Politic?

Releasing Unrepentant Committed Jihadis

"Had I realized then what I know now about the Taliban, I would never have joined them. I never understood jihad to mean anti-Americanism or terrorism."
"Free time is a great gift from Allah and few people enjoy more of it than prisoners. The best way we can express our gratitude to Allah for this gift is through the study, recitation, memorization, contemplation, and implementation of His Noble Book."
"The Islamic State is clearly very sincere and serious about fulfilling the long-neglected religious obligation of establishing a caliphate through armed struggle, which is the only correct method."
John Walker Lindh, American jihadi

John Walker Lindh traveled to Afghanistan in 2001 and attended a terror training camp where he was introduced to Osama bin Laden.

"[The BOP encourages all inmates, including those linked to terrorism, to participate in programs] that assist offenders in developing the skills necessary for a successful reintegration into society."
"Based on a series of focused interviews conducted by BOP staff, the BOP has found that many inmates have turned away from radicalized ideology in prison based on self-study, or due to participation in programming or sentence length."
U.S. Federal Bureau of Prisons

"[Lindh] continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts."
"[In March 2016 he] told a television news producer that he would continue to spread violent extremist Islam upon his release."
"[Lindh had made] pro ISIS statements to various reporters."
National Counterterrorism Center and the federal Bureau of Prisons report

In Western countries the return of 'radicalized' citizens from participation in Islamist jihad bringing with them their experiences of jihadi warfare poses a dilemma. Any country in the Middle East faced with a similar situation recognizes no dilemma whatever. The solution is swift and direct; a nominal trial and an execution. The method of capital punishment reflecting in fact, the kind of execution which when carried out triumphantly by the Islamic State of Iraq and the Levant never failed to horrify the West as medieval-era atrocities.

On the other hand, countries like Afghanistan, Iraq, Iran, Egypt, Turkey and Saudi Arabia deal with the situation in a time-honoured Sharia-led measure that leaves no room for worrisome speculation over what will result when the Islamist jihadis are released from prison into the general population. Israel knows full well what the risks and probabilities are. Release of terrorists from Israeli jails, often in 'exchange' for the bodies of Israeli citizens or soldiers, generally results in the terrorists taking up where they left off after apprehension.

This image from television footage shows John Walker Lindh in Afghanistan on Dec. 1, 2001. Lindh was a Taliban soldier who was captured at that time.
APTN/AP

In addition to which it has long been recognized that North American prison systems become the perfect breeding grounds for introduction to Islam among the non-Islamic inmates, and to Islamist terrorism through jihad for all inmates vulnerable to the attraction of committing brutal violence in the name of a religion of peace. "There is very close to nothing in terms of de-radicalizing programs at the federal level", observed a research fellow at George Washington University's Program on Extremism.

"The current model is hoping long prison sentences for material support of terrorism will be a deterrent." And in the case of converts to Islam like John Walker Lindh, just released from a U.S. federal penitentiary after having served 17 years of a 20-year sentence for travelling abroad to join ranks with al-Qaeda in Afghanistan, making the acquaintance of Osama bin Laden, and proudly adding his fervent recruitment to jihad to their strength, it appears hugely unlikely that this man who approved of the work of the Islamic State is prepared to turn his sword into a plowshare.

And after him there is another group of about 500 prisoners in U.S. jails sentenced for terrorism-related crimes, a fifth of whom will within five years, be released; 62 of whom are U.S. citizens. Lindh was adjudged to have done the right thing by pleading guilty of providing support to the Taliban, and for his recognized 'good behaviour', rated three years chopped off his original sentence. An Alexandria Virginia federal judge set out conditions for his release; he cannot hold a passport or leave the U.S.

But Lindh has plans to go to Ireland, where he had secured citizenship, claiming that the notoriety that has accompanied his return to his native country of first citizenship denies him a normal lifestyle. As though his choices in life; his surrender to Islam, his adoption of fundamentalism, his eagerness to become a jihadi, and his usefulness to al-Qaeda, and while in prison his dedication to portraying himself to other Islamists as a pure soul beloved of Allah, are not all of his own making, a deliberate abandonment of the American values he was raised within.

In 2017, Foreign Policy magazine revealed that a National Counterterrorism Center report stated that Lindh "continued to advocate for global jihad and to write and translate violent extremist texts". Clearly, someone in the prison system prefers to remain oblivious to all these clear and present danger signs. According to his statement sent in 2015 to a news source, the Islamic State group was "doing a spectacular job".