What to do with the 'Talijohn'
Ezra Pounds, Hanoi Jane and Tokyo Rose, all (generally) considered traitors to their country. (Tokyo Rose was pardoned by President Gerald Ford in 1977, and may have indeed been innocent). Their names have in the last century been added to the lexicon of traitorous rats that all American children have learned to curse since the infamous Benedict Arnold.
Now we have a new traitor to add to the list of turncoats who conspired against their country. His name is John Walker Lindh A.K.A. Abdul Hamid.
This pitiful scrap of human debris has turned his face from the light of the freedom and knowledge he was raised with in the beautiful California hills, and tumbled into the sewers of a backwater country with floating scum called The Taliban. From a California renown for it's belief in Life and Liberty, to a death-oriented and oppressive cult, John Walker hurled himself enthusiastically down the steep slope and wide path into perdition. This pitiful wreckage of humanity called The Taliban has decided it is in its' province to 'spread the enlightenment of God' through a small landlocked and backward war-ridden country with no way to defend itself against this radical brand of Islam.
And now we are left with the harrowing look of this gaunt bearded face with too much shame and hatred to look into the eye of the camera. As his head turns from the world and his hair and accumulated dirt hides him from the full view of civilized man we see the depths into which mankind has fallen off and on in history. This man from California has willingly reduced himself to a near stone-age existence. He left civilization behind and joined the forces of darkness in a quest for his spiritual path.
This illustrates what can arise when spiritual seeking is not tempered with a deep understanding of the inherent follies and darkness of Man. Continually we as a species have made forays into darkness and extremisms that have left the casualties of humanity in it's wake. The destruction of the Libraries of Alexandria are an example of the illness that strikes deep into the social structure with a decay that belies the occasional brilliant glimpses we see from mankind.
Now what are we to do with this sad little man? As a product of the unique blend of (semi) social awareness and blind liberalism of the California Bay Area it is perhaps to be expected that he would have a strange balance of liberal ideas and socialist leanings. But what happened to induce this so-called 'nice guy', and 'pacifist' to take up firearms and act as the strong-arm man for a spectacularly nasty bunch of thugs? How does one go from mild mannered Bay-Area guy to gun-toting Taliban madman?
Now we are left with a riddle like the dog that caught the car it chased, what do we do with him now that we've got him? This would not be a problem if he had been unfortunate (?) enough to get killed in action; but instead he got caught. He did not identify himself as an American; he refused to answer questions when queried by the CIA. These prove that he was not an unwilling participant in the debauchery of these villains. Instead he refused to talk or let them know he was American. During this interrogation the other prisoners rallied in an attack. During this attack the CIA agent, Mike Spann who had been questioning John Walker was beaten and kicked to death by the Taliban guerillas. Walker's association with these murderers puts him in a similar class to them. He may in fact be considered an accessory to the murder. This will commit him to severe consequences if he is tried for this one charge alone.
But John Walker has other problems facing him if he ever leaves Afghanistan alive. He has joined arms with a foreign army. This is enough to commit oneself to a loss of American Citizenship. Having relinquished this citizenship he is at risk of being tried by a military tribunal. Governments for millennia have used these secret trials. Ours has used them on occasion in the past. The Revolution, the Civil War and WWII all had military tribunals. This time they are reserved only for non-citizens. This shows the wisdom and the restraint the government is using. Only non-citizens who are not covered under the Constitution anyway are at risk of these scary trials.
So, we have a man without a country who has lost his rights as an American Citizen, who just might be dragged before these secret courts. But wait, the leftist media of the world is starting to re-assert itself. Just as the British and Spanish are proclaiming they will not turn over arrested (alleged) associates of Bin Laden, now the media of the United States is bringing out the hand wringing, the weeping, the cries for compassion and forgiveness. "He was such a nice boy" they proclaim loudly. "He went to pursue his idea of religion", as if a noble but misguided and evil sense of spirituality is the road to salvation. This cultural relativism is what led him astray, and has led the media and much of American and European culture into the morass of cultural decay.
There are victims in this mess to be sure, but John Walker the man who took arms against his country, and may have contributed to the death of an American gave aid and comfort to the enemy. We are the victims. A rat has betrayed us who live in this country. One of our own has turned against us, this is worse than one who merely renounces American citizenship. He is more than an American in Exile; he is a man who actively complied with a campaign to wage war on the United States of America. Luckily for us he did not have the military knowledge of Benedict Arnold who could so readily turn against his country and lead forces against a weak spot. He instead as befits his lack of knowledge and experience was probably a foot soldier, a private compelled to carry out the orders of his superiors. But these he did with reckless abandon. He went wild, he went native, he went bushy. He joined a band of cutthroats in order to fill his own sense of emptiness. He needed to fill that spot every young man has, with most it is filled through acquisition of material wealth, females, reputation, or physical, emotional and spiritual growth. In the Taliban he probably saw the attainment of many of these goals as a realistic end product.
But now we, the nation of victims have to deal with the media and their pollyannaish portrayal of him as a "philosopher warrior". We see his father on the news, talking of his son and how he wants to 'just hug him". We see his mother talking of her son in glowing 'mother terms'. This is to be expected; mothers and fathers tend to support their derelict sons to the last gasp. I would be frankly saddened for him if they renounced him easily. But they have to face reality soon, they have a son who committed the only crime considered so serious by the Framers of the Constitution that it is listed in the Constitution. They will have to face up to the fact that unless things go extremely well for him, they have a son who might well be dead soon.
As for me, I despise traitors. There is little that I will not tolerate in others, as long as they keep it to themselves. But a traitor to his country impacts the whole lot of us. I do not want him to ever see the sear hills of California again. Never again should he see the moss covered rocks of the Northern California Redwoods. Never again should he hear the waves pound upon the rugged California shores. Never again shall he see a friendly American face in the United States of America. This all due to his selfish and wanton disregard of the pledge all Americans took daily when they were young, and adults also at Government and official rallies throughout this great nation; remember…? The one that began;