John Ashcroft is a scary man. A gaunt, wrinkled face with heavy jowls and sunken eyes — he is the epitome of frightening. When I see him on television, I sometimes wonder if the world would end if he cracked a smile.
What’s worse than his alarming disposition is his belief in systematically ridding the American people of all civil liberties. During his short tenure as Attorney General, he has probably scared the bejesus out of every classification of American. From hillbilly militia members to card-carrying members of the ACLU, everyone hates this man. I can’t stand him, and I voted for his boss.
My question is this: Why is Ashcroft — who seemingly wants a gun in every hand and a surveillance camera in every bathroom — being so nice to the wacky skater punk turned al Qaeda terrorist who was fighting the ‘jihad’ for the wrong side?
John Walker Lindh committed treason, pure and simple. He may be young and impressionable, but I somehow doubt he accidentally walked up to the al Qaeda recruiting table in the career center because the thought it was the Boy Scouts. He willingly and knowingly joined a terrorist’s organization that was in the business of killing innocent people, ultimately innocent Americans.
He committed what is possibly the most heinous crime a person can commit against a state. He faces two counts of providing material support to terrorists, one count of conspiracy to kill U.S. nationals and one count of engaging in transactions with the Taliban. But he is not charged with treason.
Why the hell not?
The guy is a traitor in every sense of the word. He has betrayed his parents, his country and himself by cavorting with known killers.
For those of you who have humanist leanings and moral problems with the death penalty, fear not. Being charged with treason does not automatically mean you are put to death (although my gut reaction is to see the bastard hanged from the highest tree in the land).
Charging Walker Lindh with treason would send the correct message to all misguided youths out there: joining a group whose express reason for being is to kill Americans is a bad way to search for meaning in life.
According to a recent Gallup Poll, 60 percent of all Americans and 70 percent of 18-to-29-year-olds believe he should be charged with treason.
Our steely attorney general is going against his record of cold indifference in this case, although for months previous he showed little sign of charity.
When the war started, Ashcroft went into high gear. He began by arresting anyone whose name sounded remotely Islamic, calling them potential suspects and detaining most of them indefinitely, essentially suspending habeas corpus. Next, he asked for and received new guidelines regarding wire-tapping and surveillance for the FBI. The new regulations give federal agents much greater latitude when working to apprehend suspects. This is all done in the name of keeping us safe from terrorists (although I personally feel things are becoming eerily like the J. Edgar Hoover FBI, and the Orwellian idea of “Big Brother”). All of this makes for an unlikely and interesting situation where our hitherto extreme Attorney General has missed an opportunity to punish Walker Lindh to the fullest extent of the law. I had Ashcroft pegged for a sadist, but I guess you never know.
As for John Walker Lindh, he will hopefully spend the rest of his life in jail for conspiring to kill his fellow Americans. For a more fitting end I could not hope.
James P. Kent ([email protected]) is a senior majoring in economics and business management.
