LETTER: Lindh should be tried by U.N. international court

Editor,

It has come to my attention that an American named John Walker Lindh, who had volunteered to serve with the Taliban, will face trial. I would like to state that this trial is totally unfair and that this young man is a victim of political persecution.

First of all, he never served the Taliban in any kind of leadership or command position. He was only a line soldier. Second, two years ago, Mr. Lindh joined the Taliban militia without knowing that the Taliban government would become an enemy of the U.S. and without the intent of fighting Americans. Like many foreign fighters in the Taliban ranks, he joined the movement to join in the "holy war" within Afghanistan and to "liberate" Afghan territory to Taliban rule. There is no evidence that Mr. Lindh had anything to do with the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks or that he fought against U.S. soldiers in the resulting war afterward.

He was merely caught up in a mess, and I doubt that he had a clear understanding of U.S. foreign policy when he was 18 years old.

Finally, regardless of which U.S. court Lindh is tried in, it is common sense that he will not get a fair trial and that any court will be biased against him. Under the special circumstances, I think he should be tried by an international court even though he is an American citizen. In fact, the United States should not detain nor try any of the Taliban captives under its own domain. The world needs a more just and unbiased international criminal justice system that is controlled by the United Nations. Those accused of war crimes should not be tried by their enemies.

Such a system is not just and is not right. Even the tribunal court in the Hague is biased, and the trial of Slobodan Milosevic is also unjust. This treatment of John Walker Lindh sets an unfortunate precedent, and it increases the likelihood of political persecution against those Americans who oppose U.S. hegemony, particularly expatriate Americans living in so-called "countries of concern."

It makes some of us wonder if our civil liberties will be protected if we return home to visit our family.

Keith Hammar

UNM alumnus and former Air Force cadet living in China