Sep 24, 2008 10:18 pm US/Pacific
Father Of 'American Taliban' Lindh Urges Pardon
SAN FRANCISCO (BCN) ―
The father of John Walker Lindh, who has spent nearly seven years in federal prison for serving in an Afghan army, told a room full of law students at University of San Francisco on Wednesday his son has been used as a scapegoat for the faults of the U.S. government.
Frank Lindh of Marin County spoke for the fourth consecutive year about how he believes U.S. troops in northern Afghanistan in 2001 illegitimately captured his son, known as an "American Taliban," for fighting as a Taliban soldier just after the Sept. 11 attacks.
Frank Lindh said he believes his son did not go to Afghanistan in July 2001 to work against the United States, but in a misguided effort to help the Taliban establish their country.
During his time in Afghanistan, John Walker Lindh volunteered for a military funded by Osama bin Laden, known as the founder of Al-Qaeda, and had interactions with him but did not have anything to do with plans to attack the U.S., Frank Lindh said.
"Where was the CIA? Why couldn't they intercept?" he said. "He was accused by a government that failed to protect the U.S."
John Walker Lindh, 27, had been studying Islam, Arabic and the Quran in Yemen and Pakistan since he was 16 to become a scholar, his father said. He apparently identified with the religion and thought it was his duty to fight for Taliban.
After a battle between the Taliban and northern warlords, the U.S. Military took John Walker Lindh into custody in December, "tied him up, naked, bound and kept him in a shipping container," his father said.
A federal grand jury in February 2002 indicted him for 10 counts. He reportedly faced conspiracy to kill U.S. citizens, two counts of providing material support to terrorist organizations, four conspiracy charges, supplying services to the Taliban and al Qaeda and using and carrying firearms and destructive devices during violent crimes.
After a plea bargain he pleaded guilty in October 2002 to providing services to the Taliban as a foot soldier and carrying explosives -- a rifle and two grenades—for a 20-year sentence.
During the sentencing he reportedly said he had no intentions of fighting against the U.S. and would not have joined the Taliban knowing what he knows now.
His father said his family is working a petition to urge President Bush to pardon his son's sentence because "he's not a criminal by any stretch of the imagination."
Frank Lindh told the group of students, many of which thanked him after he was finished speaking, "This is one case that has captured many of the values we really hold dear as a nation."
(© CBS Broadcasting Inc. All Rights Reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten or redistributed. Bay City News contributed to this report.)
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