American Taliban???

[Memnoch]

I think what this shows is that Phase 2 of the conflict will be a lot longer and more insiduous than Phase 1. Phase 2 will be all about removing this ideology from the world. If a young man from Washington felt that he had to travel all the way to Afghanistan to fight for a cause he believed in, it means that it will be damn hard to get rid of this ideology.

[Magness]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dramnek_Ulk:


The united states has encouraged other people to be traitors to their countries before(Like people in russia), therefore to punish someone for being a traitor to USA looks rather like hypocracy and slective morality. Also to punish someone for this kind of thing is an outdated,petty and vindictive thing to do, it is no better than one would expect from the taleban or northan alliance. However to help this person and to allow them to perhaps live a normal life,(if they have not comminted genuine crimes)would be an action truly in the spirit of liberal humanism and kindness, why should he and his family suffer when so many already have. Why not let something positive come out of this dreadful matter?

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Oh, give me a break, comrade Dramnek_Ulk!!! John Walker is a TRAITOR!!! The fact that we attempt to create traitors has nothing to do with anything. It only means that the person would have turned traitor against his own country and could be held responsible by that country.

As to how the TRAITOR should be dealt with, I don't know what the best method for handling it would be. The last thing that should happen is turning him loose to his idiot liberal parents. Brainwashed, my butt!!!
Releasing him would not be "an action truly in the spirit of liberal humanism and kindness". It would be a slap in the face of the families that survived 9-11, the familes whose have lost family members in the war, and the country in general.

He is a TRAITOR and should be properly charged, properly tried, and properly SHOT!!!

[Nachtrafe]

quote:

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Originally posted by Magness:


Oh, give me a break, comrade Dramnek_Ulk!!! John Walker is a TRAITOR!!! The fact that we attempt to create traitors has nothing to do with anything. It only means that the person would have turned traitor against his own country and could be held responsible by that country.

As to how the TRAITOR should be dealt with, I don't know what the best method for handling it would be. The last thing that should happen is turning him loose to his idiot liberal parents. Brainwashed, my butt!!!
Releasing him would not be "an action truly in the spirit of liberal humanism and kindness". It would be a slap in the face of the families that survived 9-11, the familes whose have lost family members in the war, and the country in general.

He is a TRAITOR and should be properly charged, properly tried, and properly SHOT!!!

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*Stands up and applauds*!!

Thank you Magness. I couldn't have said it better myself!

[Ronn_Bman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Dramnek_Ulk:


The united states has encouraged other people to be traitors to their countries before(Like people in russia), therefore to punish someone for being a traitor to USA looks rather like hypocracy and slective morality.

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People who have an allegiance to one country and then fight against that country are traitors. They have been treated as such throughout time by all the nations of the world.

During the Cold War, the US recruited Soviets to be spies and the Soviets recruited Americans for the same purpose. Those Americans found guilty of spying were charged, and those who we recruited knew they faced death if caught. Why should it be any different for John Walker. He is 20 years old and will have to face the consequences of his actions. Being young isn't an excuse. If you believe in something like terrorism, you'd better be ready to pay the price.

He initially denied being interviewed by the CIA after being captured, but now a NA video tape has been found showing him being interviewed by the CIA officer, who would minutes later die in the prison uprising. Walker refused to talk to them at all. Since the video release of the video, he also admitted taking up arms after the uprising started. The CIA officer who was killed in the uprising was with John Walker when the riot began. He was beaten, and then killed with his own weapon. John Walker has said he supports the terrorist actions of September 11th, and continued to fight after the event with the Taliban against the NA, and later US, forces.

It will not be hypocritical to charge John Walker based on his actions. It would be hypocritical not to charge him or to let him go.

[Ronn_Bman]

The American Taliban has ended his silence!

He is now talking and providing "useful" information to the Marines. He is not a higher level Taliban with access to secret information, but his knowledge is helping "connect the dots".

[Ronn_Bman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Magness:
(John Walker's) idiot liberal parents.

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I actually feel quite sorry for them.

They are Catholics and did not encourage him to seek Islam, but when he converted they supported him. They did not force their religous views on him and tried to understand his new beliefs. As parents, that's what we are suppose to do.

At age 16, they allowed him to go to Yemen, not Afghanistan, to study the Qu'ran and the ways of Islam. They had no idea what would come of it, after all, Islam is a religion of peace. The last time they talked to him was in the spring of this year. He said he was taking a break from school and going up to the mountainous region of Pakistan to escape the summer heat. That was the last time they heard from him. During this entire conflict, they didn't know what had happened to him, or even that he was in Afghanistan, until they saw the video of him in the prison.

They haven't tried to excuse his actions, they have said he was wrong, and they have expressed their strong support for the US in our current efforts in Afghanistan.

[Ryanamur]

I'm not American and I agree that he is a traitor. Once he was fighting with the Talibans, he claimed that he was a Taliban. Fine, he made his choice, I don't have a problem with that. Up to now, he's only a Taliban. However, once he's captured, he now claims the mercy of his captors because he's an American. Sorry, you can't be both. You're either a Taliban or an American. His latest claim (to be an American) puts him in a position were he was fighting other Americans against American interets... therefore, he's a traitor and should be treated as such. I feel sorry for his parents, but he made his choice. He would have been treated as a Taliban if he didn't claim he was American!

[Sojourner]

quote:

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Originally posted by Ronn_Bman:
They are Catholics and did not encourage him to seek Islam, but when he converted they supported him. They did not force their religous views on him and tried to understand his new beliefs. As parents, that's what we are suppose to do.

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However, as responsible parents, we're also supposed to be aware of what our kids are doing. There were a number of red flags that he was getting involved with extremism, which they blatantly ignored. I'm sure time will bear out that he was a member of the Al Qaeda network, and not just some Taliban fighter. What really burns me up is not the fact he was fighting against U.S. forces, but that he supported the Sep. 11 attacks and the regime that enacted such atrocities against women. In my eyes, he is a monster, and should be stripped of his citizenship. He should never be allowed to set foot on U.S. soil again.

[Ronn_Bman]

quote:

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Originally posted by Sojourner:
What really burns me up is not the fact he was fighting against U.S. forces, but that he supported the Sep. 11 attacks and the regime that enacted such atrocities against women. In my eyes, he is a monster, and should be stripped of his citizenship. He should never be allowed to set foot on U.S. soil again.

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I'll agree with that whole heartedly

From everything I've seen, his parents had no reason to be concerned about his transition to Islam or his desire to study in Pakistan. Any signs they may have seen in the last two years weren't something they could act on because he was 18.