Reply #28: ROFL! You're joking, right?

[Xithras]

This was a man who "found himself" by devoting his life to supporting a regime that beat women for showing their ankles in public, shot them if they were raped, blew up irreplaceable archaeological treasures, gave shelter to murderers an terrorists, tortured people for listening to MUSIC, and regularly shelled civilian areas if ANY dissention was found in them. We can debate Iraq and Saddam and argue about how evil that situation really was, but Afghanistan was a tragedy and the Taliban were instrumental in making it so.

Pity for people like Lindh is like pity for Nazi SS guards at the concentration camps. I'm sure there were plenty of SS who had good childhoods and tolerant families, who only joined up for legitimate ideological reasons, but what MATTERS is that when push came to shove, they put their humanity aside and reveled in the death they helped to create. Lindh willingly became one of the oppressors, and in so doing FOREVER gave up any chance at earning any pity from me. If the US hadn't invaded, Lindh would probably still be there today, happily beating women and imposing his ultra-right wing orthodox views at the point of his gun. If anything, Lindh is far WORSE than the rest of the Taliban we picked up. Unlike those fighters who had spent their entire lives in that war torn, oppresive land, Lindh KNEW there was a better way, that women were human beings with rights, and that oppression and murder were evil. He knew of these ideals, and yet he still turned his back on them and joined the fascists. He knew full well that he was supporting a government that opposed EVERYTHING his good-hearted, earnest, liberal upbringing had taught him.

No pity, no freedom. Let the bastard rot.