John Walker Lindh

“I went to Afghanistan with the intention of fighting against the Northern Alliance. I did not go to fight against America.”

“I condemn terrorism on every level. It is completely against Islam.”

“In the name of God, the most merciful, the most compassionate... I plead guilty.”

“The attacks on September 11 were a terrible crime, and I had no role in that.”

“I was a soldier in the army of the Taliban government.”

“Had I realized in the beginning that the fighting was part of a larger civil war in which the foreign mujahideen were aligned with the Taliban, I would not have joined.”

“I served the Taliban government, and I was a soldier in their army. I did so in the sincere belief that I was helping the suffering Afghan people.”

“My goal in joining the Taliban was to help the Afghan people build an Islamic state.”