliban. FBI profilers are now trying to piece together important characteristics of battlefield detainees. Without needing a linguist, they should study Lindh very carefully because he shows the same features of Bin Laden's programmed assassins. Disgruntled with his home-life and seeking a new identity, radical Islam gives misanthropes like Lindh the raison d'etre—purification, salvation, and a safe place to displace rage on an imaginary enemy. Disenfranchised youth from all walks of life are ripe pickings for psychopaths like Bin Laden, whose pseudo religious rants and guerrilla training converts willing participants into programmed killers. When the Berlin Wall collapsed in 1989, few imagined then that radical Islam would become America's mortal enemy—though 10 years earlier Ayatollah Khomeni should have given some clues. It's time to take out the microscope and get a good hard look at dangerous misfits who aspire to become human hand grenades.

      No skillful public relations firm or clever defense attorney can hide the fact that John Walker Lindh sold out his country and should have been tried for treason. His plea agreement doesn't exonerate him from potentially causing the death of Johnny Michael Spahn. Cutting a deal, the government decided that the war on terrorism wasn't served by staging another sensational trial—diverting public attention away from more pressing issues. Lindh is small potatoes when compared with the prospects that Saddam Hussein could develop a Hiroshima-sized A-bomb in the next two years. "John has not once exhibited any degree of bitterness or resentment as a result of his situation," said West, turning upside down that Lindh's plea deal was reason to celebrate. Rather than facing the needle, he'll get plenty of time in federal prison to complete his college degree and one day fulfill his goal teaching world history and translating Islamic texts into English. Who knows? Since his plea bargain nixed a book or TV deal, maybe he'll settle for a Ph.D.

About the Author

John M. Curtis writes politically neutral commentary analyzing spin in national and global news. He's a consultant and expert in strategic communication. He's author of Dodging The Bullet and Operation Charisma.

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