I think Lindh has a point.

Prior to our invasion in Afghanistan the Taliban were not our enemy.

The kid never raised arms against the US or any US soldier.

The charges against him were trumped up. How do you defend yourself against the US government - basically you can't. No middle class person has enough money to hire the lawyers to do it, and it was easier for Lindh to basically plea bargain. Not because he was really guilty of anything against the US, but because there is no way to win.

Lindh is the poster boy for who the administration has really captured in it's war against terrorism. Two bit players who really aren't guilty of terror against the US.

Sharing the baby pictures with the media was a nice touch.

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You sir, are my new hero! - Trifan 11/13/2008

Casey, you are a wise man - blueraider_mike 11/13/2008

Casey, This is an astute observation. - Slowbern 11/17/2008

Hey, Demerly says they're giving away free coffee at Starbucks today. Free.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

You never really have a coherent point to make, do you?

Uh yeah, vitus, have you been getting into slowguy's vicodin again?

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Sometimes. Maybe not so much today. Didn't get any sleep last night, so maybe I'm projecting my need for caffeine.

Still, you seem a bit off today. Bush is going to negotiate a back channel truce with bin Laden? The Arab world would have lynched him themselves, if we hadn't invaded Iraq? Lindh was framed?

What say we meet at Starbucks?

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

I don't think this will work. And, I was at Starbucks today and had to pay for my coffee. They're out to get me.

I don't think this will work.

For who- me or tritnow?

I was at Starbucks today and had to pay for my coffee.

Those rats.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Johnny's daddy's request won't work. I really don't know about things between you and tritnow.

Ahh. See? Not enough caffeine.

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

Don't be so sure that Bush wouldn't negotiate a truce with Bin Laden. I admit that Bush doesn't seem to have the nuanced view of the world or of himself, for that matter, to suggest that possibility, but I think in a sort of realpolitik way it is conceivable, if unlikely.

At the end of the day, this is about ending a threat. Now if we're just looking at this as a how-do-we-make-this-happen sort of framework, negotiating a truce may not be so incredible, assuming it gives us the security we want (and in a sort of way, I think Bin Laden is an honorable guy, in that he believes what he preaches and has never hidden behind any sort of artifice. Granted, what he want may be untenable..). Given the alternative, which is another decade or more of meaningless bloodshed and constant fear of attack, and given that it's unlikely we'll get him in the hinterlands of Pakistan as he is protected by tribesmen and the ISI, I could potentially see that sort of solution becoming more palatable in a bottom-line kind of way.

On the other hand, one could also argue that Bush doesn't see the world in greys, so that possibility is out the window. One could also argue that the "terrorism" issue has been incredibly fruitful for the right, as cover for an agenda that encompasses a whole bunch of issues unrelated to security, including SS, tax bracket tilting, etc. And I know you're not naive enough to think that the political considerations aren't being weighed, as we've already seen memos from within the RNC about the political impacts of all sorts of things, regardless of right or wrong.

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"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" - Benjamin Franklin
"Don't you see the rest of the country looks upon New York like we're left-wing, communist, Jewish, homosexual pornographers? I think of us that way sometimes and I live here." - Alvy Singer, "Annie Hall"

Lindh most definitely has a point. He joined the Taliban to fight the Northern Alliance not the USA. When he joined the Taliban they were not at war with this country, nor was this country allied with the Northern Alliance. A case was never made that he engaged in combat with US troops.

If a guy decides to take a side in a civil war on the other side of the globe thats his business. Thousands of Americans went to fight in the International Brigades in the Spanish Civil War, some even went to fight for the fascists, and they were all free to do so. Making it treason after the fact is bogus.

His trial and conviction was a stage managed sham.

(and for the record, its not so long ago that the Mujahadeen who are the predecessors of the Taliban were allied to and supplied by this country and its government)

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You call yourself a Christian, I call you hypocrite. You call yourself a patriot well, I think you're full of s**t

NeoCon by the Rolling Stones

Yeah well, the problem is that Lindh joined the Taliban during a period when they were shielding Bin Laden from reprisals and giving him safe harbor. And while Lindh may have been ignorant of this fact, I don't know if I'd call that a viable defense. Bin Laden had already been implicated in a variety of violence, so to say that at that point it was not relevant to US interests is a bit of a stretch.

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"They who would give up an essential liberty for temporary security, deserve neither liberty or security" - Benjamin Franklin
"Don't you see the rest of the country looks upon New York like we're left-wing, communist, Jewish, homosexual pornographers? I think of us that way sometimes and I live here." - Alvy Singer, "Annie Hall"

The idea that Bush is going to contemplate negotiating a truce with AQ is beyond laughable. Sorry to be blunt. I'm tired.

Now, all that stuff you said about it being conceivable, and perhaps not the worst idea, and a somewhat reasonable alternative, etc, is perhaps true. Personally, if we assume that bin Laden's conditions for a truce match up with the original goals of AQ, I'd be willing to meet him at least halfway, myself. I am all for getting out of the Mideast, AQ or no AQ. But I don't think any American politician, right, left, or center, is going to entertain the notion for half a second. We aren't going anywhere.

And of course there's still the matter that although I have always felt bin Laden to be genuinely sincere in his beliefs, and I think he might very well hold up his end of the bargain, he is responsible for the murder of a few thousand of my countrymen. And of course there's the fact that he isn't really the head of a nation, and last I heard, truces are usually signed by nations, not non-state actors. (Though who knows anymore.)

There is also the question of whether or not bin Laden has the power to enforce a truce, and whether or not he can put the genie back in the bottle. I wouldn't want to guess one way or the other on that.

All that amounts to this: I would not seriously consider signing a truce with him, though I acknowledge and understand your points. You can bet your very last dollar that Bush isn't going to entertain the notion.

And I know you're not naive enough to think that the political considerations aren't being weighed

You guys might be giving me a little too much credit for not being naive enough for all this. I am quite sure that the political advantages and disadvantages are fully considered. But even I am not so cynical about Bush to believe that he'd refuse to end a war on terror (such as it is) just for partisian gain if he thought it was the best way to end the threat of terrorism. Let's give the president at least as much credit as we do to bin Laden, OK? He seems quite genuinely sincere in believing AQ to be evil, and that they must be ended and/or brought to justice, and in their case, I have to agree with him. (Though not, of course, with many of the means he's using to do so.)

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"People think it must be fun to be a super genius, but they don't realize how hard it is to put up with all the idiots in the world."

"There is also the question of whether or not bin Laden has the power to enforce a truce."

Yeah, there is that minor point.

Kind of funny to think that bin Laden controls anything. LOL at the idea that bin Laden would ring up al-Zaqawi (sp?) and tell him to stop killing people since a deal had been cut.

This is even funnier than the idea that Israel should cut a deal with Abbas (?). Like he even has the power to speak for himself.

Of course, Israel did cut a deal with Arafat, and that worked out so well.