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John Walker LindhAmerican citizen, terrorist collaborator
Country:
 USA |
Content:
Biography of John Walker Lindh
John Phillip Walker Lindh, an American citizen, was accused of aiding terrorist organizations during the U.S. military actions in Afghanistan in 2001. He is currently serving a 20-year prison sentence for his involvement with the Afghan group 'Taliban.'
Early Life and Conversion to Islam
John Walker Lindh was born on February 9, 1981, in Washington. When he was 10 years old, his family moved to California. As a child, he suffered from gastrointestinal disorders, but his health improved by the age of 14. He continued his education at Tamiscal High School, which offered alternative learning programs that included studying Middle Eastern culture and Islam. Lindh spent a lot of time in online chat rooms, sometimes pretending to be an African-American rapper. During this time, he watched the biographical film "Malcolm X" about the famous civil rights activist. The film deeply affected him and sparked a strong interest in Islam.
Lindh's parents went through a divorce when he was young because his father came out as homosexual and later entered into a same-sex marriage. At the age of 16, John Walker Lindh officially converted to Islam and began regularly attending a mosque. In 1998, he spent 10 months in Yemen, studying the Arabic language to read the Quran in its original form. He returned to the United States the following year, spent about eight months with his family, and then returned to Yemen in February 2000. From there, he moved to Pakistan, where he planned to study at a madrasa.
Involvement in Afghanistan
When Lindh turned 20, he decided to go to Afghanistan to fight alongside the Taliban. His parents claim that their son's decision was influenced by stories of atrocities committed by Northern Alliance soldiers against civilians. In May 2001, Lindh went to Afghanistan, contradicting initial claims made after his arrest that he went there after September 11 to fight against American soldiers. However, despite being aware that the U.S. military had invaded Afghanistan and joined the Northern Alliance after September 11, he chose to stay and continue fighting.
On November 25, 2001, Lindh was captured by General Dostum's unit and interrogated by CIA officer Mike Spann. Initially, he posed as an Irishman and refused to answer the CIA officers' questions, which agitated them. A few hours later, a riot broke out in the prison where numerous Taliban prisoners were held. Thirty-two-year-old Mike Spann became the first American killed during the U.S. military actions in Afghanistan. He was beaten to death. Another officer involved in the interrogations was saved by special forces, while Lindh suffered a leg wound and hid in bunkers for about a week. The riot was quickly suppressed, resulting in the deaths of several hundred Taliban prisoners. Lindh was transferred to a Marine Corps camp and later sent back to the United States, where he was charged with 10 counts on February 5, 2002. However, authorities offered him a plea deal to avoid disclosing classified CIA operatives who would have had to testify, and Lindh pleaded guilty to two charges, receiving a 20-year prison sentence instead of life imprisonment or the death penalty. Nevertheless, it was never definitively determined whether John Lindh fired a single shot during the war as a member of the Taliban group. His parents claim that their son fell victim to indoctrination during his studies at the madrasa.
In January 2009, Lindh's request for a pardon was denied by President Bush.
