WASHINGTON, 28 January — John Walker Lindh has captured the imagination of the American press. Since his delivery to the media circus two months ago, the details of his life, background, hairstyle, and musical tastes have been recounted in detail by fascinated reporters.
Example: His first appearance at a US District Court last Friday in Alexandria, Virginia, was one of a "boyish and meek" young man, noted the Boston Globe.
Though no one has yet to conjure up images of a modern day Robin Hood, John Walker’s title, "American Taleban," has caught on quickly throughout the United States, and websites have already been registered for Internet use.
National accounts of his recent court appearance focused on his appearance and mannerisms, and marked the makeover from soiled captive to model prisoner.
Lindh was "clean-cut," "shorn," and "baby faced" among other things. National Public Radio referred to him as "an intelligent and curious young man" and "an inquisitive soul," while CBS billed Lindh as "very calm, very polite... not at all the grubby renegade." Reuters called him "America’s home-grown holy warrior."
Drama and Walker have become synonymous. "The parents of John Walker Lindh came to offer him their steadfast love and a spirited defense," the Associated Press noted, while MSNBC called the events "a high-voltage legal showdown."
After the court hearing, Fox News Channel summarized the event in bold graphics that brought forth imagines of the Wild West: "Walker Meets Justice" and "Walker Wronged?" Walker’s life, which has aired almost endlessly since his capture in Afghanistan last December, has been charted with clinical precision.
"Whatever else can be said of US treatment of Taleban prisoners, it cannot be said that they’re not being fed," said CBS’ Bryant ("Grumble") Gumbel told TV listeners, commenting on the plumper, round-faced version of the suspected traitor.
And, just to toss things up, Lindh’s attorney, James Brosnahan, announced that his client now wanted to be called "John Lindh," rather than John Walker, John Walker Lindh, Suleyman Al-Lindh, Suleyman Al-Faris or Abdul Hamid — all previously given names.
Whatever you want to call him, there is a readymade audience for him across the US. "If you shaved him and gave him a haircut and taught him some dance moves, he would become the most popular guy on campus, with all the girls going for him," said one participant in a recent CNN "Talk Back Live" show. Meanwhile, conspiracy-driven observers continue to speculate that, in reality, Lindh is a paid CIA plant, or a fall guy. Stay tuned.
